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Where does the word "attire" come from? It comes from Frankish tieira, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
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Where does the word "attire" come from? It comes from Frankish tieira, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
Attire’s story begins in Frankish: tieira meant “row, order.” A Frankish word for order or rank. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as atirier. 'a-' plus 'tire', order: to put in order. It reached English by 1300s as attire. The noun 'attire', clothing, followed. Today, attire means clothes, especially formal ones.
- Stage 1 · Frankish · ancient tieira "row, order", a Frankish word for order or rank.
- Stage 2 · Old French · medieval atirier "to arrange, equip", 'a-' plus 'tire', order: to put in order.
- Stage 3 · English · 1300s attire "to dress", the noun 'attire', clothing, followed.