dire

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈdaɪ̯ə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪə(ɹ)

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.

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:dire.

• voir dire

• Deri, Dier, IDer, Reid, dier, drie, ired, ride

• diure (Alghero)

• (Alghero) IPA^(key): /ˈdiɾa/

dire

1. (Northern, Alghero) Alternative form of dir

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”).

• IPA^(key): /diʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• (Quebec) IPA^(key): /d͡ziʁ/
• Rhymes: -iʁ

dire

1. (transitive) to say, to tell (to express through speech)
   • 1889, Fortuné du Boisgobey, Double-Blanc, Paris: Plon & Nourrit, page 213:

     — Parfaitement... et il a dit à ces dames que c’était un étranger, arrivé récemment à Paris et colossalement riche.

     — Perfectly…and he told these ladies that he was a foreigner, recently arrived in Paris and colossally rich.

   • 1910 [1908], H. G. Wells, translated by Henry-D. Davray and B. Kozakiewicz, La Guerre dans les airs, 1921 edition, Paris: Mercure de France, translation of The War in the Air (in English), page 247:

     Bien qu’il n’eût pu comprendre un seul mot de ce qui avait été dit, Bert éprouva un choc en remarquant le ton qu’avait pris l’homme.

     Although he could not have understood a single word of that which had been said, Bert felt a shock while noticing the tone that the man had taken.

   • 2022 January 5, Béatrice Dillies, “Au vaccinodrome d'Albi : "Emmanuel Macron dit tout haut ce que tout le monde pense tout bas"”, in La Dépêche‎^[2], archived from the original on July 29, 2024:

     Emmanuel Macron aurait dû se mordre la langue avant de parler d’emmerder les récalcitrants. Mais il a dit tout haut ce que tout le monde pense tout bas.

     Emmanuel Macron should have bitten his tongue before talking about bugging the recalcitrants. But he said out loud what everyone is quietly thinking.

   Dire qu’on fait des cookies, c’est bien, mais il faut ensuite les partager. (American saying) ― To say that one is making some cookies, it is good, but it is then necessary to share them.

2. (transitive) to tell (to order, to advise)

   Il lui a dit de partir. ― He told him to go away.

3. (transitive) to say, to tell (to set out in writing)

   Je vous ai dit dans ma dernière lettre que…. ― I told you in my last letter that….

   Cet auteur a dit là-dessus d’excellentes choses. ― This author has said some excellent things about it.

4. (transitive) to say (often used in the sense of responding to an objection)

   Qu’avez-vous à dire à cela ? ― What do you have to say to that?

   Que trouvez-vous à dire à cette action ? (in this sense, one more commonly says trouver à redire (to find fault with)) ― What do you have to say to this action? (literally, “What do you find to say to this action?”)

   Il y a bien à dire, beaucoup à dire là-dessus. (There are a lot of criticisms, of objections, of observations, etc., to make about that.) ― There is much to say, very much to say about that.

   On dit en des sens analogues ou contraires. ― One says in similar or opposite senses.

   On ne peut certainement rien dire sur sa conduite. ― One certainly cannot say anything about their conduct.

5. (transitive, poetic) to say, to tell of (to celebrate, to sing, to narrate)
   • 1888, Jean le Rond d'Alembert, La Suppression des jésuites (éd. populaire abrégée)‎^[3], Édouard Cornély:

     Il leur offrit de dire la messe pour leur obtenir de Dieu, au lieu de l’argent qu’ils demandaient, la grâce de souffrir chrétiennement leur ruine.

     He offered to say mass to them to obtain for them from God, instead of the money that they were requesting, the grace to suffer their ruin Christianly.

   Je dirai vos exploits. ― I will tell of your exploits.

6. (transitive, current) to say, to tell (to deliver, to recite)
   • 1889, Fortuné du Boisgobey, Double-Blanc, Paris: Plon & Nourrit, page 187:

     C’est bon, je n’aime pas à jouer les gêneurs. Je vais faire un tour au foyer, pendant que tu diras ton couplet.

