dire

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "dire"

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin dīrus (“fearful, ominous”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

Adjective[edit]

dire (comparative direr or more dire, superlative direst or most dire)

  1. Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous.
    dire omens
  2. Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing.
    dire need (of)
    • 2014 June 14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891:
      One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. […] But out of sight is out of mind. And that, together with the inherent yuckiness of the subject, means that many old sewers have been neglected and are in dire need of repair.
  3. Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal.
    Synonyms: horrible, terrible, lamentable
    dire consequences;  to be in dire straits
    • 2019 August 30, Jonathan Watts, “Amazon fires show world heading for point of no return, says UN”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      Cristiana Paşca Palmer, the executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said the destruction of the world’s biggest rainforest was a grim reminder that a fresh approach needed to stabilise the climate and prevent ecosystems from declining to a point of no return, with dire consequences for humanity.
  4. (informal) Bad in quality, awful, terrible.
    His dire blunder allowed her to checkmate him with her next move.
    • 2011 December 10, Arindam Rej, “Norwich 4-2 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:
      A second Norwich goal in four minutes arrived after some dire Newcastle defending. Gosling gave the ball away with a sloppy back-pass, allowing Crofts to curl in a cross that the unmarked Morison powered in with a firm, 12-yard header.

Quotations[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Catalan[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (Algherese) IPA(key): /ˈdiɾa/

Verb[edit]

dire

  1. (Northern, Alghero) Alternative form of dir

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Middle French dire, from Old French dire, from Latin dīcō, from Proto-Italic *deikō, from Proto-Indo-European *déyḱti (“to show, point out”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

dire

  1. to say, to tell
  2. (informal) to be of interest to, to interest [+ à (someone)]
    Ça te dit de regarder un film de science-fiction? ― Do you want to watch a science fiction movie? What do you say to watching a science fiction movie?
    Ça vous dit ? ― Are you interested [in doing this]? Are you up [for it]?
    Il m’a demandé si ça nous dirait de nous joindre à eux plus tard. ― He asked me if we'd like to join them later.
    Ça ne me dit trop rien d’y aller. ― I don't really want to go [there].
  3. (informal) to sound familiar [+ à (someone)]
    Ça me dit quelque chose. ― It rings a bell.
    Ça ne me dit rien. ― It doesn't ring a bell.

Conjugation[edit]

Conjugation of dire (see also Appendix:French verbs)
infinitive simple dire
compound avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1 simple disant
/di.zɑ̃/
compound ayant + past participle
past participle dit
/di/
singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative je (j’) tu il, elle, on nous vous ils, elles
(simple
tenses) 		present dis
/di/ 		dis
/di/ 		dit
/di/ 		disons
/di.zɔ̃/ 		dites
/dit/ 		disent
/diz/
imperfect disais
/di.zɛ/ 		disais
/di.zɛ/ 		disait
/di.zɛ/ 		disions
/di.zjɔ̃/ 		disiez
/di.zje/ 		disaient
/di.zɛ/
past historic2 dis
/di/ 		dis
/di/ 		dit
/di/ 		dîmes
/dim/ 		dîtes
/dit/ 		dirent
/diʁ/
future dirai
/di.ʁe/ 		diras
/di.ʁa/ 		dira
/di.ʁa/ 		dirons
/di.ʁɔ̃/ 		direz
/di.ʁe/ 		diront
/di.ʁɔ̃/
conditional dirais
/di.ʁɛ/ 		dirais
/di.ʁɛ/ 		dirait
/di.ʁɛ/ 		dirions
/di.ʁjɔ̃/ 		diriez
/di.ʁje/ 		diraient
/di.ʁɛ/
(compound
tenses) 		present perfect present indicative of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
past anterior2 past historic of avoir + past participle
future perfect future of avoir + past participle
conditional perfect conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive que je (j’) que tu qu’il, qu’elle que nous que vous qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple
tenses) 		present dise
/diz/ 		dises
/diz/ 		dise
/diz/ 		disions
/di.zjɔ̃/ 		disiez
/di.zje/ 		disent
/diz/
imperfect2 disse
/dis/ 		disses
/dis/ 		dît
/di/ 		dissions
/di.sjɔ̃/ 		dissiez
/di.sje/ 		dissent
/dis/
(compound
tenses) 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect2 imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
simple — dis
/di/ 		— disons
/di.zɔ̃/ 		dites
/dit/ 		—
compound — simple imperative of avoir + past participle — simple imperative of avoir + past participle simple imperative of avoir + past participle —
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
  • past historic → present perfect
  • past anterior → pluperfect
  • imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive
  • pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive

