English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English deyen, from Old English dīeġan and Old Norse deyja, both from Proto-Germanic *dawjaną (“to die”). Displaced Old English sweltan.
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.
- (still current) followed by with as an indication of manner:
- She died with dignity.
- (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.
- (Can we verify(+) this sense?) (intransitive) To become so hated as to be utterly ignored or cut off, 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.
- (Can we date this quote by Spectator and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- letting the secret die within his own breast
- (Can we date this quote by Tennyson and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- Great deeds cannot die.
- 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.
- (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
- 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
Related terms
Translations
See die/translations § Verb
Etymology 2
A pair of common dice with six sides each.
Various dice with different numbers of sides and distributions of values.
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.
- (Can we date this quote by Watts and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- words […] pasted upon little flat tablets or dies
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.
- (obsolete) That which is, or might be, determined, by a throw of the die; hazard; chance.
- (Can we date this quote by Spenser and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
- Such is the die of war.
- (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. See also the usage notes under "dice".
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
See die/translations § Noun
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.
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, [...]
Anagrams
- 'Eid, 'eid, -ide, EDI, EID, Eid, IDE, IED, Ide, eid, ide
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
- IPA(key): /di/
- IPA(key): /‿i/ (article only; contracted form, particularly after prepositions and conjunctions)
Article
die (definite)
- the (definite article)
die man ― the man
die vrou ― the woman
die kind ― the child
Pronoun
die
- this one, these; that one, those; he, she, it, they
- Ek het dokter toe gegaan en die het gesê ek moet in bed bly.
- I went to the doctor and he / she said I had to stay in bed.
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
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”).
Noun
die c
- breast milk, mother's milk, when sucked from the breast
Derived terms
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Verb
die (imperative di, infinitive at die, present tense dier, past tense diede, perfect tense har diet)
- to suck (being nursed)
References
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
Determiner
die
- that (masculine, feminine); referring to a thing or a person further away.
- die boom
- that tree
- die vrouw
- that woman
- those (plural); referring to things or people further away.
- die vensters
- those windows
Inflection
Pronoun
die m or f or pl
- (relative) who, whom, which, that
- Ik ken geen mensen die dat kunnen.
- I don't know any people who can do that.
- Oh, maar ik ken iemand die dat wel kan!
- Oh, but I know somebody who can!
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.
Descendants
GermanHunsrikInterlingua
Noun
die (plural dies)
- A day.
Derived terms
ItalianLatinMandarin
Romanization
die
- Nonstandard spelling of diē.
- Nonstandard spelling of dié.
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
Article
die
- the; definite article.
Inflection
This article needs an inflection-table template.
Descendants
Determiner
die
- that, those
- who, which, that
1249, Schepenbrief van Bochoute, Velzeke, eastern Flanders:Descepenen van bochouta quedden alle degene die dese lettren sien selen i(n) onsen here.- The aldermen of Bochoute address all who will see this letter by our lord.
Inflection
This determiner needs an inflection-table template.
Descendants
Further reading
- “die (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek[1], 2000
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J., “die (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek[2], The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1885–1929, →ISBN, page I
Etymology 2
From Old Dutch thīo, from Proto-Germanic *þeuhą.
Noun
dië f or n
- thigh
Descendants
Further reading
- “die (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek[3], 2000
- Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J., “die (IV)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek[4], The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1885–1929, →ISBN, page IV
MirandeseNorwegian BokmålNorwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
Probably from Danish die, from Old Danish di, from Germanic *dijana-, *dejana-
Verb
die (present tense diar, past tense dia, past participle dia, passive infinitive diast, present participle diande, imperative di)
- to suck, suckle (of a baby on the breast)
- to breastfeed, nurse (of a mother with her baby)
Alternative forms
References
- “die” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Pennsylvania GermanSaterland Frisian
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