mire

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mire"

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪɚ/, /ˈmaɪɹ/
• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

English Wikipedia has an article on:

mire

Wikipedia

From Middle English mire, a borrowing from Old Norse mýrr, from Proto-Germanic *miuzijō, whence also Swedish myr, Norwegian myr, Icelandic mýri, Dutch *mier (in placenames, for example Mierlo). Related to Proto-Germanic *meusą, whence Old English mēos, and Proto-Germanic *musą, whence Old English mos (English moss).

Noun

mire (countable and uncountable, plural mires)

1. Deep mud; moist, spongy earth.
   • (Can we date this quote?), (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     When Caliban was lazy and neglected his work, Ariel (who was invisible to all eyes but Prospero’s) would come slyly and pinch him, and sometimes tumble him down in the mire. (Charles Lamb, Tales from Shakespeare, Hatier, coll. « Les Classiques pour tous » n° 223, p. 51)

   1. (wetland science, strictly) A peatland which is actively forming peat, such as an active bog or fen.

      Synonyms: peatland, quag

      Hypernym: wetland

      Hyponyms: bog, fen

2. An undesirable situation; a predicament.
   • 2017 April 2, Dafydd Pritchard, “Swansea City 0-0 Middlesbrough”, in BBC Sport‎, London:

     Swansea seemed to be pulling clear of trouble with five wins in their first eight games following head coach Paul Clement's appointment, but two successive defeats had dragged the Swans back into the mire.

Derived terms

• bemire
• enmire
• in the mire
• mire crow
• mire drum
• mireland
• mirish
• miry
• pickmire
• quagmire
• wallow in the mire

Translations

deep mud

Bulgarian: кал (bg) f (kal), тиня (bg) f (tinja) Chinese: Mandarin: 污泥 (zh) (wūní) Czech: močál (cs) m, bažina (cs) f, bahno (cs) n Dutch: moeras (nl) n Finnish: suo (fi), lieju (fi), muta (fi) French: fange (fr) f, bourbier (fr) m Galician: ludro (gl) m, untullo m, esteiro (gl) m, bulleiro (gl) m German: Morast (de) m, Schlamm (de) m, Matsch (de) m Greek: βούρκος (el) m (voúrkos) Ancient: βόρβορος m (bórboros) Hindi: कीचड़ (hi) m (kīcaṛ) Irish: láib f, puiteach m, lábán m Italian: fango (it) m, mota (it) f, limo (it) m Khmer: ផុង (km) (phong) Latin: lutum n Latvian: muklājs (lv) m, purvājs m, staignums m Maori: kene Navajo: hashtłʼish Norwegian: Bokmål: myr m or f Nynorsk: myr f Occitan: fanga (oc), baldra (oc) f, fangàs m, fangalhàs m, baldrièr m, iga f, maresca f, sanhàs m Ottoman Turkish: چامور (çamur) (deep mud); باتاق (batak) (peatland) Persian: گلزار (fa) (gelzâr) Plautdietsch: Mautsch m, Schlaum m Polish: bagno (pl) n Portuguese: lama (pt) f, lodo (pt) m, barro (pt) m Russian: топь (ru) f (topʹ), тряси́на (ru) f (trjasína) Sanskrit: पङ्क (sa) m (paṅka) Scottish Gaelic: clàbar m Spanish: barrizal m, lodazal (es) m, fangal m, barro (es) m, fango (es) m, cieno (es) m Turkish: batak (tr) Zazaki: lınce

an undesirable situation

Czech: marast m, šlamastyka (cs) f Greek: λάσπη (el) f (láspi), βούρκος (el) m (voúrkos), τέλμα (el) n (télma), βόρβορος (el) m (vórvoros) Occitan: malpàs, malparada f, malabosena f, malora f Persian: باتلاق (fa) (bâtlâq) Turkish: batak (tr)

Verb

mire (third-person singular simple present mires, present participle miring, simple past and past participle mired)

1. (transitive) To cause or permit to become stuck in mud; to plunge or fix in mud.

   Synonyms: bemire, enmire

   to mire a horse or wagon

2. (intransitive) To sink into mud.
3. (transitive, figurative) To weigh down.
4. (intransitive) To soil with mud or foul matter.

