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Bear Definition

bear

Contents

English

Wikipedia has articles on: Bear

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Middle English bere, from Old English bera, from Proto-Germanic *berô (compare West Frisian bear, Dutch beer, German Bär, Danish bjørn).

This is generally taken to be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“shining, brown”) (compare Tocharian A parno, B perne (“radiant, luminous”), Lithuanian bė́ras (“brown”)), related to brown and beaver.

Germanic replaced the older name of the bear, *rtko- with the epithet "brown one", presumably due to taboo avoidance; compare Russian медведь (“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 suggesting that a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer- (“wild animal”) "should therefore perhaps be preferred", implying a Germanic merger of *ǵʰw and *gʷʰ (*gʷʰ results in Germanic *b regularly, e.g. in *bidjanan)

Noun

A bear

bear (plural bears)

  1. A large omnivorous mammal, related to the dog and raccoon, having shaggy hair, a very small tail, and flat feet; a member of family Ursidae, particularly of subfamily Ursinae.
  2. (figuratively) a rough, unmannerly, uncouth person [1579]
  3. (finance) An investor who sells commodities, securities, or futures in anticipation of a fall in prices. [1744]
  4. (US) (slang) a state policeman; short for smokey bear [1970s]
    • 1976 "‘The bear's pulling somebody off there at 74,’ reported someone else." (CB Magazine, Communications Publication Corporation, Oklahoma City, June 40/3)
  5. (slang) a large, hairy man, especially one who is homosexual.[1990]
    • 1990 "Bears, gay men subculture materials" (publication title, Human Sexuality Collection, Collection Level Periodical Record)
    • 2004, Richard Goldstein, Why I'm Not a Bear (in The Advocate, number 913, 27 April 2004, page 72)
      I have everything it takes to be a bear: broad shoulders, full beard, semibald pate, and lots of body hair. But I don't want to be a fetish.
    • 2006, Simon LeVay, Sharon McBride Valente, Human sexuality
      There are numerous social organizations for bears in most parts of the United States.
Antonyms
Derived terms
Derived terms
See also
Translations
large mammal of family Ursidae
  • Abkhaz: амшә (ab) (amš°)
  • Adyghe: мышъэ (məša)
  • Afrikaans: beer
  • Ainu: カムィ (kamuy), イソ (iso)
  • Albanian: ari (sq) m., ariu (sq)
  • Arabic: دب (ar) (dubb) m.
  • Aragonese: onso m.
  • Aramaic:
    Syriac: ܕܒܐ (debā, debo) c.
    Hebrew: דבא (debā, debo) c.
  • Armenian: արջ (hy) (arǰ)
  • Avar: ци (ci)
  • Azeri: ayı (az)
  • Bashkir: айыу (ayıw)
  • Basque: hartz
  • Belarusian: мядзведзь (be) (mjadzvédz’) m.
  • Bengali: ভালুক (bn) (bhaluk)
