die - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English deyen, probably from Old Norse deyja, from Proto-Germanic *dawjaną (“to die”). Displaced native Old English sweltan, whence Modern English swelt, and Old English steorfan, whence modern starve.

die (third-person singular simple present dies, present participle dying, simple past and past participle died)

  1. (intransitive) To stop living; to become dead; to undergo death.
    1. followed by of as an indication of direct cause; general use:
      He died of malaria.
      • 1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], chapter 6, in Oliver Twist; […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:
        "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, published 2002, page 85:
        In 1971 or 72, Mom's sister Carolyn Weimer died of breast cancer.
    2. followed by from as an indication of direct cause; general use, though somewhat more common in the context of medicine or the sciences:
      He died from heart failure.
      • 1865 March 4, British Medical Journal, 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, published 2007, page 191:
        "Or all of them will die from the plague. Even if most of the candidates succumb […] "
    3. 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, published 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, page 187:
        Less than three days later, Johnson lapsed into a coma in his jail cell and died for lack of insulin.
    4. (now rare) followed by with as an indication of direct cause:
      • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [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, published 1854, page 337:
        And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year was very frequent in the land.
    5. (now sometimes proscribed) followed by to as an indication of direct cause (like from):
      I can't believe I just died to a turret!
      • 2014, S. J. Groves, The Darker Side to Dr Carter, page 437:
        Dr Thomas concluded she had died to a blow to the head, which led to a bleed on the brain, probably a fall and had hit her head hard on the wooden bedpost, as there was blood on the bedpost.
    6. (still current) followed by with as an indication of manner:
      She died with dignity.
    7. (in bare form) to die in a certain form.
      Will I die a happy man?
  2. (transitive) To (stop living and) undergo (a specified death).
    He died a hero's death.
    They died a thousand deaths.
    • 2019, Lou Marinoff, On Human Conflict: The Philosophical Foundations of War and Peace, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 452:
      […] he chose instead to suffer even greater personal pain, with unimaginable fortitude and resolve, albeit for a shorter time. Thus he died a small death, in order to benefit the living. Similarly, a small and voluntary death was died by Socrates.
  3. (video games, slang) To lose or be eliminated from a game, particularly with a deathlike animation.
    Whenever my brother dies, he ragequits.
    • 1995, “Slobzone”, in Coming Soon! magazine‎[2] (video game review):
      Of course, Nazis are not present in this game. Instead, we have animals that will try to cover you with dirt. As soon as you get too dirty, you will die.
    • 2009, Brian Sulpher, 9:15–9:30 from the start, in Onto Doom And Gloom‎[3] (video game playthrough), via youtube:
      Oh look, I just died. […] I missed that jump again! That was dumb! Hey, I just died on the same freakin' Zinger.
  4. (intransitive, figuratively) To yearn intensely.
    I'm really dying to eat in that new restaurant.
    I'm dying for a piss.
    • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [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.
  5. (intransitive, uncommon, idiomatic) To be or become hated or utterly ignored or cut off, as if dead.
    The day our sister eloped, she died to our mother.
    • 2015, Emily Duvall, Inclusions, page 150:
      "My dad […] beat us until we couldn't sit down." […] "What about your mother?" […] "She's alive. […] My aunt visits her once a year, but I don't ask about my mother. She died to me the day she chose my father over protecting us." Luke's voice hitched with emotion.
    • 2017, Mike Hoornstra, Descent into the Maelstrom, page 366:
      "You haven't been my son since you were ten years old. That boy died to me the day he ran away. I don't know you. You are merely a shell that resembles someone I used to know, but you are dead to me. You are the bringer of pain and death. Leave me be. Leave me with my son, Jyosh." "Mother..." Barlun pleaded.
  6. (intransitive, figuratively) To become spiritually dead; to lose hope.
    He died a little inside each time she refused to speak to him.
    • 2011, Ingrid Michaelson, “Ghost”, in Human Again‎[4]:
      Do you know that I went down / To the ground / Landed on both my broken-hearted knees... / […] I didn't even cry / 'Cause pieces of me had already died
    • 2024, Gracie Abrams, Audrey Hobert, “That's So True”, in The Secret of Us‎[5], performed by Gracie Abrams:
      Made it out alive, but I think I lost it
      Said that I was fine, said it from the coffin
      Remember how I died when you started walking?
      That's my life, that's my life
  7. (intransitive, colloquial, hyperbolic) To be mortified or shocked by a situation.
    If anyone sees me wearing this ridiculous outfit, I'll die.
  8. (intransitive, figurative, 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.
  9. (intransitive, of a machine) To stop working; to break down or otherwise lose "vitality".
    My car died in the middle of the freeway this morning.
    Sorry I couldn't call you. My phone died.
    My battery died and my charger was at home.
  10. (intransitive, of a computer program) To abort, to terminate (as an error condition).
  11. (intransitive, of a legislative bill or resolution) To expire at the end of the session of a legislature without having been brought to a vote.
    The proposed gas tax died after the powerful rural senator refused to let it out of committee.
  12. To perish; to cease to exist; to become lost or extinct.
  1. To sink; to faint; to pine; to languish, with weakness, discouragement, love, etc.
  1. (often with "to") To become indifferent; to cease to be subject.
    to die to pleasure or to sin
  2. (architecture) To disappear gradually in another surface, as where mouldings are lost in a sloped or curved face.
  3. To become vapid, flat, or spiritless, as liquor.
  4. (of a stand-up comedian or a joke, slang) To fail to evoke laughter from the audience.
    Then there was that time I died onstage in Montreal...

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)

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”). Doublet of datum.

Replaced Old English tasul, tesul (“die”), from Latin tessella (“die, cube”).

die (plural dies)

  1. The cubical part of a pedestal; a plinth.
  2. A device for cutting into a specified shape.
  3. A device used to cut an external screw thread. (Internal screw threads are cut with a tap.)
  4. A mold for forming metal or plastic objects.
  5. An embossed device used in stamping coins and medals.
  6. (semiconductors, plural also dice) An oblong chip fractured from a semiconductor wafer engineered to perform as an independent device or integrated circuit.
    • 2002, John L. Hennessy, David A. Patterson, Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 19:
      The number of dies per wafer is basically the area of the wafer divided by the area of the die.
    • 2009, Paul R. Gray, Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits, 5th edition, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 159:
      Once the wafer has undergone the wafer-probe test, it is separated into individual dice by sawing or scribing and breaking. The dice are visually inspected, sorted, and readied for assembly into packages.
  7. Any small cubical or square body.
    • 1741, I[saac] Watts, The Improvement of the Mind: Or, A Supplement to the Art of Logick: […], London: […] James Brackstone, […], →OCLC:
      Some young creatures have learnt their letters and syllables, and the pronouncing and spelling of words, by having them pasted or written upon many little flat tablets or dies.

die (plural dice or (nonstandard) dies)

  1. An isohedral polyhedron, usually a cube, with numbers or symbols on each side and thrown in games of chance.
    Most dice are six-sided.
    I rolled the die and moved 2 spaces on the board.
    • 1748, [David Hume], “Of Probability”, in Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 94:
      If a Dye were mark’d with one Figure or Number of Spots on four Sides, and with another Figure or Number of Spots on the two remaining Sides, ’twould be more probable, that the former ſhould turn up than the latter;
    • 2000, Richard Shoup, edited by Barry Lenson, Take Control Of Your Life: How to Control Fate, Luck, Chaos, Karma, and Life’s Other Unruly Forces, McGraw-Hill, →ISBN, page 42:
      When you roll two dies—or three, or four—the odds of obtaining a specific number becomes complex in a logarithmic progression.
    • 2012, Rinaldo B. Schinazi, “Probability Space”, in Probability with Statistical Applications, 2nd edition, Birkhäuser, →ISBN, “Independent Events”, “Exercises”, page 16:
      We roll two dies repeatedly until we get the first double.
    • 2014, Ionut Florescu, Ciprian A. Tudor, Handbook of Probability, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., →ISBN:
      Roll two dies 24 times. What is the probability of rolling at least one double 6?
    • 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.
  2. (obsolete) That which is, or might be, determined, by a throw of the die; hazard; chance.

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".

Variant spelling.

die (plural dies)

  1. 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.

die (third-person singular simple present dies, present participle dying, simple past and past participle died)

  1. 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, [...]

