tyre

Etymology 1

The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the word derives from attire, while other sources suggest a connection with the verb to tie. The spelling tyre is used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and most current and former Commonwealth nations after being revived in the 19th century. Both tyre and tire were used in the 15th and 16th centuries. The United States and Canada did not adopt the revival of tyre, and tire is the only spelling currently used there.

noun

1. The ring-shaped protective covering around a wheel which is usually made of rubber or plastic composite and is either pneumatic or solid.
   pneumatic tyres
   runflat tyres
2. The metal rim, or metal covering on a rim, of a (wooden or metal) wheel, usually of steel or formerly wrought iron, as found on (horse-drawn or railway) carriages and wagons and on locomotives.
   Coordinate term: strakes
   iron tyres for the coach and iron shoes for the horse
   tyres and rails of steel, and every axle with roller bearings
   It is also curious that whereas brake-blocks made of certain compositions (other than cast iron) offer improved coefficients of friction, their use can reduce adhesion, and thereby increase the liability to skid (doubtless by tending to polish the tyres) by as much as 20 per cent. 1960 April, “The braking of trains”, in Trains Illustrated, page 237

verb

1. (transitive) To fit tyres to (a vehicle).
   The circular iron platform over there is used in the task of tyring the wheels, a warm job, too, by the way. 1929, The Listener, numbers 41-50, page 552

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Tamil தயிர் (tayir), itself from Sanskrit दधि (dádhi). Doublet of dahi.

noun

1. (India) Curdled milk.
   The boiled milk, that the family has not used, is allowed to cool in the same vessel; and a little of the former days tyre, or curdled milk, is added to promote its coagulation, and the acid fermentation. Next morning it has become tyre, or coagulated acid milk. 1809, The Annual Register, Or, A View of the History, Politics,[…], page 954

Etymology 3

Possibly a shortening of attire.

noun

1. (obsolete) Attire.

verb

1. (obsolete) To adorn.