gar

See also: GAR, gár, gär, går, gar-, ġar, and Gar

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɡɑː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɡɑɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English gar, gare, gere, gore, from Old English gār (“spear, dart, javelin, shaft, arrow, weapon, arms”), from Proto-Germanic *gaizaz (“spear, pike, javelin”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰayso- (“pointed stick, spear”), from *ǵʰey- (“to drive, move, fling”). Cognate with West Frisian gear, Dutch geer (“pointed weapon, spear”), German Ger (“spear”), Norwegian geir (“spear”), Icelandic geir (“spear”). Related to gore.

Alternative forms

• gore (dialectal)

Noun

gar (plural gars)

1. (obsolete) A spear.

Etymology 2

Clipping of garfish.

Noun

gar (plural gars)

1. (especially US, Canada) Any of several North American fish of the family Lepisosteidae that have long, narrow jaws.
2. (especially Britain, Ireland) A garfish, Belone belone.

Usage notes

• The European species was the original gar, and the North American gars were named after it, with other common names also shared between the two. In modern usage an attempt has been made to restrict "gar" to the North American fish and "garfish" to the European ones, but both names can be found for both types. Context can help: the North American gars are freshwater fish of a very primitive type, while the European gars are saltwater fish known for their green bones and their association with mackerel in folklore.

Translations

garfish

• Finnish: luuhauki
• German: Knochenhecht m

• Greek: ζαργάνα (el) f (zargána)
• Russian: сарга́н (ru) m (sargán)

Etymology 3

From Middle English garren, gerren, from Old Norse gera, gerva (Swedish göra, Danish gøre), from Proto-Germanic *garwijaną. Compare yare.

Verb

gar (third-person singular simple present gars, present participle garring, simple past and past participle gart)

1. (now chiefly Britain dialectal) To make, compel (someone to do something); to cause (something to be done). [14th-19th c.]
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book XX:

     I shall firste begyn at Sandwyche, and there I shall go in my shearte, barefoote, and at every ten myles ende I shall founde and gar make an house of religious, of what order that ye woll assygne me [...].

   • 1885, Sir Richard Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Night 15:

     Time gars me tremble. Ah, how sore the baulk! / While Time in pride of strength cloth ever stalk [...].

Anagrams

• ARG, Arg., Gra, RGA, arg, rag

---

Basque

Noun

gar

1. blaze

---

Breton

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɑːr/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Brythonic *garr, from Proto-Celtic *garros.

Noun

gar f (plural garoù)

1. leg

Mutation

  Mutation of gar  

Breton consonant mutation
	unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed
singular	gar	c'har	unchanged	kar	c'har
plural	garoù	c'haroù	unchanged	karoù	c'haroù

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Noun

gar

1. Soft mutation of kar.

Mutation

  Mutation of gar  

Breton consonant mutation
	unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed
singular	kar	gar	c'har	unchanged	unchanged
plural	kerent	gerent	c'herent	unchanged	unchanged

---

German

Etymology

From Old High German garo, from Proto-Germanic *garwaz. Cognate with archaic English yare (“keen, lively, eager”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaːɐ̯/ (official standard)
• IPA^(key): /ɡaː/ (more common)

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːɐ̯, -aː

Adjective

gar (not comparable)

1. cooked, done (of food such as meat or vegetables: ready for consumption)

Declension

Declension of gar

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist gar	sie ist gar	es ist gar	sie sind gar
strong declension (without article)	nominative	garer	gare	gares	gare
	genitive	garen	garer	garen	garer
	dative	garem	garer	garem	garen
	accusative	garen	gare	gares	gare
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der gare	die gare	das gare	die garen
	genitive	des garen	der garen	des garen	der garen
	dative	dem garen	der garen	dem garen	den garen
	accusative	den garen	die gare	das gare	die garen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein garer	eine gare	ein gares	(keine) garen
	genitive	eines garen	einer garen	eines garen	(keiner) garen
	dative	einem garen	einer garen	einem garen	(keinen) garen
	accusative	einen garen	eine gare	ein gares	(keine) garen

Derived terms

• garen

Adverb

gar

1. at all
   • 2010, Der Spiegel, issue 25/2010, page 80:

     Ein Verbot sollte es nach Ansicht vieler Ökonomen auch für die sogenannten Leerverkäufe geben. Banken verkaufen dabei Aktien oder Währungen, die sie noch gar nicht besitzen oder allenfalls geliehen haben.

     In the opinion of many economists there should also exist a prohibition for the so-called short sales. In these banks sell shares or currencies that they do not own at all yet or have borrowed at best.

