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bear

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Bear, beár, béar, and bèar

English

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Brown bear (Ursus arctos)

Etymology 1

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From Middle English bere, from Old English bera, from Proto-West Germanic *berō, from Proto-Germanic *berô, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”).

Cognate with Saterland Frisian Boar, Boare (“bear”), West Frisian bear (“bear”), Cimbrian, Mòcheno per (“bear”), Dutch beer (“bear”), German Bär (“bear”), German Low German Boor (“bear”), Limburgish baer, Béër (“bear”), Luxembourgish Bier (“bear”), Vilamovian baor, bar (“bear”), West Flemish beir (“bear”), Yiddish בער (ber, “bear”), Danish, Faroese, and Norwegian Bokmål bjørn (“bear”), Icelandic, Swedish björn (“bear”), Norwegian Nynorsk bjøinn, bjønn, bjørn (“bear”), Gothic *𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰 (*baira, “bear”).

show ▼etymology notes

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bear (countable and uncountable, plural bears)

  2. A large, generally omnivorous mammal (a few species are purely carnivorous or herbivorous), having shaggy fur, a very small tail, and flat feet; a member of the family Ursidae.
    1. (cooking, uncountable) The meat of this animal.
      We had barbecued bear for dinner.
  3. (figuratively) A rough, unmannerly, uncouth person. [1579] quotations ▼
  4. (finance) An investor who sells commodities, securities, or futures in anticipation of a fall in prices. [1744] antonym ▲quotations ▼
    Antonym: bull
  5. (CB radio, slang, US) A state policeman (short for Smokey Bear). [1970s] quotations ▼
  6. (gay slang) A large, hairy man, especially one who is homosexual. [c. 1970][2] quotations ▼ antonym ▲
    Antonym: twink
  7. (Australia) A koala (bear). quotations ▼
  8. (engineering) A portable punching machine.
  9. (nautical) A block covered with coarse matting, used to scour the deck.
  10. (cartomancy) The fifteenth Lenormand card.
  11. (colloquial, US) Something difficult or tiresome; a burden or chore. quotations ▼
    That window can be a bear to open.
Synonyms
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Coordinate terms
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Derived terms
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Descendants
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Translations
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See bear/translations § Noun.

Verb

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bear (third-person singular simple present bears, present participle bearing, simple past and past participle beared)

  1. (finance, transitive) To endeavour to depress the price of, or prices in.
    to bear a railroad stock
    to bear the market

Adjective

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bear (not comparable)

  1. (finance, investments) Characterized by declining prices in securities markets or by belief that the prices will fall.
    The great bear market starting in 1929 scared a whole generation of investors.
Translations
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ringe, Donald (2006), From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic (A Linguistic History of English; 1)‎[1], Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 106
  2. ^ Matthew D. Johnson (2004), “Bear Movement”, in Archives of the glbtq Encyclopedia Project‎[2] (PDF), archived from the original on 10 January 2017: “Bear culture has its origins in informal "chubby and chubby-chaser" networks among gay men in the late 1960s and early 1970s.”

Further reading

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Etymology 2

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    From Middle English beren (“carry, bring forth”), from Old English beran (“to carry, bear, bring”), from Proto-West Germanic *beran, from Proto-Germanic *beraną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéreti, from *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”).

    Akin to Old High German beran (“carry”), Dutch baren, Danish bære, Norwegian Bokmål bære, Norwegian Nynorsk bera, German gebären, Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (bairan), Sanskrit भरति (bharati), Latin ferō, and Ancient Greek φέρω (phérō), Albanian bie (“to bring, to bear”), Russian брать (bratʹ, “to take”), Persian بردن (bordan, “to take, to carry”).

    Pronunciation

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    • like bear (“large ursine mammal”) (/bɛə(ɹ)/)

    Verb

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    bear (third-person singular simple present bears, present participle bearing, simple past bore or (archaic) bare, past participle borne or (colloquial) bore or (see usage notes) born)

