taire

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French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French taire, from Old French taire, remade from the original form taisir (analogically to verbs like plaire, etc., or from the future forms), itself from Latin tacēre, from Proto-Italic *takēō, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *tak- or *tHk-.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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taire

  1. (intransitive) to be quiet, to be silent
    faire taireto quieten, to silence, to shut up
    Faites taire vos enfants !
    Make your children be quiet!
    • 2021, Zaz, Tout là-haut:
      Si on s’en allait tout là-haut pour mieux s’imprégner des couleurs, saurions-nous faire taire notre égo ?
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. (reflexive, se taire) to shut up (oneself), to be quiet, to fall silent, to stop talking
    Tais-toi!Be quiet!/Shut up!
    • 2018, Zaz, On s'en remet jamais:
      Est-ce que la voix qu’on aimait tant peut finir un jour par se taire ?
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
    • 1837, Louis Viardot, L’Ingénieux Hidalgo Don Quichotte de la Manchefr.Wikisource, translation of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Volume I, Chapter XXIX:
      Elle se tut en achevant ces paroles, et la rougeur qui couvrit alors son visage fit clairement connaître les regrets et la confusion dont son âme était remplie.
      She fell silent on finishing these words, and the redness splashed across her face made perfectly clear the regrets and confusion which filled up her soul.
  3. (transitive) to keep (a matter) quiet, to keep secret, not to say
    Je l’ai entendu de quelqu’un dont je préfère taire le nom.
    I heard it from someone whose name I'd rather keep to myself.
    • 2023, Agence France-Presse, “La communauté LGBTQ+ brave l'interdiction de défiler à Istanbul”, in La Presse:
      Comme chaque année désormais, la Marche des Fiertés avait été interdite par le gouverneur de la ville, mais les manifestants brandissant des drapeaux arc-en-ciel se sont rassemblés plusieurs heures avant le début annoncé de la manifestation, en des lieux soigneusement tus jusqu’au dernier moment.
      Like every year in recent times, the pride march was banned by the city governor, but marchers waving rainbow flags gathered several hours before the time announced for the protest, in locations carefully kept quiet until the last moment.

Usage notes

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  • The intransitive sense is only used in the expression faire taire.

Conjugation

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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Old French

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Verb

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taire

  1. alternative infinitive of taisir

Conjugation

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This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb ends in a palatal stem, so there is an extra i before the e of some endings. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.