tear

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

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English teren, from Old English teran (“to tear, lacerate”), from Proto-Germanic *teraną (“to tear, tear apart, rip”), from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to tear, tear apart”).

Cognate with Scots tere, teir, tair (“to rend, lacerate, wound, rip, tear out”), Dutch teren (“to eliminate, efface, live, survive by consumption”), German zehren (“to consume, misuse”), German zerren (“to tug, rip, tear”), Danish tære (“to consume”), Swedish tära (“to fret, consume, deplete, use up”), Icelandic tæra (“to clear, corrode”). Outside Germanic, cognate to Ancient Greek δέρω (dérō, “to skin”), Albanian ther (“to slay, skin, pierce”). Doublet of tire.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: tâ, IPA^(key): /tɛə/
• (General American) enPR: târ, IPA^(key): /tɛəɹ/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /teə/
• Homophone: tare, tear (NZ)
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

Verb

tear (third-person singular simple present tears, present participle tearing, simple past tore, past participle torn or (now colloquial and nonstandard) tore)

2. (transitive) To rend (a solid material) by holding or restraining in two places and pulling apart, whether intentionally or not; to destroy or separate.
4. (transitive) To injure as if by pulling apart.

5. (transitive) To destroy or reduce abstract unity or coherence, such as social, political or emotional.

6. (transitive) To make (an opening) with force or energy.

7. (transitive, often with off or out) To remove by tearing, or with sudden great force.
8. (transitive, of structures, with down) To demolish.

9. (intransitive) To become torn, especially accidentally.

10. (intransitive) To move or act with great speed, energy, or violence.
11. (intransitive) To smash or enter something with great force.

Synonyms

• (break): rend, rip
• (remove by tearing): rip out, tear off, tear out

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

tear (plural tears)

1. A hole or break caused by tearing.

2. (slang) A rampage.

   to go on a tear

Derived terms

Translations

Derived terms

• tearsheet

Etymology 2

From Middle English teer (“tear”), from Old English tēar, from Proto-West Germanic *tahr, from Proto-Germanic *tahrą (“tear”), from Proto-Indo-European *dáḱru- (“tears”).

Cognates include Old Norse tár (Danish tåre and Norwegian tåre), Old High German zahar (German Zähre), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂 (tagr), Irish deoir and Latin lacrima.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: tî, IPA^(key): /tɪə̯/
• (General American) enPR: tîr, IPA^(key): /tɪəɹ/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /tɪə̯/, /teə/
• Homophone: tier (layer or rank), tear (NZ, also)
• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Noun

tear (plural tears)

2. A drop of clear, salty liquid produced from the eyes by crying or irritation.
3. Something in the form of a transparent drop of fluid matter; also, a solid, transparent, tear-shaped drop, as of some balsams or resins.
4. (glass manufacture) A partially vitrified bit of clay in glass.
5. That which causes or accompanies tears; a lament; a dirge.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

tear (third-person singular simple present tears, present participle tearing, simple past and past participle teared)

1. (intransitive) To produce tears.

Translations

Anagrams

• 'eart, Ater, Reta, aret, arte-, rate, tare, tera-

Galician

Etymology

Tea (“cloth”) +‎ -ar. Compare Portuguese tear and Spanish telar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /teˈaɾ/

Noun

tear m (plural teares)

1. loom

References

• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “tear”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “tear”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “tear”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Middle English

Noun

tear

1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of teer (“tear”)

Old English

Alternative forms

• tæhher, tǣr, teagor

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *tahr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tæ͜ɑːr/

Noun

tēar m

1. tear (drop of liquid from the tear duct)

Declension

Derived terms

• tīeran

Descendants

• Middle English: teer, teere, ter, tere, tær, tear (Early Middle English), tyer, tyear, tyar (Kent)
  • English: tear
  • Middle Scots: tear, tere, teir, tichwr, tychir
    • Scots: tear, taer, tare, teir

Portuguese

Etymology

From teia +‎ -ar.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: te‧ar

Noun

tear m (plural teares)

1. loom (machine used to make cloth out of thread)
   • 1878, Joaquim Pedro Oliveira Martins, O hellenismo e a civilisação christan, publ. by the widow Bertand & Co., page 24.

West Frisian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

tear c (plural tearen, diminutive tearke)

1. fold
2. crease

Further reading

• “tear (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011