Borrowed from Latin die (“[in a] day”), locative of Latin dies (“day”).

die (not comparable)

  1. (medicine, pharmacology) per day
    Clozapine 100 mg die a.m. ― Clozapine, 100 milligrams per day, given in the morning

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 and among non-native speakers of Dutch.

die (definite)

  1. the (definite article)
    die man ― the man
    die vrou ― the woman
    die kind ― the child

die

  1. this one, these; that one, those;
    Die dokter het gesê dat jy siek is. Die is die rede hoekom jy in die bed moet bly.
    The doctor said that you are sick. That is the reason why you must stay in bed.

die

  1. alternative form of dje (“yesterday”)

die (masculine allocutive ziek, feminine allocutive zien)

  1. third-person singular, with third-person plural indirect object and singular direct object, present indicative of izan (transitive auxiliary)

die (dative)

  1. (Niederbayerisch) to you

From Old Danish di, from Old Norse *día, from Proto-Germanic *dijōną, 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”).

The noun is derived from the verb.

die c

  1. breast milk, mother's milk, when sucked from the breast

Only used in the set phrase "give die".

die (imperative di, infinitive at die, present tense dier, past tense diede, perfect tense har diet)

  1. to suckle

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.

die m or f or pl (distal demonstrative, neuter dat)

  1. (singular) that; referring to a thing or a person further away.
    die boom ― that tree
    die vrouw ― that woman
  2. (plural) those; referring to things or people further away.
    die vensters ― those windows
  3. (Suriname, colloquial) a certain, a particular; some; this; referring to a thing or a person invisible or unknown to the audience.
    Die vrouw vraagt als iemand aardvruchten wil kopen. ― A woman is asking if anyone wants to buy root vegetables.
    Ik heb die wagen geslagen. ― I hit a car.

die m or f or pl (distal, neuter dat)

  1. (demonstrative) that (one) (singular)
    Ik weet niet welke ik moet kiezen. Deze is mooier, maar die is goedkoper. ― I don't know which one I should choose. This one is prettier, but that one is cheaper.
  2. (demonstrative) those (ones) (plural)
    Die zien er veel mooier uit dan de mijne. ― Those look a lot prettier than mine.
  3. (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!

A preceding comma may alter the meaning of a clause starting with a relative pronoun. Compare the following sentences:

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.

From Middle High German die (acc. f. sg. & nom./acc. m./f. pl.), originally distinguished from diu (nom. f. sg. & nom./acc. n. pl.). This distinction was lost early on in Central German, by the end of the Middle High German period also in Upper German. Ultimately from inflections of Proto-Germanic *sa, which see.

die (definite)

  1. nominative/accusative singular feminine of der
    die Frau ― the woman
  2. nominative/accusative plural of der
    die Männer ― the men

die (relative or demonstrative)

  1. inflection of der:
    1. nominative/accusative singular feminine
    2. nominative/accusative plural
    3. (in a subordinate clause as a relative pronoun) that; which; who; whom; whose
      Ich kenne eine Frau, die das kann. ― I know a woman who can do that.
    4. (as a demonstrative pronoun) this one; that one; these ones; those ones; she; her; it; they; them
      die da ― that one/she/they there

In a subordinate clause, die indicates a person or thing referenced in the main clause. It is used with plural or feminine singular antecedents.

die (definite)

  1. inflection of där:
    1. nominative/accusative singular feminine
    2. nominative/accusative plural

Hunsrik definite articles

| | singular | plural | | | | | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | | masculine | feminine | neuter | | | | | nominative/accusative | stressed | där | die /ˈtiː/ | das | die /ˈtiː/ | | unstressed | de | die /ˈti/ | das/'s | die /ˈti/ | | | dative | stressed | dem /ˈtɛm/ | där/denne | dem /ˈtɛm/ | denne | | unstressed | dem /ˈtəm/ | de | dem /ˈtəm/ | de | |

die

  1. she
  2. they

die (plural dies)

  1. A day.

Inherited from Latin diēs, back-formed from the accusative diem (whose vowel was once long), from Proto-Italic *djēm, from Proto-Indo-European *dyew- (“heaven, sky; to shine”). Doublet of dia.

die m (invariable)

  1. (Old Italian) alternative form of dì (“day”)
    • 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXX”, in Purgatorio [Purgatory], lines 103–105; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate], 2nd revised edition, Florence: Le Lettere, 1994:
      "Voi vigilate ne l’etterno die,
      sì che notte né sonno a voi non fura
      passo che faccia il secol per sue vie["]
      You keep watch in the eternal day, so that neither night nor sleep steals from you one step the age makes on its path."

