lear

See also: Lear and léar

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English laire, leire, lere, northern Middle English variants of lore, loare (“doctrine, teaching, lore”), from Old English lār (“lore”). More at lore.

Noun

lear (countable and uncountable, plural lears)

1. (now Scotland) Something learned; a lesson.
2. (now Scotland) Learning, lore; doctrine.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.vii:

     when all other helpes she saw to faile, / She turnd her selfe backe to her wicked leares / And by her deuilish arts thought to preuaile [...].

   • 1898, Francis James Child (editor), Lord William, or Lord Lundy, from Child's Ballads,

     They dressed up in maids' array,

     And passd for sisters fair;

     With ae consent gaed ower the sea,

     For to seek after lear.

Etymology 2

From Middle English learen, leren (“to learn", also "to teach”). Doublet of learn (Etymology 2).

Verb

lear (third-person singular simple present lears, present participle learing, simple past and past participle leared)

1. (transitive, archaic and Scotland) To teach.
2. (intransitive, archaic) To learn.
   • 14thC, Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue and Tale, from The Canterbury Tales,

     He hath take on him many a great emprise,

     Which were full hard for any that is here

     To bring about, but they of him it lear.

Etymology 3

See lehr.

Noun

lear (plural lears)

1. Alternative form of lehr

Anagrams

• Arel, Earl, Elar, Lare, Rael, Raël, Real, earl, lare, rale, real

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Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l̠ʲaɾˠ/

Noun

lear m (genitive singular lir)

1. (literary or archaic, except in phrases) sea, ocean

Derived terms

• thar lear (“overseas”)

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Volapük

Noun

lear (plural lears)

1. olive tree

Declension

declension of lear

	singular	plural
nominative	lear	lears
genitive	leara	learas
dative	leare	leares
accusative	leari	learis
vocative 1	o lear!	o lears!
predicative 2	learu	learus

• ¹ status as a case is disputed
• ² in some later, non-classical Volapük only