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Webster 1913 Edition

Pair

Pair

(pâr)
,
Noun.
[F.
paire
, LL.
paria
, L.
paria
, pl. of
par
pair, fr.
par
, adj., equal. Cf.
Apparel
,
Par
equality,
Peer
an equal.]
1.
A number of things resembling one another, or belonging together; a set;
as, a
pair
or flight of stairs
. “A pair of beads.”
Chaucer.
Beau. & Fl.
“Four pair of stairs.”
Macaulay.
[Now mostly or quite disused.]
Two crowns in my pocket, two
pair
of cards.
Beau. & Fl.
2.
Two things of a kind, similar in form, suited to each other, and intended to be used together;
as, a
pair
of gloves or stockings; a
pair
of shoes.
3.
Two of a sort; a span; a yoke; a couple; a brace;
as, a
pair
of horses; a
pair
of oxen.
4.
A married couple; a man and wife.
“A happy pair.”
Dryden.
“The hapless pair.”
Milton.
5.
A single thing, composed of two pieces fitted to each other and used together;
as, a
pair
of scissors; a
pair
of pants; a
pair
of tongs; a
pair
of bellows.
7.
(Kinematics)
In a mechanism, two elements, or bodies, which are so applied to each other as to mutually constrain relative motion.
☞
Pairs
are named in accordance with the kind of motion they permit; thus, a journal and its bearing form a
turning pair
, a cylinder and its piston a
sliding pair
, a screw and its nut a
twisting pair
, etc. Any
pair
in which the constraining contact is along lines or at points only (as a cam and roller acting together), is designated a
higher pair
; any
pair
having constraining surfaces which fit each other (as a cylindrical pin and eye, a screw and its nut, etc.), is called a
lower pair
.
Pair royal
(pl.
Pairs Royal
)
three things of a sort; – used especially of playing cards in some games, as cribbage; as three kings, three “eight spots” etc. Four of a kind are called a double pair royal.
“Something in his face gave me as much pleasure as a pair royal of naturals in my own hand.”
Goldsmith.
“That great pair royal of adamantine sisters [the Fates].”
Quarles.
[Written corruptly
parial
and
prial
.]
Syn. –
Pair
,
Flight
,
Set
.
Originally, pair was not confined to two things, but was applied to any number of equal things (pares), that go together.
Ben Jonson
speaks of a pair (set) of chessmen; also, he and
Lord Bacon
speak of a pair (pack) of cards. A “pair of stairs” is still in popular use, as well as the later expression, “flight of stairs.”

Pair

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Paired
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Pairing
.]
1.
To be joined in pairs; to couple; to mate, as for breeding.
2.
To suit; to fit, as a counterpart.
My heart was made to fit and
pair
with thine.
Rowe.
3.
Same as
To pair off
. See phrase below.
To pair off
,
to separate from a group in pairs or couples;
specif.
(
Parliamentary Cant
),
to agree with one of the opposite party or opinion to abstain from voting on specified questions or issues. See
Pair
,
Noun.
, 6.

Pair

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To unite in couples; to form a pair of; to bring together, as things which belong together, or which complement, or are adapted to one another.
Glossy jet is
paired
with shining white.
Pope.
2.
To engage (one’s self) with another of opposite opinions not to vote on a particular question or class of questions.
[Parliamentary Cant]
Paired fins
.
(Zool.)
See under
Fin
.

Pair

,
Verb.
T.
[See
Impair
.]
To impair.
[Obs.]
Spenser.

Webster 1828 Edition

Pair

PAIR

,
Noun.
[L. par; Heb. to join, couple or associate.]
1.
Two things of a kind, similar in form, applied to the same purpose,and suited to each other or used together; as a pair of gloves or stockings; a pair of shoes; a pair of oxen or horses.
2.
Two of a sort; a couple; a brace; as a pair of nerves; a pair of doves. Luke 2.

PAIR

,
Verb.
I.
To be joined in pairs; to couple, as, birds pair in summer.
1.
To suit; to fit; as a counterpart.
Ethelinda,
My heart was made to fit and pair with thine.

PAIR

,
Verb.
T.
To unite in couples; as minds paired in heaven.
1.
To unite as correspondent, or rather to contrast.
Glossy jet is paired with shining white.

PAIR

,
Verb.
T.
To impair. [See Impair.]