     It's fine, I don't like to play the nuisance. I'm going to take a walk in the foyer, whilst you say your verse.

   • 1958, Jean Rogissart, Passantes d'Octobre, Paris: Librairie Arthème Fayard:

     Héloïse dit et redit son chapelet. Les grains cliquettent de minute en minute et sans relâche, le chuchotement rapide des oraisons s’allonge.

     Heloise says and repeats her rosary. The beads clink from minute to minute and relentlessly, the rapid whispers of the orisons get longer.

   Dire sa leçon. ― To tell one's lesson.

   Dire la messe. (To celebrate mass) ― To say mass.

   Faire dire une messe, des messes pour quelqu’un. ― To have a mass or masses said for someone.

   Un homme bien-disant se dit d’un Homme qui parle bien et avec facilité. ― A well-spoken man is said of a Man who speaks well and with ease.

7. (transitive, literally) to say, (figuratively) to seem like, to look like (to judge, to believe, to think)
   • 1845, Alexandre Dumas, chapter IV, in La Reine Margot, volume I:

     […] ; sous ses cheveux, un œil gris brillait à la moindre contrariété d’un feu si resplendissant, qu’on eût dit alors un œil noir.

     […]; under his headhair, a grey eye was shining at the slightest irritation with a fire so gleaming, that it seemed to be then a black eye.

   • 1910, Gaston Leroux, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra:

     Il semblait, en effet, à tout le monde qu’un frôlement se faisait entendre derrière la porte. Aucun bruit de pas. On eût dit d’une soie légère qui glissait sur le panneau.

     It seemed, indeed, to everyone that a rustling could be heard behind the door. No sounds of footsteps. It seemed to be a light silk that was sliding along the panel.

   • 1945, Léon Frapié, “La croix”, in Les contes de la maternelle, Éditions Self, page 29:

     Marie, petite pour ses six ans, les yeux très brillants, la frimousse tendue, presque douloureuse, porte un tablier noir et un minuscule jupon qui laisse voir ses jambes minces, pitoyables. On dirait d’une poupée tragique.

     Marie, small for her six years, her eyes very bright, her cute little face tight, almost painful, wears a black pinafore and a tiny petticoat that lets you see her thin, pitiful legs. She looks like a tragic doll.

   • 2006, Angelo Rinaldi, chapter 1, in Où finira le fleuve, Fayard:

     Dirait-il que le mouvement de la marche avait révélé la doublure de ce vêtement – était-ce de la castorette ? –, outre une jupe de tweed qui descendait jusqu’au genou ?

     Would he say that the movement of the march had revealed the lining of this garment – was it beaver fur? –, in addition to a tweed skirt that went down to the knee?

   • 2021 December 7, Marie-Ève Doyon, “Rire des gros, c'est un manque de classe”, in La Journal de Québec:

     Bien justement. Ce n’est pas parce qu’on peut tout dire qu’il faut dire n’importe quoi.

     Well exactly. It is not because you can say anything that it is necessary to say anything.

   • (informal) On dirait d’un fou, d’un homme ivre, etc., ou On dirait un fou. (judging by his actions, by his speech, one would take him for a madman, one would believe him drunk.) ― He looked like a madman, a drunk man, etc., or He seemed like a madman
   • 1933, François Mauriac, Le Nœud de vipères, Éditions Grasset, page 23, Le Livre de Poche:

     On dirait d’une main qui se pose sur mon épaule gauche, qui l’immobilise dans une fausse position, comme ferait quelqu’un qui ne voudrait pas que je l’oublie.

     It feels like a hand that is resting on my left shoulder, that immobilizes it in a false position, as someone who would not want me to forget it would do.

   On dit de même. ― It seems like the same.

   On dirait de loin une barque; ce n’est peut-être qu’une planche. ― It looks like a small boat from afar; maybe it is not just a plank.

8. (transitive) to mean, to say, to state (to denote, to signify, to indicate, to mark)
   • 1951, Julien Gracq, Le Rivage des Syrtes, José Corti:

     La fidélité aux traditions, devenue presque maniaque, disait l’appauvrissement d’un sang incapable de recréer.

