pincer

See also: pincér

English

Alternative forms

• pincher (dated or eggcorn)

Etymology

From Middle English pynsor, from Old French pinceure, pinchure, from pincier (“to pinch”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪnsəɹ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪnsə(ɹ)

Noun

pincer (plural pincers)

1. Any object that resembles one half of a pair of pincers.

Derived terms

• pincer attack
• pincer gate
• pincer movement

 

Verb

pincer (third-person singular simple present pincers, present participle pincering, simple past and past participle pincered)

1. (transitive, sometimes figurative) To surround with a pincer attack.
   • 1984, Robert Lamb, Competitive Strategic Management, page 115:

     After considering all frontal counteroffensive alternatives, Heublein rejected them as detrimental to its profits and came up with a brilliant pincering maneuver. It raised the price of Smirnoff by one dollar, effectively preventing segment diffusion, […]

   • 2004, Rex Weyler, Greenpeace:

     The minesweeper and the sea tug now came along either side, pincered the Vega, and seemed to be ushering it toward Moruroa, perhaps attempting to push the ketch inside the 12-mile limit.

Anagrams

• Prince, prince

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French pincier, pincer (“to pinch”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛ̃.se/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

pincer

1. to pinch (skin)
2. (informal) to pinch (to arrest)
3. (music) to pluck (a stringed instrument)
4. (colloquial) to fancy
   • 2024 May 25, “Couples Erasmus”, in Libération, →ISSN, page 5:

     Je devais accompagner à une soirée une copine espagnole qui en pinçait pour un Irlandais qui parlait danois, ce qui pour nous, à l’époque, était le summum de l’intégration.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Conjugation

This verb is part of a group of -er verbs for which 'c' is softened to a 'ç' before the vowels 'a' and 'o'.

Conjugation of pincer (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	pincer
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	pinçant /pɛ̃.sɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		pincé /pɛ̃.se/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	pince /pɛ̃s/	pinces /pɛ̃s/	pince /pɛ̃s/	pinçons /pɛ̃.sɔ̃/	pincez /pɛ̃.se/	pincent /pɛ̃s/
	imperfect	pinçais /pɛ̃.sɛ/	pinçais /pɛ̃.sɛ/	pinçait /pɛ̃.sɛ/	pincions /pɛ̃.sjɔ̃/	pinciez /pɛ̃.sje/	pinçaient /pɛ̃.sɛ/
	past historic2	pinçai /pɛ̃.se/	pinças /pɛ̃.sa/	pinça /pɛ̃.sa/	pinçâmes /pɛ̃.sam/	pinçâtes /pɛ̃.sat/	pincèrent /pɛ̃.sɛʁ/
	future	pincerai /pɛ̃.sʁe/	pinceras /pɛ̃.sʁa/	pincera /pɛ̃.sʁa/	pincerons /pɛ̃.sʁɔ̃/	pincerez /pɛ̃.sʁe/	pinceront /pɛ̃.sʁɔ̃/
	conditional	pincerais /pɛ̃.sʁɛ/	pincerais /pɛ̃.sʁɛ/	pincerait /pɛ̃.sʁɛ/	pincerions /pɛ̃.sə.ʁjɔ̃/	pinceriez /pɛ̃.sə.ʁje/	pinceraient /pɛ̃.sʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	pince /pɛ̃s/	pinces /pɛ̃s/	pince /pɛ̃s/	pincions /pɛ̃.sjɔ̃/	pinciez /pɛ̃.sje/	pincent /pɛ̃s/
	imperfect2	pinçasse /pɛ̃.sas/	pinçasses /pɛ̃.sas/	pinçât /pɛ̃.sa/	pinçassions /pɛ̃.sa.sjɔ̃/	pinçassiez /pɛ̃.sa.sje/	pinçassent /pɛ̃.sas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	pince /pɛ̃s/	—	pinçons /pɛ̃.sɔ̃/	pincez /pɛ̃.se/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Derived terms

• en pincer

Further reading

• “pincer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• prince

Old French

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *pinciāre (“to puncture, pinch”).

Verb

pincer

1. to pinch

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. The forms that would normally end in *-c, *-cs, *-ct are modified to z, z, zt. In addition, c becomes ç before an a, o or u to keep the /ts/ sound intact. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

    Conjugation of pincer (see also Appendix:Old French verbs)

		simple			compound
infinitive		pincer			avoir pincé
gerund		en pinçant			gerund of avoir + past participle
present participle		pinçant
past participle		pincé
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		jo	tu	il	nos	vos	il
simple tenses	present	pinz	pinces	pince	pinçons	pincez	pincent
	imperfect	pinçoie, pinceie, pinçoe, pinceve	pinçoies, pinceies, pinçoes, pinceves	pinçoit, pinceit, pinçot, pinceve	pinciiens, pinciens	pinciiez, pinciez	pinçoient, pinceient, pinçoent, pincevent
	preterite	pinçai	pinças	pinça	pinçames	pinçastes	pincerent
	future	pincerai	pinceras	pincera	pincerons	pinceroiz, pincereiz, pincerez	pinceront
	conditional	pinceroie, pincereie	pinceroies, pincereies	pinceroit, pincereit	pinceriiens, pinceriens	pinceriiez, pinceriez	pinceroient, pincereient
compound tenses	present perfect	present tense of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect tense of avoir + past participle
	past anterior	preterite tense of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future tense of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional tense of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que jo	que tu	qu’il	que nos	que vos	qu’il
simple tenses	present	pinz	pinz	pinzt	pinçons	pincez	pincent
	imperfect	pinçasse	pinçasses	pinçast	pincissons, pincissiens	pincissoiz, pincissez, pincissiez	pinçassent
compound tenses	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nos	vos	–
		—	pince	—	pinçons	pincez	—

Descendants

• Middle French: pincier, pincer
  • French: pincer
    • → Bavarian: pfitzen
    • → Dutch: pinsen, pitsen
• Norman: pînchi
• → Middle English: pinchen
  • English: pinch

Further reading

• “pincer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.