Abear

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /É™.ˈbɛː/
• US IPA: /É™.ˈbɜə(ɹ)/, É™.ˈbÉ›/

Origin

From Middle English aberen, from Old English āberan ("to bear, carry, carry away"), from ā- ("away, out"), ar- + beran ("to bear"), from Proto-Germanic *uz- ("out") + *beraną ("to bear"), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ("to bear, carry"), equivalent to - + bear.

Full definition of abear

Verb

1. (transitive, now rare, regional) To put up with; to endure. from 9th c.
• 1872 , James De Mille , The Cryptogram Chapter , Hunder-cook, indeed! which it's what I never abore yet, and never will abear.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To bear; to carry. 10th-15th c.
3. (transitive, reflexive, obsolete) To behave; to comport oneself. 16th-17th c.
• 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.12:So did the Faerie knight himselfe abeare,
  And stouped oft his head from shame to shield ....

Usage notes

(endure) Used in the negative nowadays.

Derived terms

• abearance
• abearing

Noun

1. (obsolete) Bearing, behavior. 14th-17th c.