eagre

English

Etymology 1

See eager.

Adjective

eagre (comparative more eagre, superlative most eagre)

1. Obsolete form of eager.
   • 1614, Walter Raleigh, The History of the World, Book III., Chapter VII., page #66:

     Howſoeuer it were, the Lacedæmonians being no leſſe wearied of the warre, than the Athenians were eagre to purſue it, the one obtained their eaſe, and the other the execution and honor which they deſired : for all the Greekes (thoſe of Peloponmeſus excepted) willingly ſubiected themſelues to the commandment of the Athenians which was both beginning of their greatneſſe in that preſent age, and of their ruine in the next ſucceeding.

Etymology 2

Not attested in Middle English; either from Old English ēagor (“water, sea”) or Old Norse ægir (“sea, ocean”); however, both possibilities fail to show the phonological outcome one would expect.

Alternative forms

• aegir, eager, eger, egre, eygre

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeɪɡə(ɹ)/, /ˈiːɡə(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -eɪɡə(ɹ), -iːɡə(ɹ)

Noun

eagre (plural eagres)

1. a tidal bore
   • 1896, Bret Harte, In a Hollow of the Hills: and Other Tales, page 210:

     A large wave like an eagre, diverging from its bow, was extending to either bank, swamping the tules and threatening to submerge the lower levees.

Synonyms

• tidal bore, bore

Translations

a tidal bore

• Maori: rōrea

References

• “eagre”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Anagrams

• Eager, aeger, agree, eager, geare, æger