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ciré

[ si-rey ]
/ sɪˈreɪ /
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noun
a brilliant, highly glazed surface produced on fabrics by subjecting them to a wax, heat, and calendering treatment.
a double fabric having such a finish.
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Origin of ciré

1920–25; <French <Latin cērātus waxed, equivalent to cēr(a) wax (see cere2) + -ātus-ate1

Words nearby ciré

circumvention, circumvolution, circumvolve, circus, Circus Maximus, ciré, Cirebon, Cirenaica, Cirencester, cire perdue, cirio
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ciré in a sentence

  • Very businesslike are the shoeblacks of Algiers; they dont mind what they cire as long as they cire something.

    In the Land of Mosques &amp; Minarets|Francis Miltoun

  • The French text begins thus: Pour trois livres de cire et de plomb pour faire les patrons que maitre Colman, armoyeur, a fait, &c.

    Spanish Arms and Armour|Albert F. Calvert

British Dictionary definitions for ciré

ciré
/ (ˈsɪəreɪ) /
adjective
(of fabric) treated with a heat or wax process to make it smooth
noun
such a surface on a fabric
a fabric having such a surface

Word Origin for ciré

C20: French, from cirer to wax, from cire, from Latin cēra wax
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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