(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Disez is a nonstandard form for the second person plural in the present indicative.

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

dire m (plural dires)

  1. saying (that which is said)
  2. belief, opinion

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Louisiana Creole: di

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Italian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From a contraction of Latin dīcere, from Proto-Italic *deikō, from Proto-Indo-European *déyḱti (“to show, point out”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

dìre (first-person singular present dìco, first-person singular past historic dìssi, past participle détto, first-person singular imperfect dicévo, second-person singular imperative dì' or (with syntactic gemination after the verb, with written accent) dì, auxiliary avére) (transitive)

  1. to utter (produce (speech or other sounds) with one's voice)
  2. to recite
  3. to say, tell, utter
    1. (transitive with di) to talk about, discuss
      • mid 13th century, Gherardo Patecchio, Splanamento de li proverbi di Salomone [Explanation of Solomon's proverbs], line 21; collected in Roberto Tagliani, editor, compiled by Maria Luisa Meneghetti, Il manoscritto Saibante-Hamilton 390 - Edizione critica‎[2], Rome: Salerno Editrice, 2019, →ISBN, page 324:
        Dela lengua vòi’ dir alò primeramente (northern Italy)
        Then I want to talk about language firstly
  4. to say (indicate in a written form)
  5. used as a generic synonym for certain verbs:
    1. Synonym of soggiungere (“to add”)
    2. Synonym of continuare (“to continue”)
    3. Synonym of rispondere (“to reply”)
    4. Synonym of confessare (“to confess”)
    5. Synonym of dichiarare (“to claim”)
    6. Synonym of raccontare (“to tell, relate, report”)
      • mid 13th century, Gherardo Patecchio, Splanamento de li proverbi di Salomone [Explanation of Solomon's proverbs], lines 13–14; collected in Roberto Tagliani, editor, compiled by Maria Luisa Meneghetti, Il manoscritto Saibante-Hamilton 390 - Edizione critica‎[3], Rome: Salerno Editrice, 2019, →ISBN, page 324:
        Li savi no ’m reprenda s’eu no dirai sì ben
        com’ se vorave dir […]         (northern Italy)
        May the wise not reproach me, if I do not retell as well as one should retell […]
    7. Synonym of affermare (“to declare, assert”)
    8. Synonym of suggerire (“to suggest, clue”)
    9. Synonym of credere (“to believe, assume”)
  6. to mean
  7. to express a concept with the proper word in a given language
  8. (uncommon) to speak
  9. (rare) to announce the wedding of
    domani vi dirò in chiesa ― Tomorrow I'll announce your wedding in church

Conjugation[edit]

    Conjugation of dìre (-ere; irregular) (See Appendix:Italian verbs)
infinitive dìre
auxiliary verb avére gerund dicèndo
present participle dicènte past participle détto
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present dìco dìci dìce diciàmo dìte dìcono
imperfect dicévo dicévi dicéva dicevàmo dicevàte dicévano
past historic dìssi dicésti dìsse dicémmo dicéste dìssero
future dirò dirài dirà dirémo diréte dirànno
conditional io tu lui/lei, esso/essa noi voi loro, essi/esse
present dirèi dirésti dirèbbe, dirébbe dirémmo diréste dirèbbero, dirébbero
subjunctive che io che tu che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa che noi che voi che loro, che essi/che esse
present dìca dìca dìca diciàmo diciàte dìcano
imperfect dicéssi dicéssi dicésse dicéssimo dicéste dicéssero
imperative — tu Lei noi voi Loro
dì', dì1,2 dìca diciàmo dìte dìcano
negative imperative non dìre non dìca non diciàmo non dìte non dìcano

1With syntactic gemination after the verb.
2With written accent.

