Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

tirade

ti.rade \ti--'ra-d, 'ti-(*)r-.a-d\ n [F, shot, tirade, fr. MF, fr. OIt 
   tirata, fr. tirare to draw, shoot]; akin to Sp & Pg tirar to draw, shoot, 
   OF tirer : a protracted speech usu. marked by intemperate, vituperative, or 
   harshly  censorious language