Definition 2024

pair

pair

English

Pronunciation

  • enPR: pâr, IPA(key): /peə(r)/
  • Rhymes: -ɛə(r)
  • Homophones: pare, pear

Noun

pair ‎(plural pairs or pair)

  1. Two similar or identical things taken together; often followed by of.
    • Charles Dickens, The Private Theatricals (in Sketches by Boz)
      Everybody sat down; the curtain shook, rose sufficiently high to display several pair of yellow boots paddling about, and there it remained.
    • 2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
      Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much.
    I couldn't decide which of the pair of designer shirts I preferred, so I bought the pair.‎
  2. Two people in a relationship, partnership (especially sexual) or friendship.
    Spouses should make a great pair.‎
  3. Used with binary nouns (often in the plural to indicate multiple instances, since such nouns are plurale tantum)
    a pair of scissors; two pairs of spectacles; several pairs of jeans‎
  4. A couple of working animals attached to work together, as by a yoke.
    A pair is harder to drive than two mounts with separate riders.‎
  5. (card games) A poker hand that contains two cards of identical rank, which cannot also count as a better hand.
  6. (cricket) A score of zero runs (a duck) in both innings of a two-innings match
  7. (baseball, informal) A double play, two outs recorded in one play
    They turned a pair to end the fifth.‎
  8. (baseball, informal) A doubleheader, two games played on the same day between the same teams
    The Pirates took a pair from the Phillies.‎
  9. (slang) A pair of breasts
    She's got a gorgeous pair.‎
  10. (Australia, politics) The exclusion of one member of a parliamentary party from a vote, if a member of the other party is absent for important personal reasons.
  11. Two members of opposite parties or opinion, as in a parliamentary body, who mutually agree not to vote on a given question, or on issues of a party nature during a specified time.
    There were two pairs on the final vote.
  12. (archaic) A number of things resembling one another, or belonging together; a set.
    • Charles Dickens
      plunging myself into poverty and shabbiness and love in one room up three pair of stairs
    • Beaumont and Fletcher
      Two crowns in my pocket, two pair of cards.
  13. (kinematics) In a mechanism, two elements, or bodies, which are so applied to each other as to mutually constrain relative motion; named in accordance with the motion it permits, as in turning pair, sliding pair, twisting pair.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

pair ‎(third-person singular simple present pairs, present participle pairing, simple past and past participle paired)

  1. (transitive) To group into sets of two.
    • Alexander Pope
      Glossy jet is paired with shining white.
    The wedding guests were paired boy/girl and groom's party/bride's party.
  2. (transitive) To bring two (animals, notably dogs) together for mating.
  3. (politics, slang) To engage (oneself) with another of opposite opinions not to vote on a particular question or class of questions.
  4. (intransitive) To suit; to fit, as a counterpart.
    • Rowe
      My heart was made to fit and pair with thine.
  5. (computing) to form wireless connection between to devices
    • 2015 November 18, Microsoft, “How-to: Keyboards”, in http://www.microsoft.com, retrieved 2015-02-21:
      If your computer has a built-in, non-Microsoft transceiver, you can pair the device directly to the computer by using your computer’s Bluetooth software configuration program but without using the Microsoft Bluetooth transceiver.
Derived terms
Related terms

See also

Poker hands in English · poker hands (layout · text)
high card pair two pair three of a kind straight
flush full house four of a kind straight flush royal flush
Translations

Etymology 2

Verb

pair ‎(third-person singular simple present pairs, present participle pairing, simple past and past participle paired)

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

Anagrams

Catalan

Verb

pair ‎(first-person singular present paeixo, past participle paït)

  1. to digest
  2. to handle, to cope with

Conjugation

Synonyms

French

Etymology

From Latin par ‎(“equal”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pɛʁ/

Adjective

pair m ‎(feminine singular paire, masculine plural pairs, feminine plural paires)

  1. (of a number) even

Antonyms

Related terms

Noun

pair m ‎(plural pairs)

  1. A peer, high nobleman/vassal (as in peer of the realm)
  2. In tennis, the score deuce

Antonyms

Anagrams

Romansch

Alternative forms

  • (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan) pér
  • (Surmiran) peir

Etymology

From Latin pirum.

Noun

pair m (plural pairs)

  1. (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader) pear

Related terms

Etymology

From Old French paire, from Latin paria ‎(“equals”), neuter plural of pār.

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