dare

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To be brave enough to do something risky or frightening.

   She didn't dare to tell her parents the truth.

2. 2
   verb

   To challenge someone to do something risky to prove their courage.

   I dare you to jump into the cold water.

3. 3
   noun

   A challenge to do something risky or foolish.

   He climbed the wall on a dare from his friends.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Dare is an Old English word with very deep roots related to forms in Greek and Sanskrit. It originally meant “have the courage to do something.” By the late 16th century it also meant “challenge or defy,” the sense behind daredevil, a contraction of “someone ready to dare the devil.”

From Middle English durren, from Old English durran, from Proto-West Germanic *durʀan, from Proto-Germanic *durzaną (“to dare”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰedʰórse (“to dare”), reduplicated stative of the root *dʰers- (“to be bold, to dare”), an *-s- extension of *dʰer- (“to hold, support”). Cognates Cognate with Low German dören, Dutch durven, German turren, Sanskrit दधर्ष (dadhárṣa), but also with Ancient Greek θρασύς (thrasús), Albanian nder, Lithuanian drįsti, Russian дерза́ть (derzátʹ).

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary