ire
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /aɪɹ/
ipa: /aɪ.ə(ɹ)/
rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)
Etymology: From Middle English ire, from Old French ire (“ire”), from Latin īra (“wrath, rage”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eysh₂- (“to fall upon, act sharply”) (compare Old English ofost (“haste, zeal”), Old Norse eisa (“to race forward”), Ancient Greek ἱερός (hierós, “supernatural, holy”), οἶστρος (oîstros, “frenzy; gadfly”), Avestan 𐬀𐬈𐬯𐬨𐬀 (aesma, “anger”), Sanskrit इष् f (iṣ, “refreshment, strength”)). Compare also Middle English irre, erre (“anger, wrath”), from Old English yrre, ierre, eorre (“anger, wrath”).
Senses: examples: text: to raise the ire of someone
text: She lik'd not his desire; Fain would be free but dreadeth parents ire
ref: a. 1587, Philippe Sidnei [i.e., Philip Sidney], “(please specify the folio)”, in [Fulke Greville; Matthew Gwinne; John Florio], editors, The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia [The New Arcadia], London: […] [John Windet] for William Ponsonbie, published 1590, →OCLC:
english: The New Arcadia
translation: The New Arcadia
text: If I digg'd up thy forefathers graves, And hung their rotten coffins up in chains, It could not slake mine ire, nor ease my heart.
ref: c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
text: Or Neptune's ire, or Juno's, that so long Perplex'd the Greek and Cytherea's son.
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
text: For this th' avenging Pow'r employs his darts; / And empties all his quiver in our hearts; / Thus will perſiſt, relentleſs in his ire, / Till the fair ſlave be render'd to her ſire: [...]
ref: a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “The First Book of Homer’s Ilias”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume IV, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 419:
text: News of this notice from the university was picked up by local media and had the effect of raising the ire of some citizens who saw this as an attack on ‘Chinese heritage’, which in turn resulted in a rapid apology from the university[.]
ref: 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 3:
text: Meanwhile, Buffalo was under a driving ban until midnight Thursday because many of its streets were still clogged, preventing people from getting groceries and medication. In predominantly Black parts of the city, like the East Side, many residents still can’t leave their homes. Twelve-foot snow drifts still cover windows.¶ Buffalo’s slow, haphazard plowing and response has also drawn the ire of county leaders.
ref: 2022 December 27, Brianna Sacks, “Buffalo blizzard fuels racial and class divides in polarized city”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 29 Dec 2022:
synonyms: fury
rage
wrath
glosses: Great anger; wrath; keen resentment.
Related terms: irascibility
irascible
irate
ireful