bear

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A large, heavy wild animal with thick fur and strong claws.

   When I saw a bear in the woods, I ran away.

2. 2
   verb

   To accept or put up with something difficult or unpleasant.

   I can't bear the constant noise from the street.

3. 3
   verb

   To carry or hold something.

   The soldiers had the right to bear arms.

4. 4
   verb

   To give birth to a child or young.

   She bore three children over five years.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

The verb bear, meaning “carry,” is Old English and comes from an Indo-European root also represented in Sanskrit, Latin, and Greek; bier belongs to the same family. From early times bear was also used of mental burdens, suffering, and toleration. The animal name bear is an unrelated Old English word sharing an Indo-European root with brown. The stock-market sense arose in the early 18th century and is said to come from the warning against selling a bear’s skin before catching the 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, 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…

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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