2. (Switzerland, Austria) very, really

Derived terms

• Garaus

---

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish gar (“short; near”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɡaɾˠ]

Adjective

gar (genitive singular masculine gair, genitive singular feminine gaire, plural gara, comparative gaire)

1. near
2. (of time) short
3. (literary) convenient; easy, likely
4. near, mean, stingy

Declension

Declension of gar

	Singular		Plural (m/f)
Positive	Masculine	Feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
Nominative	gar	ghar	gara; ghara²
Vocative	ghair		gara
Genitive		gare	gara	gar
Dative	gar; ghar¹	ghar; ghair (archaic)	gara; ghara²
Comparative	níos gare
Superlative	is gare

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

Derived terms

• gar- (“near, close; approximate”)

Noun

gar m (genitive singular gair, nominative plural garanna)

1. nearness, proximity
2. convenience, service; turn, favor

Declension

Declension of gar

First declension

Bare forms: Case Singular Plural Nominative gar garanna Vocative a ghair a gharanna Genitive gair garanna Dative gar garanna

Forms with the definite article: Case Singular Plural Nominative an gar na garanna Genitive an ghair na ngaranna Dative leis an ngar don ghar leis na garanna

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
gar	ghar	ngar
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

• "gar" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• “1 gar” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

---

Middle English

Noun

gar

1. Alternative form of gare

---

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gaizaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰoys- (“pointed stick, spear”). Cognate with Old Frisian gēr, Old Saxon gēr, Old High German gēr, Old Norse geirr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɑːr/

Noun

gār m (nominative plural gāras)

1. (poetic) spear, arrow

Derived terms

• Gārdene
• gārlēac
• nafogār

Descendants

• Middle English: gar, gare, gere, gore
  • English: gore (dialectal), gar
  • → Middle English: garfysche
    • English: garfish
    • Scots: gairfish

---

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡar/

Noun

gar m inan

1. (colloquial) Augmentative of garnek.

Declension

declension of gar

	singular	plural
nominative	gar	gary
genitive	gara	garów
dative	garowi	garom
accusative	gar	gary
instrumental	garem	garami
locative	garze	garach
vocative	garze	gary

Further reading

• gar in Polish dictionaries at PWN

---

Scots

Etymology

From Middle English garren, gerren, from Old Norse gera, gǫrva, gørva (Swedish göra, Danish gøre), from Proto-Germanic *garwijaną. Compare English yare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡar/, /ɡɛr/

Verb

gar (simple past and past participle gart or gert)

1. to make (somebody or something do something)

   Whit gars ye say that? ― What makes you say that?

Related terms

• gare
• gair

---

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology 1

Pronoun

gar

1. us (direct object)

   Cò a bhios gar cuideachadh? ― Who will help us?

Usage notes

• Adds the prefix n- to the following word if it begins with a vowel:

  Cha robh i gar n-ainmeachadh. ― She didn't mention us.

Related terms

• ga
• gad
• gam
• gan
• gur
• sinn

 

Etymology 2

Verb

gar (past ghar, future garaidh, verbal noun garadh, past participle garte)

1. warm

   a' garadh an làmhan ris an teine ― warming their hands at the fire

Related terms

• gorm

---

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from French gare.

Noun

gar (definite accusative garı, plural garlar)

1. station (railway)

---

Turkmen

Noun

gar (definite accusative ?, plural ?)

1. snow

---

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡar/

Noun

gar

1. Soft mutation of car.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
car	gar	nghar	char
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

---

West Tarangan

Noun

gar

1. water

Further reading

• Richard J. Nivens, A Lexical Phonology of West Tarangan, in Phonological Studies in Four Languages of Maluku (1992, edited by Donald A. Burquest, Wyn D. Laidig)
• Richard J. Nivens, Borrowing Versus Code-switching in West Tarangan (Indonesia) (2002)
• E. Wattimury, A. Haulussy, J. Pentry, Sintaksis bahasa Tarangan (1995), page 48

---

Westrobothnian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡɑːr/ (example of pronunciation)

  Rhymes: -óːr

Etymology 1

From Old Norse í gær, í gjár

Noun

gar

1. Yesterday (only used in the adverbial form i gar.)

   i gar-o mårjan / i går óm móran

   yesterday morning

   i gar-o äfta

   yesterday evening

Etymology 2

Noun

gar m

1. Skin-furrow (about the grain of a hide.)
2. Growth rings in wood.

Declension

Declension of gar.

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	gar	garn	gaar	garen
accusative	gar	garn	gaar	garen
dative		garo		garo
genitive	gar-		gar-