Meaning: tie

Illustrative Context

He tied the two sticks together.

Target Sense

• The most generic transitive verb for tie in a prototypical case of attaching two things, of roughly the same size, by means of string or rope, with some form of knot.
• Enter the default term from basic vocabulary that would be used in that prototypical case, and in the illustrative context.
• The target sense is that of ‘binding’ by means of string/rope and knots, not that of adherence, e.g. by some form of glue. Avoid, therefore, terms for which the default meaning is specifically adherence: e.g. stick, adhere, French coller.
• Languages differ considerably in their segmentation of this semantic space, and in the precise range of contexts across which the most basic term can be applied.
  • English tie is relatively narrowly limited to string/rope and knots, and thus the clear target lexeme in English.
  • French attacher can be applied more generally, but is nonetheless also the default verb in the target sense and in the illustrative context, where indeed it would by default be taken to mean specifically tie with string and a knot, if not otherwise specified or clear contextually. As such, attacher is therefore the target lexeme in French.
• Avoid, however, broader and vaguer terms that would be hypernyms to English tie, e.g. attach, and whose default interpretation in the illustrative context would not be that of tying by string and a knot. This would be the inference, for example, on hearing He attached the two sticks (together) in English. Given that the more basic term tie is available, highly appropriate and default when using string and knots, where tie is not used, and less basic attach is used instead, the pragmatic implication is that the context must be one where string and knots were not used.
• Avoid terms that are narrower in that they inherently specify the purpose of the tying, such as to stop an animal (horse, dog, etc.) or imprisoned person from getting free (e.g. English tie up), to harness or yoke a draught animal to a plough or carriage (e.g. French atteler), to tie a saddle on to a horse, etc..
• Avoid verbs that are narrower in that they take as their object only things of a particular type, such as animals (see above), or boats, e.g. moor, French amarrer.
• Avoid verbs that are narrower in that they take as their object the actual strings or knot, rather than the things tied together with those strings, e.g. French nouer, or English knot as a verb.
• Avoid narrower terms for any of various other means of attaching things together, e.g. English strap, clip, buckle, etc..
• Avoid terms that are narrower in bearing the specific sense of adding a piece onto an existing object, generally a smaller one onto a larger object (an alternative use of English attach, for example).
• Avoid intensifying or attenuating terms that inherently imply that the tying is particularly tight (e.g. English bind) or loose.
• The target sense is the literal one, as in the illustrative context, involving actual strings and sticks. Do not enter additional lexemes that are predominantly used for figurative extensions of tying, e.g. to express particular closeness, accompaniment, emotional ‘attachment’, constraints, duty, etc..