Word: bear Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der.? Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der. Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer-der. Proto-Germanic *berô Proto-West Germanic *berō Old English bera Middle English bere English bear From Middle English bere, from Old English bera, from Proto-West Germanic *berō, from Proto-Germanic *berô (“bear”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian beer (“bear”), Saterland Frisian Boar, Boare (“bear”), West Frisian bear (“bear”), Cimbrian and 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 and Swedish björn (“bear”), Norwegian Nynorsk bjøinn, bjønn, bjørn (“bear”), Gothic *𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰 (*baira, “bear”); also Latin fiber (“beaver”), Greek φρύνος (frýnos, “toad”), Latvian bērs (“bay, brown”), Lithuanian bėras (“bay, reddish brown”), Belarusian бабёр (babjór, “beaver”), Bulgarian бобър (bobǎr, “beaver”), Czech bobr (“beaver”), Macedonian дабар (dabar, “beaver”), Polish bober, bóbr (“beaver”) Russian бобёр (bobjór), бобр (bobr, “beaver”), Serbo-Croatian да̀бар, dàbar (“beaver”), Slovak bobor (“beaver”), Slovene bober (“beaver”), Ukrainian бобе́р (bobér, “beaver”), Armenian բորենի (boreni, “hyena”), Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬡𐬭𐬀 (baβra, “beaver”), Northern Kurdish bor (“grey”), Ossetian бур (bur, “yellow”), Persian بور (bur, “blonde, fair; bay, reddish brown; brown”), Yaghnobi вур (vur, “brown”), Sanskrit बभ्रु (babhru, “ichneumon, mongoose”). etymology notes This is generally taken to be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“shining, brown”) (compare Tocharian A parno, Tocharian B perne (“radiant, luminous”), Lithuanian bė́ras (“brown”)), related to brown, bruin, and beaver. On this theory, the Germanic languages replaced the older name of the bear, *h₂ŕ̥tḱos, with the epithet "brown one", presumably due to taboo avoidance; compare Russian медве́дь (medvédʹ, “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 suggests that a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer- (“wild animal”) "should therefore perhaps be preferred", implying a Germanic merger of *ǵʰw and *gʷʰ (*gʷʰ may sometimes result in Germanic *b, perhaps e.g. in *bidjaną, but it also seems to have given the g in gun and the w in warm). Pronunciation: /bɛə/, /bɛː/, /bɜː(ɹ)/, /beɾ/, /bɛɚ/ 1. A large, generally omnivorous mammal (a few species are purely carnivorous or herbivorous) of the family Ursidae; having shaggy fur, a very small tail, and flat feet. Labels: countable, uncountable 2. A large, generally omnivorous mammal (a few species are purely carnivorous or herbivorous) of the family Ursidae; having shaggy fur, a very small tail, and flat feet. Labels: uncountable Example: We had barbecued bear for dinner. 3. A rough, unmannerly, uncouth person. Labels: countable, figuratively, uncountable Example: One evening about this time, when his Lordship did me the honour to sup at my lodgings with Dr. Robertson and several other men of literary distinction, he regretted that Johnson had not been educated with more refinement, and lived more in polished society. 'No, no, my Lord, (said Signor Baretti,) do with him what you would, he would always have been a bear.' 4. An investor who sells commodities, securities, or futures in anticipation of a fall in prices. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: This accompt has been made to appear a bull accompt, i.e. that the bulls cannot take their stock. The fact is the reverse; it is a bear accompt, but the bears, unable to deliver their stock, have conjointly banged the market, and pocketed the tickets, to defeat the rise and loss that would have ensued to them by their buying on a rising price on the accompt day […] 5. A state policeman (short for Smokey Bear). Labels: US, countable, slang, uncountable Example: By the time we got into Tulsa Town We had eighty-five trucks in all But there's a roadblock up on the cloverleaf And them bears was wall-to-wall. Yeah, them smokies is thick as bugs on a bumper They even had a bear in the air. I says, "Callin' all trucks, this here's the Duck. We about to go a-huntin' bear." Example: 'The bear's pulling somebody off there at 74,' reported someone else. 6. A large, hairy man, especially one who is homosexual. Labels: countable, slang, uncountable Example: Bears are usually hunky, chunky types reminiscent of railroad engineers and former football greats. Example: Bear sought by masculine white male, 30, 5'8", 165 lbs, for weekly safe encounter. I'm in a long-term relationship and seek outside fun. You: tall, masculine, over 200 lbs, discreet, moustache. 7. A koala (bear). Labels: Australia, countable, uncountable Example: Bunyip Bluegum was a tidy bear, he objected to whisker soup[.] 8. A portable punching machine. Labels: countable, uncountable 9. A block covered with coarse matting, used to scour the deck. Labels: countable, uncountable 10. The fifteenth Lenormand card. Labels: countable, uncountable 11. Something difficult or tiresome; a burden or chore. Labels: US, colloquial, countable, uncountable Example: That window can be a bear to open. Example: "This was a real bear to refinish. You can't believe how hard it was right here to get a thousand years of crud out of this carving."