  • Breton: arzh (br) m.
  • Bulgarian: мечок (bg) (mečok) m., мечка (bg) (mečka) f.
  • Burmese: ဝက်ဝံ (my) (wet-wun)
  • Catalan: ós m.
  • Chechen: ча (ça)
  • Cherokee: ᏲᏅ (yonv), ᏲᎾ (chr) (yona)
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin: 熊 (zh) (xióng) (traditional also: 魋 (zh))
  • Chukchi: кэйӈын (kejŋ-ǝ-n), умӄы (umqǝ), (polar bear)
  • Chumash: xus
  • Chuvash: упа (cv) (upa)
  • Comox: mɛχaɬ
  • Cornish: arth (kw) m.
  • Cree: ᒪᔉᐗ (maskwa)
  • Crimean Tatar: ayuv
  • Czech: medvěd (cs) m.
  • Danish: bjørn (da)
  • Dutch: beer (nl) m., berin (nl) f.
  • Esperanto: urso (eo)
  • Estonian: karu (et)
  • Faroese: bjørn (fo)
  • Finnish: karhu, otso (poetic), mesikämmen (poetic)
  • French: ours (fr) m.
  • Friulian: ors
  • Galician: oso
  • Georgian: დათვი (ka) (dat'vi)
  • German: Bär (de) m.
  • Gothic: 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰 (baira) m.
  • Greek: αρκούδα (el) (arkoúda) f., άρκτος (el) (árktos) f.
  • Greenlandic: nanoq (kl)
  • Gujarati: રીંછ (gu) (rīn̄cha)
  • Hebrew: דוב (he) (dov) m.
  • Hindi: भालो (hi) (bhaalo) m., भालू (hi) (bhālū) m.
  • Hopi: jhoonaw
  • Hungarian: medve (hu)
  • Icelandic: björn (is)
  • Indonesian: beruang (id)
  • Interlingua: urso
  • Inuktitut: ᐊᑎᖅᐳᖅ (atiqpuq)
  • Irish: béar donn (ga), mathúin (ga) m.
  • Italian: orso (it) m.
  • Itelmen: массу (massu)
  • Japanese: 熊 (ja) (くま, kuma), クマ (ja) (kuma)
  • Kabardian: мыщэ (məša)
  • Kalmyk: аю (ayu)
  • Kannada: ಕರಡಿ (kn) (karaḍi)
  • Karachay-Balkar: (Karachay) айю (ayü), (Balkar) айыу (ayıu)
  • Karakalpak: ayıw (kaa)
  • Kashubian: miedzwiédz (csb) m.
  • Kazakh: аю (kk) (ayu)
  • Ket: ӄой (qòj)
  • Khakas: аба (aba)
  • Khmer: មនុស្សមុខក្រញ៉ូវ (km) (monuh muk kraa nyuǝ)
  • Kildin Sami: та̄лл (tāll)
  • Komi: ош (kv) (oš)
  • Korean: 곰 (ko) (gom)
  • Koryak: умӄа (umqa), (brown) кайӈын (kajŋǝn)
  • Kumyk: аюв (ayuw)
  • Kurdish:
    Kurmanji: hirç (ku)
    Sorani: ورچ (ku) (wirç)
  • Kyrgyz: аюу (ayuu)
  • Ladin: lors
  • Lao: ໝີ (lo) (mii)
  • Latin: ursus (la) m., ursa (la) f.
  • Latvian: lācis (lv)
  • Lenape:
    Munsee: maxkw
    Unami: màxkw
  • Lithuanian: lokys (lt) m., meška (lt) f.
animal resembling a bear
  • Bulgarian: мечка (bg) (mečka) f. (for panda or koala but not for sloth)
  • Crimean Tatar: ayuv
  • Dutch: beer (nl) m.
  • Finnish: karhu (fi)
investor who anticipates falling prices
  • Finnish: no equivalent
  • French: baissier (fr) m.
  • German: Baissier m., Baissespekulant m.
  • Romanian: jucător de bursă (ro) m., speculant (ro) m.
  • Russian: медведь (ru) (medved’) m.
  • Swedish: baissespekulant (sv) c.
difficult problem
  • French: ours (fr) m.
  • German: (informal) Hund (de) m.
large hairy man
  • Dutch: beer (nl) m.
  • French: ours (fr) m.
  • German: Bär (de) m.