    2. (chiefly transitive) To carry or convey, literally or figuratively. quotations ▼
      They came bearing gifts.
      Judging from the look on his face, he wasn't bearing good news.
      The little boat bore us to our destination.
      This plant's light and fluffy seeds may be borne by the wind to remote islands.
      what the market will bear
      1. (transitive) To carry (weapons, flags or symbols of rank, office, etc.) upon one's person, especially visibly; to be equipped with (weapons, etc.).
        the right to bear arms
      2. (transitive) To wear (garments, pieces of jewellery, etc.).
        The queen bore the royal scepter and crown as she processed into the hall.
      3. (transitive, rarely intransitive, of a woman or female animal) To carry (offspring in the womb), to be pregnant (with).
        The scan showed that the ewe was bearing twins.
      4. (transitive) To have or display (a mark or other feature). quotations ▼
        She still bears the scars from a cycling accident.
        The stone bears a short inscription.
        This bears all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack.
      5. (transitive) To display (a particular heraldic device) on a shield or coat of arms; to be entitled to wear or use (a heraldic device) as a coat of arms. [1400]
        The shield bore a red cross.
      6. (transitive) To present or exhibit (a particular outward appearance); to have (a certain look). [1200] quotations ▼
        He bore the look of a defeated man.
      7. (transitive) To have (a name, title, or designation). [1225] quotations ▼
        The school still bears the name of its founder.
      8. (transitive) To possess or enjoy (recognition, renown, a reputation, etc.); to have (a particular price, value, or worth). [1393]
        The dictator bears a terrible reputation for cruelty.
      9. (transitive, of an investment, loan, etc.) To have (interest or a specified rate of interest) stipulated in its terms. [1686]
        The bond bears a fixed interest rate of 3.5%.
      10. (transitive, of a person or animal) To have (an appendage, organ, etc.) as part of the body; (of a part of the body) to have (an appendage).
        Only the male Indian elephant bears tusks.
      11. (transitive) To carry or hold in the mind; to experience, entertain, harbour (an idea, feeling, or emotion). quotations ▼
        to bear a grudge, to bear ill will
      12. (transitive, rare) To feel and show (respect, reverence, loyalty, etc.) to, towards, or unto a person or thing.
        The brothers had always borne one another respect.
      13. (transitive) To possess inherently (a quality, attribute, power, or capacity); to have and display as an essential characteristic.
        to bear life
      14. (transitive, of a thing) To have (a relation, correspondence, etc.) to something else. [1556]
        The punishment bears no relation to the crime.
      15. (transitive) To give (written or oral testimony or evidence); (figurative) to provide or constitute (evidence or proof), give witness.
        His achievements bear testimony to his ability.
        The jury could see he was bearing false witness.
      16. (transitive) To have (a certain meaning, intent, or effect). quotations ▼
        This word no longer bears its original meaning.
      17. (reflexive, transitive) To behave or conduct (oneself). quotations ▼
        She bore herself well throughout the ordeal.
      18. (transitive, rare) To possess and use, to exercise (power or influence); to hold (an office, rank, or position). quotations ▼
      19. (intransitive, obsolete) To carry a burden or burdens. [1450]
      20. (transitive, obsolete, rare) To take or bring (a person) with oneself; to conduct. [1590] quotations ▼
    3. To support, sustain, or endure.
      2. (transitive) To support or sustain; to hold up.
        This stone bears most of the weight.
      4. (now transitive outside certain set patterns such as 'bear with'; formerly also intransitive) To endure or withstand (hardship, scrutiny, etc.); to tolerate; to be patient (with). synonyms ▲quotations ▼
        Synonyms: brook, endure; see also Thesaurus:tolerate
        The pain is too much for me to bear.
        It doesn’t bear thinking about.
        I would never move to Texas — I can't bear heat.
        This reasoning will not bear much analysis.
        Please bear with me as I try to find the book you need.
      5. (transitive) To sustain, or be answerable for (blame, expense, responsibility, etc.). synonym ▲quotations ▼
        Synonym: meet
        The hirer must bear the cost of any repairs.
      6. (transitive) To admit or be capable of (a meaning); to suffer or sustain without violence, injury, or change. quotations ▼
      7. (transitive) To warrant, justify the need for. quotations ▼
        This storm definitely bears monitoring.
    4. To support, keep up, or maintain.
      1. (transitive) To afford, to be something to someone, to supply with something. (Can we add an example for this sense?) quotations ▼
      2. (transitive) To carry on, or maintain; to have. (Can we add an example for this sense?) quotations ▼
    5. To press or impinge upon.
      1. (intransitive, usually with on, upon, or against) To push, thrust, press. quotations ▼
        The rope has frayed where it bears on the rim of the wheel.
      2. (intransitive, figuratively) To take effect; to have influence or force; to be relevant.
        to bring arguments to bear
        How does this bear on the question?
      3. (intransitive, military, usually with on or upon) Of a weapon, to be aimed at an enemy or other target. quotations ▼
        The cannons were wheeled around to bear upon the advancing troops.
    6. To produce, yield, give birth to.
      2. (transitive, ditransitive) To give birth to (someone or something) (may take the father of the direct object as an indirect object). quotations ▼
        In Troy she becomes Paris’ wife, bearing him several children, all of whom die in infancy.
        The twins were borne by an Italian mother.
      3. (transitive, less commonly intransitive) To produce or yield something, such as fruit or crops. quotations ▼
        This year our apple trees bore a good crop of fruit.
    7. (intransitive, originally nautical) To be, or head, in a specific direction or azimuth (from somewhere).
      Carry on past the church and then bear left at the junction.
      By my readings, we're bearing due south, so we should turn about ten degrees east.
      Great Falls bears north of Bozeman.
    8. (transitive, obsolete) To gain or win. quotations ▼
    Usage notes
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    • The past participle of bear is usually borne:
      • He could not have borne that load.
      • She had borne five children.
      • This is not to be borne!
    • However, when bear is used in the passive voice to mean "to be given birth to" literally or figuratively (e.g. be created, be the result of), the form used is born:
      • She was born on May 3.
      • Racism is usually born out of a real or feared loss of power to a minority or a real or feared decrease in relative prosperity compared to that of the minority.
      • Born three years earlier, he was the eldest of his siblings.
      • "The idea to create [the Blue Ridge Parkway] was born in the travail of the Great Depression […] ." (Tim Pegram, The Blue Ridge Parkway by Foot: A Park Ranger's Memoir, →ISBN, 2007, page 1)
    • Both spellings have been used in the construction born(e) into the world/family and born(e) of or to someone (as a child). The borne spellings are more frequent in older and religious writings.
      • He was born(e) to Mr. Smith.
      • She was born(e) into the most powerful family in the city.
      • "[M]y father was borne to a Swedish mother and a Norwegian father, both devout Lutherans." (David Ross, Good Morning Corfu: Living Abroad Against All Odds, →ISBN, 2009)
    • In some colloquial speech, beared can be found for both the simple past and the past participle, although it is usually considered nonstandard and avoided in writing. Similarly, bore may be extended to the past participle; the same provisos apply for this form.
    Conjugation
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    show ▼Conjugation of bear
    infinitive (to) bear
    present tense past tense
    1st-person singular bear bore, bare†
    2nd-person singular bear, bearest† bore, bare†, borest†, barest†
    3rd-person singular bears, beareth† bore, bare†
    plural bear
    subjunctive bear bore, bare†
    imperative bear —
    participles bearing borne, bore, born1

