Tarre

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic verb meaning to provoke, incite, or urge someone into a course of action, often into a quarrel or fight
2. Old-fashioned term for stirring someone up or spurring them on to act, especially toward conflict or hostility
3. Obsolete English verb for goading or pushing another person to behave in a particular, often aggressive, way

Etymology: The verb "tarre" is a classic case of a word that has drifted from its original sense. In Middle English, "tarien" or "taryen" meant "to vex, harass, cause to hesitate, or delay", and it descends from the Old English "tirġan", "terġan", or "tirian", meaning "to worry" or "exasperate". The sense of holding someone up or wearing them down is the thread running from those earlier meanings. The modern sense, to incite someone to quarrel, grows from the same idea of pushing a person until they lose their patience. Irritation that once made a person hesitate or delay became, over time, a deliberate prodding that sets two people against each other. The word has stayed close to its roots: to tarre is still to provoke, to keep at someone until they respond with anger.

Synonyms: incite, provoke, urge, goad, spur

Antonyms: calm, soothe, pacify