pincer

See also: pincér

English

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈpɪnsəɹ/
  • Rhymes: -ɪnsə(r)

Noun

pincer (plural pincers)

  1. Any object that resembles one half of a pair of pincers.

Derived terms

Verb

pincer (third-person singular simple present pincers, present participle pincering, simple past and past participle pincered)

  1. (transitive, sometimes figuratively) To surround with a pincer attack.
    • 1984, Robert Lamb, Competitive Strategic Management (page 115)
      After considering all frontal counteroffensive alternatives, Heublein rejected them as detrimental to its profits and came up with a brilliant pincering maneuver. It raised the price of Smirnoff by one dollar, effectively preventing segment diffusion, […]
    • 2004, Rex Weyler, Greenpeace
      The minesweeper and the sea tug now came along either side, pincered the Vega, and seemed to be ushering it toward Moruroa, perhaps attempting to push the ketch inside the 12-mile limit.

Anagrams

French

Etymology

From Old French pincier, pincer (“to pinch”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /pɛ̃.se/
  • audio(file)

Verb

pincer

  1. to pinch (skin)
  2. (informal) to pinch (to arrest)
  3. (music) To pluck (a stringed instrument)

Conjugation

This verb is part of a group of -er verbs for which ‘c’ is softened to a ‘ç’ before the vowels ‘a’ and ‘o’.

Conjugation of pincer (see also Appendix:French verbs)
present participle pinçant
/pɛ̃.sɑ̃/
past participle pincé
/pɛ̃.se/
infinitive
simple pincer
compound avoir + past participle
gerund1
simple pinçant
/pɛ̃.sɑ̃/
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 pince
/pɛ̃s/		 pinces
/pɛ̃s/		 pince
/pɛ̃s/		 pinçons
/pɛ̃.sɔ̃/		 pincez
/pɛ̃.se/		 pincent
/pɛ̃s/
imperfect pinçais
/pɛ̃.sɛ/		 pinçais
/pɛ̃.sɛ/		 pinçait
/pɛ̃.sɛ/		 pincions
/pɛ̃.sjɔ̃/		 pinciez
/pɛ̃.sje/		 pinçaient
/pɛ̃.sɛ/
past historic2 pinçai
/pɛ̃.se/		 pinças
/pɛ̃.sa/		 pinça
/pɛ̃.sa/		 pinçâmes
/pɛ̃.sam/		 pinçâtes
/pɛ̃.sat/		 pincèrent
/pɛ̃.sɛʁ/
future pincerai
/pɛ̃.sʁe/		 pinceras
/pɛ̃.sʁa/		 pincera
/pɛ̃.sʁa/		 pincerons
/pɛ̃.sʁɔ̃/		 pincerez
/pɛ̃.sʁe/		 pinceront
/pɛ̃.sʁɔ̃/
conditional pincerais
/pɛ̃.sʁɛ/		 pincerais
/pɛ̃.sʁɛ/		 pincerait
/pɛ̃.sʁɛ/		 pincerions
/pɛ̃.sə.ʁjɔ̃/		 pinceriez
/pɛ̃.sə.ʁje/		 pinceraient
/pɛ̃.sʁɛ/
(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 pince
/pɛ̃s/		 pinces
/pɛ̃s/		 pince
/pɛ̃s/		 pincions
/pɛ̃.sjɔ̃/		 pinciez
/pɛ̃.sje/		 pincent
/pɛ̃s/
imperfect2 pinçasse
/pɛ̃.sas/		 pinçasses
/pɛ̃.sas/		 pinçât
/pɛ̃.sa/		 pinçassions
/pɛ̃.sa.sjɔ̃/		 pinçassiez
/pɛ̃.sa.sje/		 pinçassent
/pɛ̃.sas/
(compound
tenses)		 past present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
pluperfect2 imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative – tu – nous vous –
simple — pince
/pɛ̃s/		 — pinçons
/pɛ̃.sɔ̃/		 pincez
/pɛ̃.se/		 —
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).

Further reading

Anagrams

Old French

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *pinciāre (“to puncture, pinch”).

Verb

pincer

  1. to pinch

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-c, *-cs, *-ct are modified to z, z, zt. In addition, c becomes ç before an a, o or u to keep the /ts/ sound intact. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of pincer (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)
simple compound
infinitive pincer avoir pincé
gerund en pinçant Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle
present participle pinçant
past participle pincé
person singular plural
first second third first second third
indicative jo tu il nos vos il
simple
tenses		 present pinz pinces pince pinçons pincez pincent
imperfect pinçoie, pinceie, pinçoe, pinceve pinçoies, pinceies, pinçoes, pinceves pinçoit, pinceit, pinçot, pinceve pinciiens, pinciens pinciiez, pinciez pinçoient, pinceient, pinçoent, pincevent
preterite pinçai pinças pinça pinçames pinçastes pincerent
future pincerai pinceras pincera pincerons pinceroiz, pincereiz, pincerez pinceront
conditional pinceroie, pincereie pinceroies, pincereies pinceroit, pincereit pinceriiens, pinceriens pinceriiez, pinceriez pinceroient, pincereient
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 pinz pinz pinzt pinçons pincez pincent
imperfect pinçasse pinçasses pinçast pincissons, pincissiens pincissoiz, pincissez, pincissiez pinçassent
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 –
— pince — pinçons pincez —

Descendants

Further reading
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.