    † Archaic or obsolete. 1 See usage notes.

    Derived terms
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    Translations
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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    show ▼Translations to be checked

    References

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    Etymology 3

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      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      bear (uncountable)

      1. Alternative spelling of bere (“barley”). quotations ▼
      Derived terms
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      Etymology 4

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      From Middle English bere (“pillowcase”), of obscure origin, but compare Old English hlēorbera (“cheek-cover”). Possibly cognate to Low German büre, whence German Bühre, which in turn has been compared to French bure.

      Pronunciation

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      • (originally) like bear (“large ursine mammal”) (/bɛə(ɹ)/)
      • (later sometimes) like bear (“barley”) (/bɪə(ɹ)/) (compare pillowbeer)

      Noun

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      bear (uncountable)

      1. Alternative spelling of bere (“pillowcase”). quotations ▼
      Alternative forms
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      See also

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      Anagrams

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      Irish

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      Noun

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      bear m pl

      1. alternative genitive plural of bior (“pointed rod or shaft; spit, spike; point”)

      Mutation

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      Mutated forms of bear
      radical lenition eclipsis
      bear bhear mbear

      Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
      All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

      Further reading

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      West Frisian

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      Etymology

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      From Old Frisian *bera, from Proto-West Germanic *berō, from Proto-Germanic *berô.

      Pronunciation

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      Noun

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      bear c (plural bearen, diminutive bearke)

      1. bear
        Hoewol't de earste bearen net tige grut wiene, hawwe se harren meitiid wol ta grutte lichemsomfang ûntwikkele. ― Although the first bears were not very large, they have since developed to be much larger.

      Further reading

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      • “bear (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
      Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=bear&oldid=89859499"