   Synonym: bemire

   • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

     Why had I not with charitable hand
     Took up a beggar’s issue at my gates,
     Who smirch’d thus and mired with infamy,
     I might have said ‘No part of it is mine;
     This shame derives itself from unknown loins’?

Derived terms

• unmired

Translations

to plunge or fix in mud

German: feststecken (de) Spanish: empantanar (es) Turkish: çamura batırmak

to sink into mud

Bulgarian: окалям (okaljam) Czech: zapadnout do bláta, zabřednout do bahna French: embourber (fr), enliser (fr) German: einsinken (de) Maori: tapoko Occitan: fangassejar, fanguejar, s'enfangar, baudracar, baldracar, baldrejar, gaulhassar Russian: погрязнуть (ru) pf (pogrjaznutʹ) Spanish: empantanarse (es) Turkish: çamura batmak

figurative

Spanish: envolver (es), empantanar (es), atollar (es)

Etymology 2

From Middle English mire, from Old English *mȳre, *mīere, from Proto-West Germanic *miurijā, from Proto-Germanic *miurijǭ (“ant”). Cognate to Old Norse maurr, Danish myre, Middle Dutch miere (“ant”) (Dutch mier). All probably from Proto-Indo-European *morwi- (“ant”), whence also cognate to Latin formīca.

Noun

mire (plural mires)

1. (rare or obsolete) An ant.
   • 1866, The Gardener's Monthly and Horticultural Advertiser Devoted, page 149:

     "Having been seriously interrupted by small brown ants or mires working in my cutting bench, digging holes down the side of my cuttings, thereby arresting the process of rooting. […] "

   • 1915, Daniel T. Trombley, Batiste of Isle La Motte, page 24:

     Wen I lay down behine dat log I plunk masef right een one dem aunty mire nest an bout 10 million of dem leetle devil begin to heat me.

   • 1939, original c. 1300, Publications - Volume 103; Volume 105, page 267:

     The ant figures in the Bestiary, which tells us that the 'mire' is mighty; toils much in summer and in soft weather; stores wood and seed, corn and grass; in winter she is not harmed: she likes wheat, but shuns barley […]

Related terms

• antmire
• pismire

Anagrams

• IMer, Meir, Meri, Remi, emir, meri, reim, riem, rime

Asturian

Verb

mire

1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive of mirar

Esperanto

Etymology

From miri +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmire/
• Rhymes: -ire
• Hyphenation: mi‧re

Adverb

mire

1. in surprise, in awe, in an amazed way

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /miʁ/

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

• Homophones: mir, myrrhe, mirent

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Italian mira, from Latin mīrō (“to wonder at”).

Noun

mire f (plural mires)

1. (weaponry) aim (action of aiming) [from 1562]

   Synonym: visée

2. foresight (of rifle) [from 1611]

   Synonym: guidon

3. (literal, figurative) target [from early 1600s]

   Synonyms: but, cible

4. (television) test pattern
5. (surveying) rod (measuring tool)

Derived terms

• ligne de mire
• point de mire

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old French mire, mirie, a semi-learned borrowing from Latin medicus.

Noun

mire m (plural mires, feminine miresse)

2. (historical) medieval physician

   Hypernym: (more generally) médecin (“doctor”)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

mire

1. inflection of mirer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “mire”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• émir, Remi, Rémi, rime, rimé

Galician

Verb

mire

1. inflection of mirar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Hungarian

Etymology

mi (“what”) +‎ -re (sublative case suffix)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmirɛ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mi‧re
• Rhymes: -rɛ

Pronoun

mire

1. sublative singular of mi

   Mire gondolsz? ― What are you thinking about?

Pronoun

mire

1. for what (purpose)?

   Mire jó ez? ― What is it for?

Adverb

mire (not comparable)

1. whereupon (after which, in consequence)

   Megszidtam, mire sírva fakadt. ― I scolded her, whereupon she started to cry.

2. by the time, when

   Mire hazaértem, a vendégek már elmentek. ― By the time I got home, the guests had left.

