ware

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

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /wɛə(ɹ)/
• (General American) enPR: wâr, IPA^(key): /wɛɚ/
• Homophones: wear; where (wine–whine merger)
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From Middle English ware, war, from Old English wær, from Proto-West Germanic *war, from Proto-Germanic *waraz.

Adjective

ware (comparative more ware, superlative most ware)

1. (poetic) Aware.

Usage notes

Replaced by intensified form aware.

Derived terms

• aware
• beware
• unware

Etymology 2

From Middle English ware, from Old English waru, from Proto-West Germanic *waru, from Proto-Germanic *warō (“attention”) as in beware, in the sense of “an object of care, a valuable”, from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to watch, keep guard”), whence also ward. Cognate with Dutch waar (“goods offered for sale or use”) and Swedish vara, with the same meaning.

Noun

ware (usually uncountable, plural wares)

1. (uncountable, usually in combination) Goods or a type of goods offered for sale or use.
2. (in the plural) See wares.
3. (uncountable) Pottery or metal goods.

   damascene ware, tole ware

4. (countable, archaeology) A style or genre of artifact.
5. (Ireland) Crockery.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 3

From Middle English waren (“to be ware, be on guard, be mindful, protect, guard”), from Old English warian, from Proto-West Germanic *warōn, from Proto-Germanic *warōną. Cognate with Saterland Frisian woarje (“to guard”).

Verb

ware (third-person singular simple present wares, present participle waring, simple past and past participle wared)

1. (obsolete or dialectal) To be ware or mindful of something.
   • 1450, Palladius on Husbondrieː

     Ware the horn and heels lest they fling a flap to thee.

   • c. 1450, Who Ðat Liste Lokeː

     Ware avoutrer untrue; Such love was never good ne may be true.

   • c. 1470, The Macro Playsː

     ‘Ware that!’ quoth Ser Wyly.
2. (obsolete) To protect or guard (especially oneself); to be on guard, be wary.

   Ware thee. ― Watch yourself.

Translations

Adjective

ware (comparative more ware, superlative most ware)

1. (obsolete) Wary; cautious.

Derived terms

• wary

Related terms

• ward

Etymology 4

From Middle English wor (in sewor) from Old English wār (“seaweed”), ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *wīraz; compare wire. Cognate with Scots wair (“seaweed”), Dutch wier (“seaweed”), Middle Dutch wier (“seaweed”).

Noun

ware

1. (obsolete, UK, dialect) Seaweed; drift seaweed; seawrack.

Derived terms

• ware goose

Etymology 5

Verb

ware (third-person singular simple present wares, present participle waring, simple past and past participle wared)

1. (nautical) To wear, or veer.

Etymology 6

From Middle English ware, from Old Norse vár (“spring”), from Proto-Germanic *wazrą. Cognate with Icelandic vor (“spring”), Swedish vår (“spring”), Danish vår (“spring”), Scots ware, wair (“spring”).

Noun

ware (plural wares)

1. (Northern England, Scotland) Spring, springtime.

Etymology 7

Verb

ware

1. Old eye dialect spelling of were.
   • c. 1815, Mary Woody, A true account of Nayomy Wise

     A larg concors ware standing round

Etymology 8

Verb

ware

1. (obsolete) simple past of wear

References

Anagrams

• Rawe, Wear, -wear, wear, arew, Awre

Afrikaans

Verb

ware

1. imperfect subjunctive of wees

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋaːrə/

Adjective

ware

1. inflection of waar:
   1. masculine/feminine singular attributive
   2. definite neuter singular attributive
   3. plural attributive

Verb

ware

1. (dated or formal) singular past subjunctive of zijn
2. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of waren

Hausa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wáː.ɽèː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [wáː.ɽèː]

Verb

wārḕ (grade 4)

1. to separate things, to set things aside
2. to secede

Japanese

Romanization

ware

1. Rōmaji transcription of われ

Maori

Adjective

ware

1. ignorant

Noun

ware

1. saliva

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch *wara, from Proto-Germanic *warō, probably related to *waraz (“wary, watchful”).

Noun

wāre f

1. merchandise, product

Inflection

Descendants

• Dutch: waar
• Limburgish: waar

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

wâre

1. first/third-person singular past subjunctive of wēsen

Further reading

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

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

ware

1. Alternative form of veir

Etymology 2

Noun

ware

1. Alternative form of werre (“war”)

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwɑ.re/

Noun

ware

1. inflection of waru:
   1. nominative plural
   2. accusative singular/plural
   3. genitive/dative singular

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

From Middle High German wërden, from Old High German werdan. Compare German werden.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋaːrə/

Verb

ware

1. to become

Conjugation

Scots

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [wer], [war], [voːr]

Noun

ware (plural wares)

1. spring, springtime
2. cold weather in springtime

Synonyms

• spring

Etymology 2

From Middle English ware, from Old English wār, from Proto-West Germanic *wair, ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *wīraz; compare wire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [weːr]

Noun

ware (plural wares)

1. a type of seaweed

Derived terms

• warebrak

Yola

Verb

ware

1. Alternative form of war (“were”)

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 84