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tier1

[teer]
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noun
  1. one of a series of rows or ranks rising one behind or above another, as of seats in an amphitheater, boxes in a theater, guns in a man-of-war, or oars in an ancient galley.
  2. one of a number of galleries, as in a theater.
  3. a layer; level; stratum: The wedding cake had six tiers. All three tiers of the firm's management now report to one director.
  4. Australian. a mountain range.
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verb (used with object)
  1. to arrange in tiers.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to rise in tiers.
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Origin of tier1

1560–70; earlier also tire, tyre, teare < Middle French, Old French tire, tiere order, row, rank < Germanic; compare Old English, Old Saxon tīr, Old High German zēri glory, adornment
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tiering

Historical Examples

  • A foot above the top of these, another line may be made; and so on, tiering them up to the height intended to devote to them.

    Rural Architecture

    Lewis Falley Allen

British Dictionary definitions for tiering

tier1

noun
  1. one of a set of rows placed one above and behind the other, such as theatre seats
    1. a layer or level
    2. (in combination)a three-tier cake
  3. a rank, order, or row
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verb
  1. to be or arrange in tiers
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Word Origin

C16: from Old French tire rank, of Germanic origin; compare Old English tīr embellishment

tier2

noun
  1. a person or thing that ties
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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

Word Origin and History for tiering

tier

n.

"row, rank, range," 1560s, from Middle French tire, from Old French tire "rank, sequence, order" (early 13c.), probably from tirer "to draw, draw out" (see tirade). Some suggests the French noun is from a Germanic source akin to Old High German ziari, German Zier "adornment," Old English tir "glory, honor."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper