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Webster 1913 Edition

Dear

Dear

(dēr)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Dearer
(dēr′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Dearest
(dēr′ĕst)
.]
[OE.
dere
,
deore
, AS.
deóre
; akin to OS.
diuri
, D.
duur
, OHG.
tiuri
, G.
theuer
,
teuer
, Icel.
dȳrr
, Dan. & Sw.
dyr
. Cf.
Darling
,
Dearth
.]
1.
Bearing a high price; high-priced; costly; expensive.
The cheapest of us is ten groats too
dear
.
Shakespeare
2.
Marked by scarcity or dearth, and exorbitance of price;
as, a
dear
year
.
3.
Highly valued; greatly beloved; cherished; precious.
“Hear me, dear lady.”
Shak.
Neither count I my life
dear
unto myself.
Acts xx. 24.
And the last joy was
dearer
than the rest.
Pope.
Dear
as remember’d kisses after death.
Tennyson.
4.
Hence, close to the heart; heartfelt; present in mind; engaging the attention.
(a)
Of agreeable things and interests.
[I'll] leave you to attend him: some
dear
cause
Will in concealment wrap me up awhile.
Shakespeare
(b)
Of disagreeable things and antipathies.
In our
dear
peril.
Shakespeare
Would I had met my
dearest
foe in heaven
Or ever I had seen that day.
Shakespeare

Dear

,
Noun.
A dear one; lover; sweetheart.
That kiss I carried from thee,
dear
.
Shakespeare

Dear

,
adv.
Dearly; at a high price.
If thou attempt it, it will cost thee
dear
.
Shakespeare

Dear

,
Verb.
T.
To endear.
[Obs.]
Shelton.

Webster 1828 Edition

Dear

DEAR

, a.

Definition 2024

dear

dear

English

Adjective

dear ‎(comparative dearer, superlative dearest)

  1. Loved; lovable.
    • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 29686887 , chapter IV:
      So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
  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.‎
    • 1902, Briquettes as Fuel in Foreign Countries (report of the United States Bureau of Foreign Commerce):
      This water is sold for 50 cents per ton, which is not dear under the circumstances.
  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!‎
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 7, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      “A very welcome, kind, useful present, that means to the parish. By the way, Hopkins, let this go no further. We don't want the tale running round that a rich person has arrived. Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing. […]”
  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

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

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

Etymology 2

Middle English dere, from Old English dēor, from Proto-Germanic *deuzaz. Cognate with the above

Adjective

dear ‎(comparative more dear, superlative most dear)

  1. Severe(ly affected), sore.
  2. (obsolete) Fierce.
    The Christens found the heathens dear, as the lion doth the bear.‎
Translations
References

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: friend · herself · year · #295: dear · high · above · received

Anagrams

Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [dʲaɾˠ]

Verb

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

  1. To draw (design).

Conjugation

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.

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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