bier

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A litter to transport the corpse of a dead person.
  2. A platform or stand where a body or coffin is placed.
  3. A count of forty threads in the warp or chain of woollen cloth.

Pronunciation

/bɪə/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-bier.wav /bɪɚ/

Word forms

bier biers

Etymology

From Middle English beer, beere, bere, from Old English bēr, (West Saxon) bǣr (“stretcher, bier”), from Proto-West Germanic *bāru, from Proto-Germanic *bērō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Beere (“stretcher, bier”), Dutch baar (“bier”), German Bahre (“bier, stretcher”). More at bear.

Derived words

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