# mear
## English
### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /mɪə/
* (General American) IPA: /mɪɹ/
* (New Zealand) IPA: /miə/
* (Scotland) IPA: /miːɹ/
* (East Anglia, cheer–chair merger) IPA: /mɛː/
* Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)
* Homophones: mere; mare (cheer–chair merger)

### Noun

mear (plural mears)
* Alternative form of mere (“boundary”).
** 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:So huge a mind could not in lesser rest, Ne in small mears contain his glory great

#### See also

* mere

### References

* “mear”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* mera, Amer., rame, Erma, Maré, Maer, Mera, Ream, amer., Arem, arme, ramé, mare, ream

## Dutch Low Saxon
### Etymology

Cognate with Dutch maar.

### Conjunction

mear
* but

## Irish
### Etymology

From Middle Irish mer, from Proto-Celtic *meros (“crazy”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Middle Welsh meredig.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mʲaɾˠ/

### Adjective

mear (genitive singular masculine mear, genitive singular feminine mire, plural meara, comparative mire)
* quick, fast, nimble, lively, spirited
* precipitate, hasty, rash; quick-tempered, fiery
    Synonym: tobann
* (literary)
** mad, crazy
** furious, raging, mad angry

#### Declension

$^1$ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article. $^2$ When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.

### Verb

mear (present analytic mearann, future analytic mearfaidh, verbal noun mearadh, past participle meartha)
* (ambitransitive) Alternative form of mearaigh (“derange, distract; bewilder, confuse; excite, infuriate; bother, trouble; become distracted, bewildered; become infuriated”)

#### Conjugation

| verbal noun | mearadh | mearadh | mearadh | mearadh | mearadh | mearadh | mearadh | mearadh |
| past participle | meartha | meartha | meartha | meartha | meartha | meartha | meartha | meartha |
| tense | singular | singular | singular | plural | plural | plural | relative | autonomous |
| tense | first | second | third | first | second | third | relative | autonomous |
| indicative |||||||||
| present | mearaim | mearann tú; mearair$^†$ | mearann sé, sí | mearaimid | mearann sibh | mearann siad; mearaid$^†$ | a mhearann; a mhearas / a mearann* | meartar |
| past | mhear mé; mhearas | mhear tú; mhearais | mhear sé, sí | mhearamar; mhear muid | mhear sibh; mhearabhair | mhear siad; mhearadar | a mhear / ar mhear* | mearadh |
| past habitual | mhearainn / mearainn‡‡ | mheartá / meartá‡‡ | mhearadh sé, sí / mearadh sé, sí‡‡ | mhearaimis; mhearadh muid / mearaimis‡‡; mearadh muid‡‡ | mhearadh sibh / mearadh sibh‡‡ | mhearaidís; mhearadh siad / mearaidís‡‡; mearadh siad‡‡ | a mhearadh / a mearadh* | mheartaí / meartaí‡‡ |
| future | mearfaidh mé; mearfad | mearfaidh tú; mearfair$^†$ | mearfaidh sé, sí | mearfaimid; mearfaidh muid | mearfaidh sibh | mearfaidh siad; mearfaid$^†$ | a mhearfaidh; a mhearfas / a mearfaidh* | mearfar |
| conditional | mhearfainn / mearfainn‡‡ | mhearfá / mearfá‡‡ | mhearfadh sé, sí / mearfadh sé, sí‡‡ | mhearfaimis; mhearfadh muid / mearfaimis‡‡; mearfadh muid‡‡ | mhearfadh sibh / mearfadh sibh‡‡ | mhearfaidís; mhearfadh siad / mearfaidís‡‡; mearfadh siad‡‡ | a mhearfadh / a mearfadh* | mhearfaí / mearfaí‡‡ |
| subjunctive |||||||||
| present | go meara mé; go mearad$^†$ | go meara tú; go mearair$^†$ | go meara sé, sí | go mearaimid; go meara muid | go meara sibh | go meara siad; go mearaid$^†$ | — | go meartar |
| past | dá mearainn | dá meartá | dá mearadh sé, sí | dá mearaimis; dá mearadh muid | dá mearadh sibh | dá mearaidís; dá mearadh siad | — | dá meartaí |
| imperative |||||||||
| – | mearaim | mear | mearadh sé, sí | mearaimis | mearaigí; mearaidh$^†$ | mearaidís | — | meartar |
* indirect relative † archaic or dialect form ‡‡ dependent form used with particles that trigger eclipsis

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### References

* ↑ Matasović, Ranko (2009) “*mero-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 267

### Further reading

* Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “mear”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
* de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “mear”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
* “mear”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025

## Old English
### Noun

mear m
* Alternative form of mearh

## Portuguese
### Etymology

From Late Latin mediāre, from Latin medius. Compare mediar (a borrowed doublet).

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /meˈa(ʁ)/ [meˈa(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /meˈa(ʁ)/ [meˈa(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /meˈa(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /meˈa(ʁ)/ [meˈa(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /meˈa(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈmjaɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈmjaɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /ˈmja.ɾi/
* Homophone: miar (Portugal)
* Hyphenation: me‧ar

### Verb

mear (first-person singular present meio, first-person singular preterite meei, past participle meado)
* to halve (divide into two)

#### Conjugation

$^1$Brazilian Portuguese. $^2$European Portuguese.

#### Related terms

* meado
* meio

## Spanish
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin mēiere, reinterpreted in Vulgar Latin as a first-conjugation verb (*mēiāre). Compare Portuguese mijar and English micturate.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /meˈaɾ/ [meˈaɾ]
* Audio (Colombia):(file)
* Rhymes: -aɾ
* Syllabification: me‧ar

### Verb

mear (first-person singular present meo, first-person singular preterite meé, past participle meado)
* (vulgar) to piss, to pee
    Synonyms: orinar, echar una meada
* (vulgar, reflexive) to wet, to urinate accidentally in or on

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

#### Derived terms

* más viejo que mear de pie
* meada
* meadero
* meado
* mear fuera del tiesto
* mearse de risa
* meón

### Further reading

* “mear”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## West Frisian
### Etymology 1

Cognate with Dutch meer. Also compare the native form mar (“lake”). This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /mɪə̯r/

#### Noun

mear c (plural mearen, diminutive mearke)
* lake

#### Further reading

“mear”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

### Etymology 2

From Old Frisian māra, from Proto-West Germanic *maiʀō.

#### Determiner

mear
* comparative degree of folle: more

#### Adverb

mear
* To a greater degree or extent, more
* Used to form the comparative degree of adjectives and adverbs where -er cannot be used.

##### Related terms

* folle
* meast

#### Further reading

“mear”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011