beer

English Online Dictionary. What means beer‎? What does beer mean?

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English bere, from Old English bēor (“beer”) (Oxford OED notes: "rare, except in poetry"), from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą (“beer”) (putatively from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeusóm), meaning “brewer's yeast”.

However, also see the "beer" entry on OED (q.v.), which links a connection to monastic Vulgar Latin *biber (“a drink, beverage”), from Latin bibere (“to drink”). Samuel Johnson in his famous 18th-century A Dictionary of the English Language guessed it was from (unattested) Welsh *bîr; he distinguished it in his time from ale — the ancient usual word — by beer being older-aged and/or smaller.

Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bjoor, West Frisian bier, German Low German Beer, Dutch bier, German Bier, Icelandic bjór (“beer”).

Pronunciation

• (UK, General Australian) IPA^(key): /bɪə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /bɪɚ/, /bɪɹ/
• (cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /bɛə/
• Homophones: bier, bere, bear (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger)
• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Noun

beer (countable and uncountable, plural beers)

2. (uncountable) An alcoholic drink fermented from starch material, commonly barley malt; often with hops or some other substance (like gruit) to impart a bitter flavor.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:beer
3. (uncountable) A fermented extract of the roots and other parts of various plants, as spruce, ginger, sassafras, etc.
4. (uncountable) A solution produced by steeping plant materials in water or another fluid.
5. (countable) A glass, bottle, or can of any of the above beverages.

6. (countable) A variety of the above beverages.

Derived terms

English terms starting with “beer”

Descendants

• Tok Pisin: bia
• → Alabama: biya
• → Bengali: বিয়ার (biẏar)
• → Burmese: ဘီယာ (bhiya)
• ⇒ Chinese: 啤酒 (píjiǔ)
• → Hausa: biya
• → Hawaiian: bia
• → Hindi: बियर (biyar)
• → Khmer: បៀរ (biə)
• → Maori: pia
• → Swahili: bia
• → Tagalog: bir
• → Telugu: బీరు (bīru)
• → Thai: เบียร์ (biia)
• → Zulu: ubhiya

Translations

Verb

beer (third-person singular simple present beers, present participle beering, simple past and past participle beered)

1. (informal, transitive) To give beer to (someone).
   • 1870, Sidney Daryl, His First Brief. A Comedietta in Clement Scott, Drawing-room Plays and Parlour Pantomimes, Robson and Sons, pages 303–304:

     No doubt he then can feed us, wine us, beer us, And cook us something that can warm and cheer us.
2. (informal, intransitive) To drink beer.

Etymology 2

From Middle English beere, equivalent to be +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbi.ɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbiː.ə/

Noun

beer (plural beers)

1. (nonstandard) One who is or exists.

Alternative forms

• be-er

Related terms

• afterbear
• forebear

Further reading

• “Sumerian beer” from Language Log, 2022-04-04

Anagrams

• Bree, Eber, Erbe, Reeb, bere, bree, eber, reeb

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɪər/

Etymology 1

From Dutch beer, from Proto-Germanic *berô.

Noun

beer (plural bere, diminutive beertjie)

1. bear

Etymology 2

From Dutch beer, from Proto-West Germanic *bair.

Noun

beer (plural bere)

1. boar (male swine)

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beːr/, [bɪːr]
• Hyphenation: beer
• Rhymes: -eːr

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch bēre, from Old Dutch *bero, from Proto-West Germanic *berō, from Proto-Germanic *berô.

Noun

beer m (plural beren, diminutive beertje n)

1. a bear, any member of the family Ursidae

2. (figurative) a person who is physically impressive and/or crude

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: beer
• → Papiamentu: ber, beer

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch bêer, from Old Dutch *bēr, from Proto-West Germanic *bair.

Noun

beer m (plural beren, diminutive beertje n)

1. boar (male swine)

2. buttress; protective external construction, notably against ice or supporting the weight of the main building
3. a boar-shaped type of battering ram
4. a male badger

Derived terms

Descendants

• Afrikaans: beer

Etymology 3

From Middle Dutch bere, from Old Dutch [Term?], from a derivative of Proto-West Germanic *bermō (“yeast”), related to Old English beorma, Albanian burmë.

Noun

beer m (plural beren, diminutive beertje n)

1. (now dialectal) liquid, notably human manure (excrement gathered in a pit to fertilize)

Derived terms

Etymology 4

Borrowed from German Bär. Cognate to etymology 1.

Noun

beer m (plural beren)

1. (university slang) debt

   Synonym: schuld

2. (university slang) creditor (one to whom one owes debt)

   Synonym: schuldeiser

References

• M. J. Koenen & J. Endepols, Verklarend Handwoordenboek der Nederlandse Taal (tevens Vreemde-woordentolk), Groningen, Wolters-Noordhoff, 1969 (26th edition) [Dutch dictionary in Dutch]

Latin

Verb

beer

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of beō

Limburgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /beːʀ/
• Hyphenation: beer
• Rhymes: -eːʀ

Etymology 1

From Middle Low German bêr, from Old Saxon bior, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą.

Alternative forms

• Bier, bier (less common variant)
• bair (Eisden)
• Béër (Eupen)

Noun

beer n

1. beer

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch bere, from Old Dutch bēro, from Proto-West Germanic *bair.

Alternative forms

• Bier, bieër (some dialects, like Voeren)
• Béër (Eupen)

Noun

beer m

1. boar (male swine)

Related terms

• zoog (“female swine”)

Etymology 3

From Middle High German ber, from Old High German beri. Alternatively from Middle Dutch bere, from Old Dutch *beri. Both ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *baʀi, from Proto-Germanic *bazją, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-.

Alternative forms

• bier, bieër

Noun

beer f

1. berry

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *bēr, from Proto-West Germanic *bair.

Noun

bêer m

1. boar, male pig

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: beer
• West Flemish: beir

Further reading

• “beer”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “bere (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page bere

Old French

Alternative forms

• baer, baher, baier, baer, beier, beyer

Etymology

Inherited from Early Medieval Latin badāre.

Verb

beer

1. (transitive) to open
2. (intransitive) to open
3. (chiefly) to pant; to breathe heavily
4. (figuratively) to desire; to lust for

Conjugation

This verb conjugates as a first-group verb ending in -er. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.

Derived terms

• beee

Descendants

• Middle French: beer
  • French: bayer
• Norman: béguer
• Picard: beyer
• Walloon: bawî

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (beer)

Somali

Etymology 1

From Proto-Cushitic *baar-, from Proto-Afroasiatic *bur-. Cognates include Afar baaxo, Saho baarho, Arabic بَرّ (barr), Hebrew בַּר (bar), and Sabaean 𐩨𐩧 (br).

Noun

beer ?

1. cultivated field, garden

Etymology 2

Noun

beer ?

1. liver

References

• Puglielli, Annarita, Mansuur, Cabdalla Cumar (2012) “beer”, in Qaamuuska Af-Soomaliga‎^[1], Rome: RomaTrE-Press, →ISBN, page 101