pierce
/pɪɹs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.93 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A piercing.
noun
name
A male given name from Ancient Greek, medieval variant of Piers. Modern usage may also derive from the surname.
Example Sentences
- "The diver pierced the surface of the water with scarcely a splash."
- "to pierce the enemy's line"
- "A shot pierced the ship."
- "I pierce her open back, or tender side"
- "What appliance can pierce through the outer layers of a star and test the conditions within?"
- "Can you believe he pierced his tongue?"
Etymology
From Middle English perce, from conjugated forms of Old French percier such as (jeo) pierce (“I pierce”), probably from Vulgar Latin *pertūsiō, from Latin pertūsus, past participle of pertundō (“thrust or bore through”), from per- (“through”) + tundō (“beat, pound”). Displaced native Old English þȳrlian (literally “to hole”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pɪɹs/
- British English: /pɪəs/