bear
Meanings
- 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.
- The meat of this animal.
- A rough, unmannerly, uncouth person.
- An investor who sells commodities, securities, or futures in anticipation of a fall in prices.
- A state policeman (short for Smokey Bear).
- A large, hairy man, especially one who is homosexual.
- A koala (bear).
- A portable punching machine.
- A block covered with coarse matting, used to scour the deck.
- The fifteenth Lenormand card.
- Something difficult or tiresome; a burden or chore.
- To endeavour to depress the price of, or prices in.
- Characterized by declining prices in securities markets or by belief that the prices will fall.
- To carry or convey, literally or figuratively.
- To carry (weapons, flags or symbols of rank, office, etc.) upon one's person, especially visibly; to be equipped with (weapons, etc.).
- To wear (garments, pieces of jewellery, etc.).
- To carry (offspring in the womb), to be pregnant (with).
- To have or display (a mark or other feature).
- 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.
- To present or exhibit (a particular outward appearance); to have (a certain look).
- To have (a name, title, or designation).
- To possess or enjoy (recognition, renown, a reputation, etc.); to have (a particular price, value, or worth).
- To have (interest or a specified rate of interest) stipulated in its terms.
- To have (an appendage, organ, etc.) as part of the body; (of a part of the body) to have (an appendage).
- To carry or hold in the mind; to experience, entertain, harbour (an idea, feeling, or emotion).
- Alternative spelling of bere (“barley”).
- Alternative spelling of bere (“pillowcase”).
- A surname.
- The constellation Ursa Major.
- A male given name.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der.? Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der. Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer-der. Proto-Germanic *berô Proto-West Germanic *berō Old English bera Middle English bere English bear 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 and 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 and Swedish björn (“bear”), Norwegian Nynorsk bjøinn, bjønn, bjørn (“bear”), Gothic *𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰 (*baira, “bear”). etymology notes This is generally taken to be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“shining, brown”) (compare Tocharian A parno, Tocharian B perne (“radiant, luminous”), Lithuanian bė́ras (“brown”)), related to brown, bruin, and beaver. On this theory, the Germanic languages replaced the older name of the bear, *h₂ŕ̥tḱos, with the epithet "brown one", presumably due to taboo avoidance; compare Russian медве́дь (medvédʹ, “bear”, literally “honey-eater”). However, Ringe (2006:106) doubts the existence of a root *bʰer- meaning "brown" ("an actual PIE word of [the requisite] shape and meaning is not recoverable") and suggests that a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer- (“wild animal”) "should therefore perhaps be preferred", implying a Germanic merger of *ǵʰw and *gʷʰ (*gʷʰ may sometimes result in Germanic *b, perhaps e.g. in *bidjaną, but it also seems to have given the g in gun and the w in warm).