die
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English deyen, from Old English dīġan, dīeġan (“to die”) and Old Norse deyja (“to die, pass away”), both from Proto-Germanic *dawjaną (“to die”) (compare Danish and Norwegian Bokmål dø, Norwegian Nynorsk døy, Low German döen, Middle Dutch doyen, douwen, Old High German touwen), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰew- (“to pass away; to die”) (compare Old Norse dá (“catalepsy”), Old Irish díth (“end, death”), Old Church Slavonic давити (daviti, “to strangle”), Albanian vdes (“to die”), vdekje (“death”), Armenian դի (di, “corpse”), Avestan 𐬛𐬎𐬎𐬀𐬌𐬛𐬍 (duuaidī, “we press”)).[1][2]. Displaced Old English sweltan and partially displaced Old English steorfan (whence Modern English starve).
Verb
die (third-person singular simple present dies, present participle dying, simple past and past participle died)
- (intransitive) To stop living; to become dead; to undergo death.
- followed by of; general use:
- He died of embarrassment.
- 1839, Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist, Penguin 1985, page 87:
- "What did she die of, Work'us?" said Noah. "Of a broken heart, some of our old nurses told me," replied Oliver.
- 2000, Stephen King, On Writing, Pocket Books 2002, page 85:
- In 1971 or 72, Mom's sister Carolyn Weimer died of breast cancer.
- followed by from; general use, though somewhat more common in the context of medicine or the sciences:
- He died from heart failure.
- 1865, British Medical Journal, 4 Mar 1865, page 213:
- She lived several weeks; but afterwards she died from epilepsy, to which malady she had been previously subject.
- 2007, Frank Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, Sandworms of Dune, Tor 2007, page 191:
- "Or all of them will die from the plague. Even if most of the candidates succumb. . ."
- followed by for; often expressing wider contextual motivations, though sometimes indicating direct causes:
- He died for the one he loved.
- 1961, Joseph Heller, Catch-22, Simon & Schuster 1999, page 232:
- Englishmen are dying for England, Americans are dying for America, Germans are dying for Germany, Russians are dying for Russia. There are now fifty or sixty countries fighting in this war.
- 2003, Tara Herivel & Paul Wright (editors), Prison Nation, Routledge 2003, page 187:
- Less than three days later, Johnson lapsed into a coma in his jail cell and died for lack of insulin.
- (now rare) followed by with as an indication of direct cause:
- 1600, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act III, Scene I:
- Therefore let Benedicke like covered fire, / Consume away in sighes, waste inwardly: / It were a better death, to die with mockes, / Which is as bad as die with tickling.
- 1830, Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon, Richards 1854, page 337:
- And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year was very frequent in the land.
- 1600, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act III, Scene I:
- (still current) followed by with as an indication of manner:
- She died with dignity.
- followed by of; general use:
- (transitive) To stop living and undergo (a specified death).
- He died a hero's death.
- They died a thousand deaths.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To yearn intensely.
- I'm dying for a packet of crisps.
- I'm dying for a piss.
- 1598, Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act III, Scene II:
- Yes, and his ill conditions; and in despite of all, dies for him.
- 2004 Paul Joseph Draus, Consumed in the city: observing tuberculosis at century's end - Page 168
- I could see that he was dying, dying for a cigarette, dying for a fix maybe, dying for a little bit of freedom, but trapped in a hospital bed and a sick body.
- (intransitive) To be utterly cut off by family or friends, as if dead.
- The day our sister eloped, she died to our mother.
- (intransitive, figuratively) To become spiritually dead; to lose hope.
- He died a little inside each time she refused to speak to him.
- (intransitive, colloquial, hyperbolic) To be mortified or shocked by a situation.
- If anyone sees me wearing this ridiculous outfit, I'll die.
- (figuratively, intransitive, hyperbolic) To be so overcome with emotion or laughter as to be incapacitated.
- When I found out my two favorite musicians would be recording an album together, I literally planned my own funeral arrangements and died.
- 1976, an anchorman on Channel Five in California, quoted in Journal and Newsletter [of the] California Classical Association, Northern Section:
- I literally died when I saw that.
- (intransitive, of a machine) To stop working, to break down.
- My car died in the middle of the freeway this morning.