Related terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

dire m (uncountable)

  1. words

Anagrams[edit]

Latin[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

dīre

  1. vocative masculine singular of dīrus

References[edit]

  • “dire”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Middle French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French dire, from a contraction of Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō.

Verb[edit]

dire

  1. to say (express using language)

Descendants[edit]

Occitan[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Occitan dir, dire, from a contraction of Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

dire

  1. to say (express using language)
  2. to mean; to signify

Conjugation[edit]

    Lengadocian (Central Occitan)
simple compound
infinitive dire aver dich
gerund disent use gerund of aver + past participle
past participle dich —
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative ieu tu el nosautres vosautres eles
present disi dises ditz disèm disètz dison
imperfect disiái disiás disiá disiam disiatz disián
preterite diguèri diguères diguèt diguèrem diguèretz diguèron
future dirai diràs dirà direm diretz diràn
conditional diriái diriás diriá diriam diriatz dirián
conditional 2nd form1 {{{49}}} {{{50}}} {{{51}}} {{{52}}} {{{53}}} {{{54}}}
compound
tenses 		present perfect use the present tense of aver + past participle
pluperfect use the imperfect tense of aver + past participle
past anterior use the preterite tense of aver + past participle
future perfect use the future tense of aver + past participle
conditional perfect use the conditional tense of aver + past participle
subjunctive que ieu que tu que el que nosautres que vosautres que eles
present diga digas diga digam digatz digan
imperfect diguèsse diguèsses diguèsse diguèssem diguèssetz diguèsson
compound
tenses 		past use the present subjunctive of aver + past participle
pluperfect use the imperfect subjunctive of aver + past participle
imperative — tu — nosautres vosautres —
diga digam digatz 1Now chiefly obsolete, still in use in some Limousin and Vivaro-Alpin dialects

Old French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From a contraction of Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō.

Verb[edit]

dire

  1. (chiefly intransitive) to say
  2. (transitive) to recount (a story)

Conjugation[edit]

This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of dire (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
simple compound
infinitive dire avoir dit
gerund en disant gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle disant
past participle dit
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative jo tu il nos vos il
simple
tenses 		present di dis dit dimes, dions, disons dites dient
imperfect disoie, diseie disoies, diseies disoit, diseit disiiens, disiens disiiez, disiez disoient, diseient
preterite dis desis dist desimes desistes distrent
future dirai diras dira dirons diroiz, direiz, direz diront
conditional diroie, direie diroies, direies diroit, direit diriiens, diriens diriiez, diriez diroient, direient
compound
tenses 		present perfect present tense of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
past anterior preterite tense of avoir + past participle
future perfect future tense of avoir + past participle
conditional perfect conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive que jo que tu qu’il que nos que vos qu’il
simple
tenses 		present dïe dïes dïe diiens, dions, disiens, disons diiez, disiez dïent
imperfect desisse desisses desist desissons, desissiens desissoiz, desissez, desissiez desissent
compound
tenses 		past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nos vos –
— di — dimes, dions, disons dites —

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

  • “Appendix E: Irregular Verbs” in E. Einhorn (1974), Old French: A Concise Handbook, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 153

Old Occitan[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From a contraction of Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō.

Verb[edit]

dire

  1. to say

Descendants[edit]

Walloon[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French dire, from a contraction of Latin dīcō, dīcere.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

dire

  1. to say
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