care

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

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kɛə/
• (General American) enPR: kâr, IPA^(key): /kɛɚ/, [kʰe(ə̯)ɹ], [kʰɛ(ə̯)ɹ]
  • (dialectal) enPR: kêr IPA^(key): /kɪə(ɹ)/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /keː/
• (New Zealand, without the cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /keə/
• (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /kiə/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /keɹ/
• (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA^(key): /kɜː(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
• Homophones: Keir (cheer–chair merger), cur (fair–fur merger)

Etymology 1

From Middle English care, from Old English caru, ċearu (“care, concern, anxiety, sorrow, grief, trouble”), from Proto-West Germanic *karu, from Proto-Germanic *karō (“care, sorrow, cry”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- (“shout, call”). Cognate with Old Saxon cara, kara (“concern, action”), Middle High German kar (“sorrow, lamentation”), Icelandic kör (“sickbed”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐌰 (kara, “concern, care”). Related also to Dutch karig (“scanty”), German karg (“sparse, meagre, barren”), Latin garriō, Ancient Greek γῆρυς (gêrus). See also chary.

Noun

care (countable and uncountable, plural cares)

1. (obsolete) Grief, sorrow. [13th–19th c.]
2. Close attention; concern; responsibility.
   • 1925, Walter Anthony and Tom Reed (titles), Rupert Julian (director), The Phantom of the Opera, silent movie:

     ‘Have a care, Buquet—ghosts like not to be seen or talked about!’

3. (countable, uncountable) Worry.
4. (uncountable) Maintenance, upkeep.
5. (uncountable) The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).
6. (uncountable) The state of being cared for by others.

7. The object of watchful attention or anxiety.

Derived terms

Related terms

• carcake
• chary

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English caren, carien, from Old English carian (“to sorrow, grieve, be troubled, be anxious, to care for, heed”), from Proto-West Germanic *karōn (“to care”), from Proto-Germanic *karōną (“to care”).

Cognate with Old Saxon karōn (“to lament”), Middle High German karen, karn (“to complain, lament, grieve, mourn”), archaic German karen (“to groan, gasp”), Alemannic German karen, kären (“to groan, gasp”), Swedish kära (“to fall in love”), Icelandic kæra (“to care, like”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐍉𐌽 (karōn, “to be concerned”).

Verb

care (third-person singular simple present cares, present participle caring, simple past and past participle cared)

2. (transitive, intransitive) To be concerned (about), to have an interest (in); to feel concern (about).
3. (intransitive, polite, formal, chiefly in the negative) To want, to desire; to like; to be inclined towards or interested in.

4. (intransitive, informal, by extension) To be affected by, to treat as relevant for a subsequent course of action.
5. (intransitive) (with for) To look after or look out for.

6. (intransitive, Appalachia) To mind; to object.

Usage notes

• The sense “to want” is most commonly found as an interrogative or negative sentence, and may take a for clause (would you care for some tea?) or (as a catenative verb) takes a to infinitive (would you care to go with me?). See Appendix:English catenative verbs.
• In the sense “to be concerned about”, care may idiomatically take a figurative amount as a direct object, as in the fixed phrase care a fig (equivalent to give a fig), or care one whit.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Translations

References

Anagrams

• acer, race-, Cera, Race, caer, e-car, CERA, Acre, acre, Crea, race

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaʁ/
• Homophones: car, carent, cares, carre, carrent, carre, quarre, quarres, quarrent, quart

Verb

care

1. inflection of carer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Anagrams

• acre, âcre, créa, race

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈka.re/
• Rhymes: -are
• Hyphenation: cà‧re

Adjective

care f pl

1. feminine plural of caro

Anagrams

• Arce, acre, c'era, cera, crea, reca

Latin

Pronunciation

• carē: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈka.reː/, [ˈkäreː]
• carē: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.re/, [ˈkäːre]
• cāre: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkaː.re/, [ˈkäːrɛ]
• cāre: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈka.re/, [ˈkäːre]

Verb

carē

1. second-person singular present active imperative of careō

Adjective

cāre

1. vocative masculine singular of cārus

Adverb

cārē (comparative cārius, superlative cārissimē)

1. at a high price

References

• “care”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “care”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• care in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English caru, ċearu (“care, concern, anxiety, sorrow, grief, trouble”), from Proto-West Germanic *karu, from Proto-Germanic *karō. See Modern English care for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaːr(ə)/

Noun

care (plural cares)

1. grief; sorrow [from 13th c.]

Descendants

• English: care
• Scots: care
• Yola: caure, caare, caar

References

• “cāre, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɑ.re/

Noun

care

1. accusative/genitive/dative singular of caru

Pali

Alternative forms

Noun

care

1. inflection of cara (“walker; frequenting”):
   1. locative singular
   2. accusative plural

Verb

care

1. first-person singular present/imperative middle of carati (“to walk”)
2. optative active singular of carati (“to walk”)

Romanian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin quālis, quālem. Compare Italian quale, Provençal car, Ligurian quar and Aromanian cari, cai, care.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈka.re/
• Rhymes: -are
• Hyphenation: ca‧re

Determiner

care

1. which

Inflection

Pronoun

care

1. which, that, who

Etymology 2

Noun

care n pl

1. plural of car (“cart”)

Etymology 3

Verb

care

1. third-person singular/plural present subjunctive of căra

References

• care in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

Venetan

Adjective

care f

1. feminine plural of caro