die

  1. (pharmacy) each day, a day, used in prescriptions to denote daily consumption of a drug
    1 c[om]p[ressa]/die ― 1 tablet a day

Derived from English day.

die (plural **die dem, quantified **die)

  1. day

Appropriation of English die for a homophone.

die(だい) • (dai-)

  1. (slang, humorous) alternative spelling of 大 (dai)

diē m or f

  1. ablative/locative singular of diēs (“day”)
    sine die ― without a day

dīe

  1. vocative masculine singular of dīus

die

  1. nonstandard spelling of diē
  2. nonstandard spelling of dié

From Old Dutch thie, thia, from Proto-Germanic *sa.

die

  1. the (definite article)

die

  1. that, those
  2. 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.

From Old Dutch thīo, from Proto-Germanic *þeuhą.

dië f or n

  1. thigh

Weak feminine noun

| | singular | plural | | | ----------- | --------- | ---- | | nominative | dië | diën | | accusative | dië | diën | | genitive | dië, diën | diën | | dative | dië, diën | diën |

Weak neuter noun

| | singular | plural | | | ----------- | ------ | ---- | | nominative | dië | diën | | accusative | dië | diën | | genitive | diën | diën | | dative | dië | diën |

die

  1. alternative form of deyen (“to die”)

die

  1. alternative form of deyen (“to dye”)

die

  1. inflection of dër:
    1. accusative singular feminine
    2. nominative/accusative plural masculine/feminine

Inherited from Classical Latin diēs.

die m (plural dies)

  1. day

Probably from Danish die, from Old Danish di, from Germanic *dijana-, *dejana-

die (imperative di, present tense dier, passive dies, simple past and past participle dia or diet, present participle diende)

  1. to suck, suckle (of a baby on the breast)
  2. to breastfeed, nurse (of a mother with her baby)

Probably from Danish die, from Old Danish di, from Germanic *dijana-, *dejana-

die (present tense diar, past tense dia, past participle dia, passive infinitive diast, present participle diande, imperative **die/di)

  1. to suck, suckle (of a baby on the breast)
  2. to breastfeed, nurse (of a mother with her baby)

Pennsylvania German

[edit]

From Middle High German and Old High German diu, from Proto-Germanic *sa. Compare German die.

die (definite)

  1. nominative/accusative singular feminine of der
  2. nominative/accusative plural of der

die

  1. (personal) oblique of du

die

  1. alternative form of di

From Old Frisian thī, from Proto-West Germanic *þa, from Proto-Germanic *sa. Cognates include West Frisian de and German der.

die (unstressed de, oblique dän, feminine ju, neuter dät, plural do)

  1. the

From Old Frisian thī, from Proto-West Germanic *þiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *þiz. Cognates include West Frisian dy and German dir.

die

  1. thyself, yourself

Saterland Frisian reflexive pronouns

| | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ | | singular | mie | die | sik | | plural | uus | jou | |

die

  1. oblique of du; thee, you

From Proto-Oceanic *suʀi (“fishbone, thorn, splinter”), from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *zuʀi, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *duʀi, from Proto-Austronesian *duʀi (“thorn”).

die

  1. bone

die

  1. (text messaging) alternative spelling of diye

Proto-West Germanic *dag

Old English dæġ

Middle English day

Yola die

From Middle English day, from Old English dæġ, from Proto-West Germanic *dag. Cognate with Scots dy, dei.

die (plural dais)

  1. day[2]
    • 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, page 52:
      Leiough ut ee die.
      Idle out the day.
    • 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 102:
      Dhicka die fan ich want to a mile.
      That day when I went to the mill.
    • 1867, “ABOUT AN OLD SOW GOING TO BE KILLED”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 106:
      Mot earch oan to aar die. Ich mosth kotch a bat.
      But every one to his day. I must catch the bat.
    • 1867, “SONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 3, page 108:
      Shoo zent him o' die.
      She sent him one day.
    • 1867, “SONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 108:
      Shoo zent him anoor die a gozleen to keep;
      She sent him another day the goslings to keep;
  1. ^ Diarmaid Ó Muirithe (1990), “A Modern Glossary of the Dialect of Forth and Bargy”, in lrish University Review‎[1], volume 20, number 1, Edinburgh University Press, page 156
  2. ^ Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 35