Word: ear Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws Proto-Germanic *ausô Proto-West Germanic *auʀā Old English ēare Middle English ere English ear From Middle English eare, eere, ere, eyr, ire, yere, ȝhere, from Old English ēare (“ear”), from Proto-West Germanic *auʀā, from the voiced Verner alternant of Proto-Germanic *ausô (“ear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws (“ear”), from *h₂ew- (“to perceive”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian uaar, uar, uur (“ear”), Saterland Frisian Oor (“ear”), West Frisian ear (“ear”), Alemannic German Oor (“ear”), Central Franconian Uhr (“ear”), Dutch oor (“ear”), German Ohr (“ear”), Low German Ohr, Oor, Or, our, Ur (“ear”), Luxembourgish Ouer (“ear”), Vilamovian ür (“ear”), Yiddish אויער (oyer, “ear”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål øre (“ear”), Elfdalian ära (“ear”), Faroese oyra (“ear”), Icelandic eyra (“ear”), Jamtish ǿre (“ear”), Norwegian Nynorsk øra, øre, øyra, øyre (“ear”), Swedish öra (“ear”), Gothic 𐌰𐌿𐍃𐍉 (ausō, “ear”); also Old Irish áu, ó (“ear”), Latin auris, ōris (“ear”), Greek αφτί (aftí), αυτί (aftí, “ear”), Albanian vesh (“ear; handle”), Latvian auss (“ear”), Lithuanian ausis (“ear”), Belarusian ву́ха (vúxa, “ear”), Bulgarian ухо́ (uhó, “ear”), Czech, Polish, Silesian, and Slovak ucho (“ear”), Kashubian ùchò (“ear”), Lower Sorbian and Upper Sorbian wucho (“ear”), Macedonian уво (uvo, “ear”), Polabian vaux’ü (“ear”), Russian у́хо (úxo, “ear”), Serbo-Croatian у̏во, у̏хо, ȕho, ȕvo (“ear”), Slovene uho (“ear”), Slovincian wùchô (“ear”), Ukrainian ву́хо (vúxo, “ear”), Armenian ունկ (unk, “ear”), Persian هوش (hōš / huš, “intellect; intelligence; understanding”), Sanskrit उषस् (uṣas, “outer passage of the ear”). Pronunciation: /ˈɪə̯/, [ˈɪː], [ˈiːə], /ˈɛː/, [ɪə̯~ɪɐ̯] 1. The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea. Labels: countable 2. The external part of the organ of hearing, the auricle. Labels: countable Example: Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair. 3. A police informant. Labels: countable, slang Example: No I'm not kidding, and if you don't give it to me I'll let it out that you’re an ear. 4. The sense of hearing; the perception of sounds; skill or good taste in listening to music. Example: a good ear for music Example: songs[…]not all ungrateful to thine ear 5. The privilege of being kindly heard; favour; attention. Example: Dionysius[…]would give no ear to his suit. Example: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. 6. That which resembles in shape or position the ear of an animal; a prominence or projection on an object, usually for support or attachment; a lug; a handle; a foot-rest or step of a spade or a similar digging tool. Example: the ears of a tub, skillet, or dish; The ears of a boat are outside kneepieces near the bow. Example: When they got as far as the little valley north of Oppenhagen - where the land-slip took place - he thought he sat between the ears of a bucket; but shortly this vanished also, and it was only then he really came to himself again. 7. An acroterium. 8. A crossette. 9. A space to the left or right of a publication's front-page title, used for advertising, weather, etc. Example: In journalism, ears flank the title as boxes in the left and right top corners of a publication (generally a newspaper). 10. A curled ridge in the crust of a loaf of bread where the dough was slashed before going into the oven and expands during baking. 11. The outer panels or flaps (protrusions) of a diaper upon which the fasteners are located, which are fastened around the wearer's waist. 12. A path whose endpoints may coincide but in which otherwise there are no repetitions of vertices or edges.