bear
- bear
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bear (
n.)
O.E. bera "
bear,"
from P.Gmc. *beron,
lit. "
the brown (one)" (
Cf. O.N. björn,
M.Du. bere,
Du. beer,
O.H.G. bero,
Ger. Bär),
from PIE *bher- (
3) "
bright, brown" (
see BROWN (
Cf. brown)).
Greek arktos and Latin ursus retain the PIE root word for "
bear" (
*rtko),
but it is believed to have been ritually replaced in the northern branches because of hunters'
taboo on names of wild animals (
Cf. the Irish equivalent "
the good calf,"
Welsh "
honey-pig,"
Lithuanian "
the licker,"
Rus.
medved "
honey-eater").
Others connect the Germanic word with Latin ferus "
wild,"
as if it meant "
the wild animal (
par excellence)
of the northern woods."
Symbolic of Russia since 1794. Used of uncouth persons since 1570s. Stock market meaning "speculator for a fall" is 1709 shortening of bearskin jobber (from the proverb sell the bearskin before one has caught the bear); i.e. "one who sells stock for future delivery, expecting that meanwhile prices will fall." Paired with bull from c.1720. Bear claw as a type of large pastry is from 1942, originally chiefly western U.S.
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bear (
v.)
O.E. beran "
to bear, bring; bring forth, produce; to endure, sustain; to wear" (
class IV strong verb;
past tense bær,
pp. boren),
from P.Gmc. *beranan (
Cf. O.S. beran,
O.Fris. bera,
O.H.G. beran,
Ger. gebären,
O.N. bera,
Goth. bairan "
to carry, bear, give birth to"),
from PIE root *bher- (
1)
meaning both "
give birth" (
though only English and German strongly retain this sense,
and Russian has beremennaya "
pregnant")
and "
carry a burden, bring" (
see INFER (
Cf. infer)).
Ball bearings "
bear"
the friction.
Many senses are from notion of "
move onward by pressure."
O.E. past tense bær became M.E. bare;
alternative bore began to appear c.1400,
but bare remained the literary form till after 1600.
Past participle distinction of borne for "
carried"
and born for "
given birth"
is from late 18c.
To bear (something) in mind is from 1530s.
Etymology dictionary.
2014.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
Bear — (b[^a]r), v. t. [imp. {Bore} (b[=o]r) (formerly {Bare} (b[^a]r)); p. p. {Born} (b[^o]rn), {Borne} (b[=o]rn); p. pr. & vb. n. {Bearing}.] [OE. beren, AS. beran, beoran, to bear, carry, produce; akin to D. baren to bring forth, G. geb[ a]ren, Goth … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
bear — Ⅰ. bear [1] ► VERB (past bore; past part. borne) 1) carry. 2) have as a quality or visible mark. 3) support (a weight). 4) (bear oneself) behave in a specified manner: she bore herself w … English terms dictionary
bear — bear; bear·a·ble; bear·baiting; bear·bine; bear·ish; bear·skin; bear·ward; bug·bear; cud·bear; for·bear·ance; for·bear·ant; for·bear·er; for·bear·ing·ly; for·bear·ing·ness; fore·bear; over·bear·ance; over·bear·ing·ly; bear·er; bear·ing; for·bear; … English syllables
Bear — (b[^a]r), n. [OE. bere, AS. bera; akin to D. beer, OHG. bero, pero, G. b[ a]r, Icel. & Sw. bj[ o]rn, and possibly to L. fera wild beast, Gr. fh r beast, Skr. bhalla bear.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) Any species of the genus {Ursus}, and of the… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Bear — (b[^a]r), v. i. 1. To produce, as fruit; to be fruitful, in opposition to barrenness. [1913 Webster] This age to blossom, and the next to bear. Dryden. [1913 Webster] 2. To suffer, as in carrying a burden. [1913 Webster] But man is born to bear.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
bear — bear1 [ber] vt. BORE, borne (see 3), bearing, bore, born [ME beren < OE beran < IE base * bher , to carry, bring > L ferre, Gr pherein, Sans bharati, (he) bears] 1. a) to hold and take along; carry; transport b) to hold in the m … English World dictionary
bear — vb 1 *carry, convey, transport, transmit Analogous words: *move, remove, shift, transfer: hold, *contain 2 Bear, produce, yield, turn out are comparable when they mean to bring forth as products. Bear usually implies a giving birth to offspring… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Bear — (engl. Bär ) steht für: Mount Bear, Berg in Alaska Tupolew Tu 95 „Bear“, ein sowjetischen Langstreckenbomber Mitglieder der Bear Community Orte in den Vereinigten Staaten: Bear (Arkansas) Bear (Delaware) Bear (Idaho) Bear (Washington) Bear ist… … Deutsch Wikipedia
bear — / bar/ vb bore / bōr/, borne, / bōrn/, also, born vt 1: to physically carry (as an object or message) the right of the people to keep and bear arms U.S. Constitution amend. II … Law dictionary
BEAR — (Heb. דֹּב; dov). In ancient times the Syrian brown bear, Ursus arctos syriacus, had its habitat within the borders of Ereẓ Israel; it was found in the forests of Lebanon until World War I and is still occasionally reported in Lebanon and… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
BEAR — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Bear peut désigner : le nom breton du village de Bégard ; un terme en anglais pour : ours ou porter ; la ville de Bear, aux États… … Wikipédia en Français
