wear

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the act of having on your person as a covering or adornment

   They bought it for everyday wear.

2. 2
   noun

   impairment resulting from long use

   the tires showed uneven wear

3. 3
   verb

   have or show an appearance of

   wear one's hair in a certain way

4. 4
   verb

   put clothing on one's body

   What should I wear today?

5. 5
   verb

   be dressed in

   They were wearing yellow that day.

6. 6
   verb

   have in one's aspect

   wear an expression of one's attitude or personality

7. 7
   verb

   To have on:

   He's wearing some nice pants today.

8. 8
   verb

   To erode:

   You're going to wear a hole in the bottom of those shoes.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English weren, werien, from Old English werian (“to clothe, cover over; put on, wear, use; stock (land)”), from Proto-West Germanic *waʀjan, from Proto-Germanic *wazjaną (“to clothe”), from Proto-Indo-European *wes- (“to dress, put on (clothes)”). Cognate to Sanskrit वस्ते (váste), Ancient Greek ἕννυμι (hénnumi, “put on”), Latin vestis (“garment”) (English vest), Albanian vesh (“dress up, wear”), Tocharian B wäs-, Old Armenian զգենում (zgenum), Welsh gwisgo, Hittite 𒉿𒀸- (waš-). Originally a weak verb (i.e. with a past tense in -ed), it became irregular during the Middle E…