sear

English

Alternative forms

• sere
• sare

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siːɹ/
• IPA^(key): /sɪə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English sere, seer, seere, from Old English sēar, sīere (“dry, sere, sear, withered, barren”), from Proto-Germanic *sauzaz (“dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂ews- (“dry, parched”) (also reconstructed as *h₂sews-). Cognate with Dutch zoor (“dry, rough”), Low German soor (“dry”), German sohr (“parched, dried up”), dialectal Norwegian søyr (“the desiccation and death of a tree”), Lithuanian saũsas (“dry”), Homeric Ancient Greek αὖος (aûos, “dry”). Doublet of sere and sare.

Adjective

sear (comparative searer or more sear, superlative searest or most sear)

1. Dry; withered, especially of vegetation.

Etymology 2

From Middle English seren, seeren, from Old English sēarian (“to become sere, to grow sear, wither, pine away”), from Proto-Germanic *sauzōną, *sauzijaną (“to become dry”). Related to Old High German sōrēn (“to wither, wilt”). See Etymology 1 for more cognates. The use in firearms terminology may relate to French serrer (“to grip”).

Verb

sear (third-person singular simple present sears, present participle searing, simple past and past participle seared)

1. (transitive) To char, scorch, or burn the surface of (something) with a hot instrument.
2. To wither; to dry up.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

3. (transitive, figurative) To make callous or insensible.
4. (transitive, figurative) To mark permanently, as if by burning.

   The events of that day were seared into her memory.

Translations

To char, scorch, or burn the surface of something with a hot instrument

• Danish: brune (cooking of meat)
• Dutch: (cooking) dichtschroeien (nl)
• Finnish: kärventää (fi), korventaa (fi), polttaa (fi)
• French: (cooking) saisir (fr), griller (fr), brûler (fr), calciner (fr), marquer (fr)
• German: ausbrennen, versengen (de), scharf anbraten, ausdörren, verbrennen (de), austrocknen (de), einbrennen (de)
• Italian: rosolare (it), bruciacchiare (it), fare passare al salto
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: hūhunu, hunuhunu
• Occitan: sasir (oc), rimar, grasilhar (oc), marcar, cremar (oc), usclar (oc)
• Portuguese: queimar (pt), chamuscar (pt), tostar (pt)
• Russian: прижигать (ru) (prižigatʹ), обжигать (ru) (obžigatʹ)
• Spanish: chamuscar (es)
• Swedish: sveda (sv), bränna (sv)

Noun

sear (plural sears)

1. A scar produced by searing
2. Part of a gun that retards the hammer until the trigger is pulled.

Translations

A scar produced by searing

• Finnish: paloarpi, palanut kohta, kärventymä
• Maori: kutiwera
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: ожо́г (ru) m (ožóg)

Part of a gun that retards the hammer until the trigger is pulled

• German: Abzugsstück n, Fangklinke f
• Russian: шепта́ло (ru) n (šeptálo)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: fiador m
• Swedish: spärr (sv) c, spänntand c

Anagrams

• AREs, ARSE, Ares, EARs, ERAs, Ersa, SERA, ares, arse, ears, eras, rase, reas, sare, sera

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Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

sear

1. eastern, east

Synonyms

• an ear

Antonyms

• siar

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West Frisian

Adjective

sear

1. painful

Inflection

Inflection of sear
uninflected	sear
inflected	seare
comparative	searder
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		sear	searder	it searst it searste
indefinite	c. sing.	seare	seardere	searste
	n. sing.	sear	searder	searste
	plural	seare	seardere	searste
definite		seare	seardere	searste
partitive		sears	searders	—

Further reading

• “sear (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011