     Fidelity to tradition, which had become almost maniacal, meant the impoverishment of blood unable to recreate.

   • 1992, Frédéric Lasaygues, Back to la Zone, Paris: Éditions J'ai Lu:

     — Vous êtes au courant de l’arnaque ? C’est l’hypercherie ! L’embrouille totale. Tout est truqué. Silbermann, ça vous dit quelque chose ? C’est lui le cerveau de la magouille !

     — You're in the current of the con? It's the great deception! The total mix-up. Everything is falsified. Silbermann, does that mean anything to you? It is him the brain of the scheme!

   • (Can we date this quote?), Edmond Rostand, Cyrano de Bergerac, Act IV, Scene 4:

     Vous savez ce détail ?… En effet, il advint, / Durant que je faisais ma caracole afin / De rassembler mes gens pour la troisième charge, / Qu’un remous de fuyards m’entraîna sur la marge / Des ennemis ; j’étais en danger qu’on me prît / Et qu’on m’arquebusât, quand j’eus le bon esprit / De dénouer et de laisser couler à terre / L’écharpe qui disait mon grade militaire ;

     You know this detail?… Indeed, it happened, / That while I was making my caracole in order / To assemble my men for the third charge, / That a swirl of fleers drew me onto the fringe / Of the enemy; I was in danger of being captured / And of being arquebused, when I had the good sense / to untie and to let fall to the ground / the scarf that stated my military rank;

   Que veut dire ce retard ? ― What does this delay mean? (literally, “What does this delay want to say?”)

   Cela veut dire que… Cela ne dit rien. ― It means that… It does not say anything. (literally, “It wants to say that… It does not say anything.”)

   Que veut dire ceci ? ― What does this mean? (literally, “What does this want to say?”)

   Ce mot seul dit tout. ― This word alone says it all.

   Je ne sais ce que cela veut dire, je me sens mal à mon aise. ― I do not know what it means, I feel ill at my ease. (literally, “I do not know what it wants to say, I feel ill at my ease.”)

   On dit : cet homme est un lion, pour dire que c’est un homme plein de courage. ― One says: this man is a lion, to mean that he is a man full of courage.

9. (transitive, figuratively) to say, to tell (used when speaking of actions, of gestures, of looks, etc., that demonstrate someone's thinking)

   Mes yeux, mes regards vous disent que je vous aime. ― My eyes, my looks tell you that I love you.

   Sa contenance, son trouble, sa confusion disent assez qu’il est coupable. ― His composure, his trouble, his confusion say enough that he is guilty.

   Leur silence vous en dit assez, nous en dit long. ― Their silence tells you enough of it, tells us a lot of it.

   Cette femme a de beaux yeux, mais ils ne disent rien. (She has beautiful eyes, but they are devoid of vivacity, of expression.) ― This woman has beautiful eyes, but they do not say anything.

   Cette chose ne dit rien. (It does not produce any effect in the place that it occupies.) ― This thing does not say anything.

   Cela ne dit rien au cœur, à l’âme. (It touches not, moves not.) ― It does not say anything to the heart, to the soul

   Cela ne me dit rien. ― It does not tell me anything.

   Qui vous dit, qui vous a dit que…? (What reason do you have to believe that…? Are you sure that…?) ― Who tells you, who told you that…?

   Qui vous dit que j’ai cette intention ? ― Who tells you that I have that intention?

   Qui vous a dit que rien ne s’opposerait à vos desseins ? ― Who told you that nothing would be opposed to your designs?

   • 1896, Georges Feydeau, Le Dindon:

     VATELIN. — Ah ! non, ce que ça me dit ! Ce que ça me dit !… autant que de me ficher à l’eau !

     VATELIN. — Ah! no, what that tells me! What that tells me!… may as well thrust myself into the water!

10. (transitive, informal) to call out (to denounce)

    Aïe ! J’le dirai ! ― Ouch! I'mma call him out!

11. (intransitive) to say (to express what one thinks, what one feels, what one sees)
    • 2022, Maurice Henrie, La tête haute, University of Ottawa Press, page 158:

      Et vous vous réveillez un jour avec ce besoin irrépressible de « dire ».

      And you wake up one day with this irrepressible need to "say".

12. (reflexive) to say (to signify, to be used for a word, a phrase, a sentence)

    Ce mot se dit de telle chose. ― This word is said of such a thing.

    Ce proverbe se dit en parlant d’une personne qui…. ― This proverb is said when speaking of a person who….

    Cela ne se dit qu’en mauvaise part. ― It is said only in a bad way.

    Cela ne se dit plus. ― It is not said anymore.

13. (reflexive) to say (to claim, to assure that one has a certain quality)

    Il se dit votre parent, votre ami. ― He says he is your relative, your friend.

    Il se dit au courant de ce service et il n’y connaît rien. ― He says he is aware of this service, but he does not know anything about it.

    Ils se disaient envoyés par lui. ― They said they were sent by them.

    Il se disait malade. ― He said he was sick.

14. (reflexive, transitive) to say to oneself, to think to oneself, to tell oneself, to think (to make this or that reflection, to have this or that thought, to make this or that reasoning within oneself)
    • 1904, Frédéric Weisgerber, edited by Ernest Leroux, Trois mois de campagne au Maroc : étude géographique de la région parcourue, Paris, page 47:

      Ils jettent bien encore des regards de convoitise sur nos bêtes, mais nous nous tenons sur nos gardes, et, nous voyant disposés à nous défendre, ils doivent se dire que le jeu ne vaudrait peut-être pas la chandelle.

      They cast even more glances of covetousness at our beasts, but we stand on our guard, and, seeing us prepared to defend ourselves, they must think that the game would perhaps not be worth the candle.

    Je me le disais bien, je me l’étais bien dit. (I had a hunch about it.) ― I told myself so, I told myself so.

    Quelque chose me le dit. ― Something tells me that.

15. (informal, reflexive) to be of interest to, to interest [with à ‘someone’], to be up for, to be interested, to like to, to feel like (to be okay with, to be tempted by)

    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].

    Ça te dirait un cinéma ce week-end ? ― How about a movie this weekend? (literally, “Does a movie this weekend say to you?”)

    Carrément que ça me dit ! ― Totally I feel like it! (literally, “Totally it says to me!”)

16. (informal, reflexive) to sound familiar [with à ‘someone’]

    Ça me dit quelque chose. ― It rings a bell.

    Ça ne me dit rien. ― It doesn't ring a bell.

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

• diction
• indicible

dire m (plural dires)

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

• aux dires de

• Louisiana Creole: di

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

• ride, ridé

• dicere (archaic)

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈdi.re/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ire
• Hyphenation: dì‧re

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. (intransitive) to talk about, discuss [with di]
      • mid 13^th century, Gherardo Patecchio, Splanamento de li proverbi di Salomone, line 21; collected in Roberto Tagliani, editor, compiled by Maria Luisa Meneghetti, Il manoscritto Saibante-Hamilton 390 - Edizione critica‎^[4], 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 13^th century, Gherardo Patecchio, Splanamento de li proverbi di Salomone, lines 13–14; collected in Roberto Tagliani, editor, compiled by Maria Luisa Meneghetti, Il manoscritto Saibante-Hamilton 390 - Edizione critica‎^[5], 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

dire m (uncountable)

1. words

• Drei, Redi, idre, redi, ride

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈdiː.re/, [ˈd̪iːrɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈdi.re/, [ˈd̪iːre]

dīre

1. vocative masculine singular of dīrus

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

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

dire

1. to say (express using language)

• French: dire

• díder, díser

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈdi.ɾe/

• Audio (Languedoc):

  (file)

dire

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

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

dire

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

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.

• Middle French: dire
  • French: dire
• Norman: dithe
• Walloon: dire

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

• dir

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

dire

1. to say

• Occitan: dire

Inherited from Old French dire, from Latin dicere.

dire

1. to say

• Piveteau, Vianney (1996) Dicopoitevin‎^[6] (in French)

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

• IPA^(key): /diːʀ/

dire

1. to say