- (intransitive, of a computer program) To abort, to terminate (as an error condition).
- To perish; to cease to exist; to become lost or extinct.
- Spectator
- letting the secret die within his own breast
- Tennyson
- Great deeds cannot die.
- Spectator
- To sink; to faint; to pine; to languish, with weakness, discouragement, love, etc.
- Bible, 1 Samuel xxv. 37
- His heart died within, and he became as a stone.
- Bible, 1 Samuel xxv. 37
- (often with "to") To become indifferent; to cease to be subject.
- to die to pleasure or to sin
- (intransitive, video games) To be killed by an enemy. Usually followed by to or another preposition.
- I can't believe I just died to a squirrel!
- (architecture) To disappear gradually in another surface, as where mouldings are lost in a sloped or curved face.
- To become vapid, flat, or spiritless, as liquor.
- (of a stand-up comedian or a joke) To fail to evoke laughter from the audience.
- Then there was that time I died onstage in Montreal...
Usage notes
- In Middle and Early Modern English, the phrase is dead was more common where the present perfect form has died is common today. Example:
- 1611, King James Bible
- I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Gal. 2:21)
Synonyms
- (to stop living): bite the dust, bite the big one, buy the farm, check out, cross over, cross the river, expire, succumb, give up the ghost, pass, pass away, pass on, be no more, cease to be, go to meet one's maker, be a stiff, push up the daisies, hop off the twig, kick the bucket, shuffle off this mortal coil, join the choir invisible
- See also Thesaurus:die
Derived terms
Translations
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References
- J. P. Mallory, Douglas Q. Adams, Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture (London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999), page 150, s.v. "death"
- Vladimir Orel, A Handbook of Germanic Etymology (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2003).
Etymology 2
From Middle English dee, from Old French de (Modern French dé), from Latin datum, from datus (“given”), the past participle of dō (“to give”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to lay out, to spread out”).
Noun
die (plural dies)
- The cubical part of a pedestal, a plinth.
- A device for cutting into a specified shape.
- A device used to cut an external screw thread. (Internal screw threads are cut with a tap.)
- A mold for forming metal or plastic objects.
- An embossed device used in stamping coins and medals.
- (electronics) (plural also dice) An oblong chip fractured from a semiconductor wafer engineered to perform as an independent device or integrated circuit.
- Any small cubical or square body.
- Watts
- words […] pasted upon little flat tablets or dies
- Watts
Noun
die (plural dice)
- A regular polyhedron, usually a cube, with numbers or symbols on each side and used in games of chance.
- 1748. David Hume. Enquiry concerning the human understanding. In: Wikisource. Wikimedia: 2007. § 46.
- If a die were marked with one figure or number of spots on four sides, and with another figure or number of spots on the two remaining sides, it would be more probable, that the former would turn up than the latter;
- 2017 December 8, “Adorable Kitten”, in Unstable, Wizards of the Coast:
- When this creature enters the battlefield, roll a six-sided die. You gain life equal to the result.
- 1748. David Hume. Enquiry concerning the human understanding. In: Wikisource. Wikimedia: 2007. § 46.
- (obsolete) That which is, or might be, determined, by a throw of the die; hazard; chance.
- Spenser
- Such is the die of war.
- Spenser
- (electronics) (plural also dies) An oblong chip fractured from a semiconductor wafer engineered to perform as an independent device or integrated circuit.
Usage notes
The game of dice is singular. Thus in "Dice is a game played with dice," the first occurrence is singular, the second occurrence is plural. Otherwise, using the plural dice as a singular instead of die is considered incorrect by most authorities, but has come into widespread use.
Synonyms
- cube of chance
- cube of fortune
Derived terms
Translations
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Etymology 3
Variant spelling.
Noun
die (plural dies)
- Obsolete spelling of dye
- 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones
- He hath carried his friendship to this man to a blameable length, by too long concealing facts of the blackest die.