Adjective

bear (comparative more bear, superlative most bear)

  1. (finance, investments) Characterized by or believing to benefit of declining prices in securities markets.
    The great bear market starting in 1929 scared a whole generation of investors.

Adverb

bear (not comparable)

  1. (Can we verify() this sense?) (UK, slang) very
    You rang me last night but it was bear late and I didn't answer.

References

Etymology 2

From Middle English beren (“carry, bring forth”), from Old English beran (“to carry, bear, bring”), from Proto-Germanic *beranan, *barōnan (“to bear, carry”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-, *bʰrē- (“to bear”). Akin to Old High German beran (“carry”), Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (baíran), Latin ferre, and Ancient Greek φέρειν (pherein), Russian беременная (beremennaya, “pregnant”). These derive from the Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-.

Verb

bear (third-person singular simple present bears, present participle bearing, simple past bore, or (archaic) bare, past participle born, borne, or (archaic) yborn)

  1. (transitive) To carry something.
    • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 234b.
      imitations that bear the same name as the things
    • 1852, Mrs M.A. Thompson, “The Tutor's Daughter”, in Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion[1], page 266:
      In the lightness of my heart I sang catches of songs as my horse gayly bore me along the well-remembered road.
  2. (transitive) To be equipped with something.
    the right to bear arms
  3. (transitive, with witness) To declare as testimony.
    The jury could see he was bearing false witness.
  4. (transitive) To put up with something.
    please bear with me as I...
  5. (transitive) To give birth to someone or something; it may take the father of the direct object as an indirect object.
    In Troy she becomes Paris’ wife, bearing him several children, all of whom die in infancy.
  6. (transitive) To produce or yield something, such as fruit or crops.
  7. (intransitive) To be - or head - in a specific direction from the observer’s position.
    The harbour bears North by Northeast.
Derived terms
Derived terms
Translations
carry
  • Arabic: حمل (ar) (Hamala)
  • Bulgarian: нося (bg), пренасям (bg)
  • Catalan: portar
    Mandarin: 攜帶 (cmn), 携带 (cmn) (xiédài), 攜 (cmn), 携 (cmn) (xié), 帶 (cmn), 带 (cmn) (dài), 運 (cmn), 运 (cmn) (yùn)
  • Czech: nést (cs)
  • Dutch: dragen (nl), torsen (nl)
  • Finnish: kantaa (fi)
  • French: porter (fr)
  • German: tragen (de)
  • Hebrew: סחב (he) (sakháv), נשא (he) (nasa)
  • Hindi: ले जाना (hi) (le jānā)
  • Italian: portare (it)
  • Japanese: 運ぶ (ja) (はこぶ, hakobu), 持って行く (ja) (もっていく, motte-iku)
  • Korean: 나르다 (ko) (nareuda)
  • Latin: ferro (la), veho (la)
  • Latvian: nest (lv)
be equipped with
declare
  • Bulgarian: свидетелствам (bear testimony, testify)
  • Dutch: afleggen (nl)
  • Finnish: todistaa (bear testimony), antaa todistus (bear testimony)
  • German: aussagen; bezeugen (bear witness)
  • Norwegian: føre (no)
put up with
  • Arabic: احتمل (ar) (iHtamala)
  • Bulgarian: издържам (bg), понасям (bg)
  • Catalan: suportar
  • Chinese:
    Mandarin: 忍受 (cmn) (rěnshòu), 忍耐 (cmn) (rěnnài)
  • Dutch: verdragen (nl), ondergaan (nl)
  • Finnish: sietää (fi)
  • French: supporter (fr), tolérer (fr)
  • German: ertragen (de), (only negative) ausstehen (de), (only negative) leiden (de)
  • Haitian Creole: sipòte
  • Hebrew: סבל (he) (saval)
  • Hindi: सहना (hi) (sahnā)
  • Hungarian: kibír (hu), elvisel (hu)
  • Italian: sopportare (it)
give birth to
  • Korean: 낳다 (ko) (nata)
  • Latin: pariō (la)
  • Latvian: dzemdēt (lv)
  • Lithuanian: gimdyti (lt)
  • Norwegian: bære (no), fram (no), føde (no)
  • Old English: cennan (ang)
  • Persian: وضع حمل (fa), زاییدن (fa) (zāyidan)
  • Polish: urodzić (pl)
  • Portuguese: parir (pt), dar à luz (pt)
  • Romanian: da naștere (ro)
  • Russian: рожать (ru) (rožát’) impf., родить (ru) (rodít’) pf., (bookish) производить на свет (ru) (proizvodít’ na svet) impf., произвести на свет (ru) (proizvestí na svet) pf.
  • Serbo-Croatian:
    Cyrillic: ра́ђати (sh), ро̀дити (sh)
    Roman: ráđati (sh), ròditi (sh)
  • Slovak: porodiť
  • Spanish: parir (es)
  • Swedish: föda (sv)
  • Thai: ประสูติ (th) (bprà-sòot), ตกลูก (th) (dtòk-lôok)
  • Turkish: doğurmak (tr)
  • Ukrainian: роди (uk) (rody) n. pl.
  • Vietnamese: sinh (vi) (生 (vi)), sinh sản (vi)
produce
  • Norwegian: bære (no) fram (no)
  • Portuguese: criar (pt)
  • Romanian: da rod (ro)
  • Russian: рождать (ru) (roždát’) impf., родить (ru) (rodít’) pf.
  • Swedish: bära (sv), frambringa (sv)
be in a specific direction
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked

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Anagrams

West Frisian

Noun

bear c. (plural bearen)

  1. bear

 

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More Definition Results for "Bear"
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'Bear' Information

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found in the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia.
from: Wikipedia: bear,
Sun Apr 22 14:56:34 2012
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