pincer

See also: pincér

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪnsəɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɪnsə(r)

Noun

pincer (plural pincers)

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

Derived terms

• pincer attack

Anagrams

• Prince, prince

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French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛ̃.se/

• audio

  (file)

Verb

pincer

1. to pinch (skin)
2. to pinch (to arrest)
3. (music) To pluck (a stringed instrument)

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)

		simple			compound
infinitive		pincer			avoir pincé
gerund		en pinçant			en ayant pincé
present participle		pinçant /pɛ̃.sɑ̃/
past participle		pincé /pɛ̃.se/
person		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il	nous	vous	ils
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 historic1	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	Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	past anterior1	Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	future perfect	Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	conditional perfect	Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il	que nous	que vous	qu’ils
simple tenses	present	pince /pɛ̃s/	pinces /pɛ̃s/	pince /pɛ̃s/	pincions /pɛ̃.sjɔ̃/	pinciez /pɛ̃.sje/	pincent /pɛ̃s/
	imperfect1	pinçasse /pɛ̃.sas/	pinçasses /pɛ̃.sas/	pinçât /pɛ̃.sa/	pinçassions /pɛ̃.sa.sjɔ̃/	pinçassiez /pɛ̃.sa.sje/	pinçassent /pɛ̃.sas/
compound tenses	past	Use the present subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect1	Use the imperfect subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
		—	pince /pɛ̃s/	—	pinçons /pɛ̃.sɔ̃/	pincez /pɛ̃.se/	—
1literary tenses

Anagrams

• prince

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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			Use the gerund of avoir followed by the 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	Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	past anterior	Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	future perfect	Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle
	conditional perfect	Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the 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	Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle
	pluperfect	Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the 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 le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).