Related terms

• amire

See also

Hungarian pronominal adverbs from case suffixes (see also postpositions)

case	suffix	who?	what?	this	that	he/she (it)1	verbal prefix	category
nominative	–	ki	mi	ez	az	ő* / -∅ az / -∅	–	–
accusative	-t / -ot / -at / -et / -öt	kit	mit	ezt	azt	őt* / -∅ azt / -∅	–	c1 c2
dative	-nak / -nek	kinek	minek	ennek	annak	neki	neki-	category
instrumental	-val / -vel	kivel	mivel	ezzel/ evvel	azzal/ avval	vele		category
causal-final	-ért	kiért	miért	ezért	azért	érte	–	category
translative	-vá / -vé	kivé	mivé	ezzé	azzá	–	–	category
terminative	-ig	–	meddig	eddig	addig	–	–	category
essive-formal	-ként	(kiként)	(miként)	ekként	akként	–	–	category
essive-modal	-ul / -ül	–	–	–	–	–	–	category
inessive	-ban / -ben	kiben	miben	ebben	abban	benne	–	category
superessive	-n/-on/-en/-ön	kin	min	ezen	azon	rajta	(rajta-)	category
adessive	-nál / -nél	kinél	minél	ennél	annál	nála	–	category
illative	-ba / -be	kibe	mibe	ebbe	abba	bele	bele-	category
sublative	-ra / -re	kire	mire	erre	arra	rá	rá-	category
allative	-hoz/-hez/-höz	kihez	mihez	ehhez	ahhoz	hozzá	hozzá-	category
elative	-ból / -ből	kiből	miből	ebből	abból	belőle	–	category
delative	-ról / -ről	kiről	miről	erről	arról	róla	–	category
ablative	-tól / -től	kitől	mitől	ettől	attól	tőle	–	category

¹Ő and őt refer to human beings; the forms below them might be construed likewise.
Forms in parentheses are uncommon. All Hungarian pronouns / edit this template

Further reading

• mire in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmʲɪɾʲə/

Etymology 1

From Old Irish mire (“madness, frenzy, infatuation”).

Noun

mire f (genitive singular mire)

1. quickness, rapidity
2. spiritedness, ardor
3. madness, frenzy, mania

   Synonym: buile

Declension

Declension of mire (fourth declension, no plural)

bare forms singular nominative mire vocative a mhire genitive mire dative mire forms with the definite article singular nominative an mhire genitive na mire dative leis an mire don mhire

Derived terms

• fear mire
• madra mire

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

mire

1. inflection of mear:
   1. genitive feminine singular
   2. comparative degree

Mutation

Mutated forms of mire

radical	lenition	eclipsis
mire	mhire	not applicable

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “mire”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “mire”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959), “mire”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “mire”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2025

Italian

Noun

mire f

1. plural of mira

Anagrams

• ermi, meri, remi, rime

Ladin

Verb

mire

1. inflection of mirer:
   1. first-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. third-person singular/plural present subjunctive

Latin

Etymology 1

From mīrus +‎ -ē.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈmiː.reː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈmiː.re]

Adverb

mīrē (not comparable)

1. wondrously, marvelously, amazingly
2. strangely, peculiarly, uncommonly, exceedingly
   • 68 BCE – 44 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 8.1.2:

     mire quam illius loci non modo usus sed etiam cogitatio delectat.

     It is a wonder how, not only the use of that place, but also the very thought of it delights me.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈmiː.rɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈmiː.re]

Participle

mīre

1. vocative masculine singular of mīrus

References

• “mire”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “mire”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Norse mýrr, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *miuzijō.

Alternative forms

• myer, myre, myrre
• muire, muyre (Southwest Midland)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmiːr(ə)/
• (Southwest Midland) IPA^(key): /ˈmyːr(ə)/

Noun

mire (plural mires)

2. Marshy or swampy land; a mire or peat.
3. A region of marshy or swampy land.
4. A muddy or dirt-covered region.
5. (figuratively) Iniquity, sinfulness; immoral behaviour.
6. (rare) A quagmire or conundrum.
7. (rare) A puddle or pond; a watery hollow.

Derived terms

• myren

Descendants

• English: mire (“swamp”)
• Scots: mire

References

• “mīre, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 20 August 2018.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old English *mȳre, *mīere, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *miurijǭ.

Alternative forms

• myre

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmiːr(ə)/

Noun

mire

2. ant

Derived terms

• pissemyre

Descendants

• English: mire (“ant”) (obsolete)

References

• “mīre, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 20 July 2018.

Portuguese

Verb

mire

1. inflection of mirar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative