fear

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See also fear-

Contents

English [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology 1 [edit]

From Middle English feer, fere, fer, from Old English fǣr, ġefǣr (“calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack, terrible sight”), from Proto-Germanic *fērą (“danger”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to attempt, try, research, risk”). Cognate with Dutch gevaar (“danger, risk, peril”), German Gefahr (“danger, risk, hazard”), Swedish fara (“danger, risk, peril”), Latin perīculum (“danger, risk, trial”). Albanian frikë (“fear,danger”) and Romanian frǐca (“fear”) are also cognates, although probably influenced by an early Germanic variant.

Noun [edit]

fear (countable and uncountable; plural fears)

  1. (uncountable) A strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.
    He was struck by fear on seeing the snake.
  2. (countable) A phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone.
    Not everybody has the same fears.
    I have a fear of ants.
  3. (uncountable) Extreme veneration or awe, as toward a supreme being or deity.
Synonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
uncountable: emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat
a phobia; sense of fear induced by something or someone
extreme veneration or awe
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

Etymology 2 [edit]

From Middle English feren, from Old English fǣran (“to frighten, raven”), from Old English fǣr, ġefǣr (“calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack, terrible sight”). See above.

Verb [edit]

fear (third-person singular simple present fears, present participle fearing, simple past and past participle feared)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To cause fear to; to frighten.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book V:
      ‘Be God,’ sayde Sir Gawayne, ‘his grevys me but lytyll; yet shalt thou nat feare me for all thy grete wordis.
  2. (transitive) To feel fear about (something).
    I fear the worst will happen.
  3. (transitive) To venerate; to feel awe towards.
    People who fear God can be found in Christian churches.
  4. (transitive) Regret
    I fear [regret that] I have bad news for you: your husband has died.
Synonyms [edit]
Derived terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
feel fear about (something)
venerate

Etymology 3 [edit]

From Middle English fere, feore, from Old English fēre (“able to go, fit for service”), from Proto-Germanic *fōriz, *fōrijaz (“passable”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to put across, ferry”). Cognate with Scots fere, feir (“well, active, sound”), Middle High German gevüere (“able, capable, fit, serviceable”), Swedish för (“capable, able, stout”), Icelandic færr (“able”). Related to fare.

Alternative forms [edit]

Adjective [edit]

fear (comparative more fear, superlative most fear)

  1. (dialectal) Able; capable; stout; strong; sound.
    hale and fear

Statistics [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

Irish [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

  • IPA: [fʲaɾˠ]

Etymology [edit]

From Old Irish fer, from Proto-Celtic *wiros, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Welsh gŵr, Latin vir, Old English wer.

Noun [edit]

fear m (genitive fir, nominative plural fir)

  1. man
  2. husband, male spouse

Declension [edit]

Declension of fear

First declension

Bare forms:

Case Singular Plural
Nominative fear fir
Vocative a fhir a fheara
Genitive fir fear
Dative fear fir

Forms with the definite article:

Case Singular Plural
Nominative an fear na fir
Genitive an fhir na bhfear
Dative leis an bhfear

don fhear

 leis na fir

Mutation [edit]

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
fear fhear bhfear
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Scots [edit]

Noun [edit]

fear (plural fears)

  1. fear

Verb [edit]

tae fear (third-person singular simple present fears, present participle fearin, simple past feart, past participle feart)

  1. to fear
  2. to frighten, scare

Scottish Gaelic [edit]

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

fear m (genitive and plural fir)

  1. man
  2. husband, male spouse

Declension [edit]

First declension; forms with the definite article:

Case Singular Plural
Nominative am fear na fir
Vocative fhir fhir
Genitive an fir nam fear/fir
Dative leis an fhear leis na fir

Derived terms [edit]

See also [edit]

Pronoun [edit]

fear (genitive fir)

  1. somebody, something, one

Usage notes [edit]

Derived terms [edit]

West Frisian [edit]

Noun [edit]

fear c (plural fearren, diminutive fearje, diminutive plural fearjes)

  1. ferry
  2. spring (mechanical device)
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