wire
pronunciation
How to pronounce wire in British English:
UK [ˈwaɪə(r)]
How to pronounce wire in American English:
US [ˈwaɪər]
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- Noun:
- ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
- a metal conductor that carries electricity over a distance
- the finishing line on a racetrack
- a message transmitted by telegraph
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- Verb:
- provide with electrical circuits
- send cables, wires, or telegrams
- fasten with wire
- string on a wire
- equip for use with electricity
Word Origin
- wire
- wire: [OE] Wire probably goes back ultimately to the Indo-European base *wi- ‘plait’. Related forms in other Germanic languages have now largely died out. The adjective wireless is first recorded in 1894 (in the term wireless telephone); its use as a noun dates from around 1903.
- wire (n.)
- Old English wir "metal drawn out into a fine thread," from Proto-Germanic *wira- (cognates: Old Norse viravirka "filigree work," Swedish vira "to twist," Old High German wiara "fine gold work"), from PIE *wei- (1) "to turn, twist, plait" (cognates: Old Irish fiar, Welsh gwyr "bent, crooked;" Latin viere "to bend, twist," viriæ "bracelets," of Celtic origin). A wire as marking the finish line of a racecourse is attested from 1883; hence the figurative down to the wire. Wire-puller in the political sense is 1848, American English, on the image of pulling the wires that work a puppet.
- wire (v.)
- c. 1300, "adorn with (gold) wire," from wire (n.). From 1859 as "communicate by means of a telegraphic wire;" 1891 as "furnish with electrical wires and connections." Related: Wired; wiring.
Example
- 1. There 's no barbed wire , no police officers .
- 2. It worked by transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between stations .
- 3. Physical barriers such as razor wire are now fitted .
- 4. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire .
- 5. The fine wire offers considerable resistance to the flow and may become very hot .