Pierce

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /pɪɹs/

Definitions

1. To make a hole in or through something by forcing a pointed object into it ; to go into or through something by piercing ; to affect deeply by causing emotional pain
2. To stab or puncture an object or surface ; to pass into or through something piercingly ; to cause sharp feelings of hurt or sadness
3. To create an opening by pushing a sharp point through ; to enter or penetrate something solidly ; to produce a strong emotional impact that causes distress

Etymology: Old English had a plain native word for this job, þȳrlian, which meant "to hole" something, but over the Middle English period it was displaced by a French import. The borrowed verb arrived in English as "perce," taken from forms of the Old French "percier," meaning "I pierce." That French verb probably came from a Vulgar Latin "pertūsiō," built from Latin "pertundō," "thrust or bore through," which joined "per-" ("through") to "tundō" ("beat, pound"). So the core idea is hammering through something until a hole appears. The word's most surprising detour is into jewellery. Borrowed into Japanese as "piasu," the term came to mean a "pierced earring," a sense the English original never gained on its own. Japanese speakers took the English verb and turned it into a noun for a specific piece of jewellery, so a Latin word for beating through now reaches Japanese ears as the name of an accessory.

Synonyms: puncture, stab, perforate, penetrate, cut

Antonyms: close, seal, block, cover