dire
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
Adjective
dire (comparative direr or more dire, superlative direst or most dire)
- Warning of bad consequences: ill-boding; portentous.
- dire omens
- Requiring action to prevent bad consequences: urgent, pressing.
- dire need
- 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.
- Expressing bad consequences: dreadful; dismal
- dire consequences; to be in dire straits
- Synonyms: horrible, terrible, lamentable
- (informal) Bad in quality, awful, terrible.
- 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.
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(Can we add an example for this sense?)
Quotations
- For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:dire.
Derived terms
Translations
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See also
French
Etymology
From Middle French dire, from Old French dire, from Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō, from Proto-Italic *deikō, from Proto-Indo-European *déyḱti (“to show, point out”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /diʁ/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -iʁ
Conjugation
present participle | disant /di.zɑ̃/ | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
past participle | dit /di/ | ||||||
infinitive | |||||||
simple | dire | ||||||
compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
gerund1 | |||||||
simple | disant /di.zɑ̃/ | ||||||
compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
singular | plural | ||||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle | 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 | – | – | – | ||||
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 Only usable with preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, the past historic, past anterior, imperfect subjunctive and pluperfect subjunctive tenses may be found to have been replaced with the indicative present perfect, indicative pluperfect, present subjunctive and past subjunctive tenses respectively (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). |
Derived terms
Further reading
- “dire” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Italian
Alternative forms
- dicere (archaic)
Etymology
From a contraction of Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō, from Proto-Italic *deikō, from Proto-Indo-European *déyḱti (“to show, point out”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈdi.re/, [ˈd̪iːr̺e]
- Stress: dìre
- Hyphenation: di‧re
Verb
dire
- (transitive, intransitive) to say, tell
- (transitive, intransitive) to recite
- (transitive, intransitive) to mean
- (transitive, intransitive) to think
- (transitive, intransitive) to admit
Conjugation
infinitive | dire | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
auxiliary verb | avere or essere | gerund | dicendo | |||
present participle | dicente | past participle | detto | |||
person | singular | plural | ||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | |
indicative | io | tu | lui/lei, esso/essa | noi | voi | loro, essi/esse |
present | dico | dici | dice | diciamo | dite | dicono |
imperfect | dicevo | dicevi | diceva | dicevamo | dicevate | dicevano |
past historic | dissi | dicesti | disse | dicemmo | diceste | dissero |
future | dirò | dirai | dirà | diremo | direte | diranno |
conditional | io | tu | lui/lei, esso/essa | noi | voi | loro, essi/esse |
present | direi | diresti | direbbe | diremmo | direste | direbbero |
subjunctive | che io | che tu | che lui/che lei, che esso/che essa | che noi | che voi | che loro, che essi/che esse |
present | dica | dica | dica | diciamo | diciate | dicano |
imperfect | dicessi | dicessi | dicesse | dicessimo | diceste | dicessero |
imperative | — | tu | Lei | noi | voi | Loro |
dici, di', non dire | dica | diciamo | dite | dicano |
Related terms
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈdiː.re/, [ˈdiː.rɛ]
References
- dire in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French dire, from a contraction of Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō.
Occitan
Etymology
From Old Occitan dir, dire, from a contraction of Latin dīcere, present active infinitive of dīcō.
Conjugation
infinitive | dire | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | disent | ||||||
past participle | dich | ||||||
person | singular | plural | |||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
indicative | ieu | tu | el/ela | nosautres nos |
vosautres vos |
eles/elas | |
present | disi | dises | ditz | disèm | disètz | dison | |
imperfect | disiái | disiás | disiá | disiam | disiatz | disián | |
future | dirai | diràs | dirà | direm | diretz | diràn | |
preterite | diguèri | diguères | diguèt | diguèrem | diguèretz | diguèron | |
conditional | diriái | diriás | diriá | diriam | diriatz | dirián | |
subjunctive | ieu | tu | el/ela | nosautres nos |
vosautres vos |
eles/elas | |
present | diga | digas | diga | digam | digatz | digan | |
imperfect | diguèsse | diguèsses | diguèsse | diguèssem | diguèssetz | diguèsson | |
imperative | — | tu | — | nosautres | vosautres vos |
— | |
— | diga | — | digam | digatz | — | ||
Old French
Conjugation
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.
simple | compound | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | dire | avoir dit | |||||
gerund | en disant | Use the gerund of avoir followed by the 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 | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
past anterior | Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the 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 | Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
— | di | — | dimes, dions, disons | dites | — |
References
- “Appendix E: Irregular Verbs” in E. Einhorn (1974), Old French: A Concise Handbook, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 153