dear

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Middle English dere, from Old English dēore. Cognate with Dutch duur (“costly, precious”), German teuer (“costly, precious”), Icelandic dýr (“expensive”), Norwegian dyr, Swedish dyr (“expensive”).

Adjective

dear (comparative dearer, superlative dearest)

  1. Loved; lovable.
  2. Loving, affectionate, heartfelt
    Such dear embrace tenderly comforts even in this dear sorrow
  3. Precious to or greatly valued by someone.
    The dearer the giver, the dearer the trinket he brings!
  4. High in price; expensive.
    The dearer the jewel, the greater the love expressed?
  5. A formal way to start (possibly after my) addressing somebody at the beginning of a letter, memo etc.
    Dear Sir/Madam/Miss, please notice our offices will be closed during the following bank holidays:
  6. A formal way to start (often after my) addressing somebody one likes or regards kindly.
    My dear friend, I feel better as soon as you come sit beside my sickbed!
  7. An ironic way to start (often after my) addressing an inferior.
    My dear boy, if your grades don't pick up I won't bounce you on but over my knee!
  8. (obsolete) noble
Derived terms
Translations
loved; lovable
loving, affectionate, heartfelt
precious to or greatly valued by someone
high in price; expensive
formal way of addressing
an informal way of addressing the recipient in a letter's opening line
a formal way to start (often after my) addressing somebody one likes or regards kindly
an ironic way to start (often after my) addressing an inferior
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

Noun

dear (plural dears)

  1. A very kind, loving person.
    My cousin is such a dear, always drawing me pictures.
  2. A beloved person
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
a very kind, loving person
beloved#noun — see beloved

Verb

dear (third-person singular simple present dears, present participle dearing, simple past and past participle deared)

  1. (obsolete) To endear.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shelton to this entry?)

Adverb

dear (comparative more dear, superlative most dear)

  1. (obsolete) dearly; at a high price
    • Shakespeare
      If thou attempt it, it will cost thee dear.

Etymology 2

Middle English dere, from Old English dēor. Cognate with the above

Adjective

dear (comparative more dear, superlative most dear)

  1. Severe(ly affected), sore
Translations
sore — see sore

Statistics

Anagrams

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Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA: [dʲaɾˠ]

Verb

dear (present analytic dearann, future analytic dearfaidh, verbal noun dearadh, past participle deartha)

  1. To draw (design).

Conjugation

First Conjugation (A)
singular plural autonomous
first second third first second third
indicative present dearaim dearann tú;
dearair†		 dearann sé, sí dearaimid dearann sibh dearann siad;
dearaid†		 deartar
past dhear mé;
dhearas†		 dhear tú;
dhearais†		 dhear sé, sí dhearamar dhear sibh;
dhearabhair†		 dhear siad;
dhearadar†		 dearadh
future dearfaidh mé;
dearfad†		 dearfaidh tú;
dearfair†		 dearfaidh sé, sí dearfaimid;
dearfam†		 dearfaidh sibh dearfaidh siad;
dearfaid†		 dearfar
past habitual dhearainn dheartá dhearadh sé, sí dhearaimis dhearadh sibh dhearaidís dheartaí
imperative dearaim dear dearadh sé, sí dearaimis dearaigí dearaidís deartar
conditional dhearfainn dhearfá dhearfadh sé, sí dhearfaimis dhearfadh sibh dhearfaidís dhearfaí
subjunctive present deara mé;
dearad†		 deara tú;
dearair†		 deara sé, sí dearaimid deara sibh deara siad;
dearaid†		 deartar
past dearainn deartá dearadh sé, sí dearaimis dearadh sibh dearaidís deartaí
verbal noun dearadh
past participle deartha

† Dialect form

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
dear dhear ndear
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
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Last modified on 20 May 2013, at 16:33