étire

Étire is the present tense form of the French verb étirer, meaning to stretch or extend. It can be used transitively, as in étirer un tissu, to stretch fabric, or to stretch objects. In reflexive form, s’étirer describes the act of stretching oneself, as in s’étirer après une séance de sport. The verb covers physical stretching, as well as figurative extensions such as stretching limits or timelines.

Etymology and related forms: étirer comes from Old French estirer, with cognates across Romance languages such as estirar in Spanish or stendere in Italian, all sharing a core sense of pulling or extending. The noun étirement denotes the act or process of stretching, while the adjective étiré describes something that has been stretched or lengthened. The past participle is étiré and is used in compound tenses.

Conjugation and usage: In the present tense, the forms are je étire, tu étire, il/elle étire, nous étirons, vous étirez, ils/elles étirent. The imperative forms include étire (tu) and étirez (vous). The verb takes a direct object when used transitively (étirer le gant, étirer les muscles). The reflexive form s’étirer is common for daily routines, stretches, or warm-up activities.

See also: étirement (the act of stretching), étiré (stretched, elongated), étireur/étireuse (one who stretches, in specific contexts.

In summary, étire functions as a versatile verb in French, central to discussions of physical activity, tailoring, materials, and metaphorical extensions, with clear transitive and intransitive uses.