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pierce

Pronunciation: /pɪɹs/

The English word “pierce” has 7 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To puncture; to break through.
  2. To create a hole in the skin for the purpose of inserting jewelry.
  3. to break or interrupt abruptly
  4. To get to the heart or crux of (a matter).
  5. To penetrate; to affect deeply.

noun

  1. A piercing.
  2. A pierced earring.

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”).

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