- 1749, Henry Fielding, Tom Jones
Verb
die
- Obsolete spelling of dye
- 1739, John Cay, An abridgment of the publick statutes in force and use from Magna Charta, in the ninth year of King Henry III, to the eleventh year of his present Majesty King George II, inclusive, Drapery, XXVII. Sect. 16:
- Also no dyer shall die any cloth, except he die the cloth and the list with one colour, without tacking any bulrushes or such like thing upon the lists, upon pain to forfeit 40 s. for every cloth. And no person shall put to sale any cloth deceitfully dyed,
- 1813, James Haigh, The Dier's Assistant in the Art of Dying Wool and Woollen Goods:
- To die wool with madder, prepare a fresh liquor, and when the water is come to a heat to bear the hand, put in half a pound of the finest grape madder for each pound of wool;
- 1827, John Shepard, The artist & tradesman's guide: embracing some leading facts:
- To die Wool and Woollen Cloths of a Blue Colour. One part of indigo, in four parts concentrated sulphuric acid, dissolved; then add one part of dry carbonate of potash, [...]
- 1739, John Cay, An abridgment of the publick statutes in force and use from Magna Charta, in the ninth year of King Henry III, to the eleventh year of his present Majesty King George II, inclusive, Drapery, XXVII. Sect. 16:
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch die, which is used only as a demonstrative in Dutch. The replacement of the article de with stronger die is also common in Surinamese Dutch.
Pronunciation
Article
die (definite)
- the (definite article)
- die man ― the man
- die vrou ― the woman
- die kind ― the child
Pronoun
die
Usage notes
- The corresponding adjective form (“this”, “these”) is usually spelt dié in order to distinguish it from the definite article. This spelling is also sometimes used for the pronoun, though this is unnecessary.
Danish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /diːə/, [ˈd̥iːə]
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic [Term?], from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck, suckle”). Cognate with Latin fellō, Sanskrit धयति (dhayati, “to suck”). Compare causative dægge, Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌳𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (daddjan, “suckle”).
Derived terms
- savndiet
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch die, a merger of Old Dutch thie, thē, thia, thiu and similar forms of the demonstrative. As in Old High German ther, der it replaced the original masculine and feminine nominative forms from Proto-Germanic *sa.
Pronunciation
audio (file) - IPA(key): /di/
Determiner
die
Inflection
Dutch demonstrative determiners | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
Proximal | deze | deze | dit | deze |
Distal | die | die | dat | die |
Possessive | diens | dier | diens | dier |
Pronoun
die m or f or pl
Usage notes
A preceding comma may alter the meaning of a clause starting with a relative pronoun. Compare the following sentences:
- Alle arbeiders die staken zullen op sancties moeten rekenen.
- All workers who are on strike should expect sanctions.
- Alle arbeiders, die staken, zullen op sancties moeten rekenen.
- All workers, who are on strike, should expect sanctions.
In the first sentence, only the workers on strike are advised to expect sanctions. In the second sentence, the parenthetical phrase indicates that all the workers are on strike, and should all expect sanctions.
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /diː/ (stressed)
- IPA(key): /dɪ/ (unstressed)
audio (file) - Rhymes: -iː
Article
die (definite, feminine and plural form of der)
Declension
German definite articles | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
Nominative | der | die | das | die |
Genitive | des | der | des | der |
Dative | dem | der | dem | den |
Accusative | den | die | das | die |
Pronoun
die (relative or demonstrative)
Usage notes
In a subordinate clause, die indicates a person or thing referenced in the main clause. It is used with plural or feminine singular antecedents.
Hunsrik
Alternative forms
- ti (Wiesemann spelling system)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ti(ː)/
Article
die (definite)
- inflection of där:
- nominative and accusative singular feminine
- nominative and accusative plural all genders
Declension
Interlingua
Derived terms
- De die in die (“From day to day”)
- Un die (“One day, sometime”)
- Le die sequente (“The next day, the following day”)
Italian
Etymology
From Latin diēs, back-formed from the accusative diem (whose vowel was once long), from Proto-Italic *djēm, the accusative of *djous, from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“heaven, sky; to shine”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈdi.e/, [ˈd̪iːe]
- Hyphenation: dì‧e
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈdi.eː/
Mandarin
Usage notes
- English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.
Middle Dutch
Etymology 1
From Old Dutch thie, thia, from Proto-Germanic *sa.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /diə/, /di/
Inflection
This article needs an inflection-table template.
Determiner
die
Inflection
This determiner needs an inflection-table template.
Further reading
Etymology 2
From Old Dutch thīo, from Proto-Germanic *þeuhą.