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Wiktionary

fear

See also: Fear, féar, and fear-

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English feer, fere, fer, from Old English fǣr, ġefǣr (“calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack, terrible sight”), from Proto-Germanic *fērō, *fērą (“danger”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to attempt, try, research, risk”). Cognate with Dutch gevaar (“danger, risk, peril”), German Gefahr (“danger, risk, hazard”), Swedish fara (“danger, risk, peril”), Latin perīculum (“danger, risk, trial”), Albanian frikë (“fear, danger”), Romanian frică. Doublet of peril.

The verb is from Middle English feren, from Old English fǣran (“to frighten, raven”), from the noun. Cognate with the archaic Dutch verb varen (“to fear; to cause fear”).

Noun

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fear (countable and uncountable, plural fears)

  2. (uncountable) A strong, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.
    He was struck by fear on seeing the snake.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
      I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed.
    • 1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter III (Accessory After the Fact), page 382, column 1:
      Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 18, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
      ‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,’ said Munday with granite seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police […]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers?’
  3. (countable) A phobia, a sense of fear induced by something or someone.
    Not everybody has the same fears. I have a fear of ants.
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.
  4. (uncountable) Terrified veneration or reverence, particularly towards God, gods, or sovereigns.
  5. (UK, with definite article, "the fear") A feeling of dread and anxiety when waking after drinking a lot of alcohol, wondering what one did while drunk.
    Synonym: hangxiety
    • 2019, Ruth Kelly, The Little Vineyard in Provence:
      Her feeling of humiliation had intensified as the day had gone on and her hangover had worsened. She now also had 'the fear' to contend with, […]
    • 2020, Mark Ratcliffe, The Step Down: A Very Scottish Crime:
      He had the fear, that feeling of dread that you've done something really embarrassing. The fear was a hundred times worse than the hangover. No, a thousand times worse.
Synonyms
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  • (an emotion caused by actual or perceived danger; a sense of fear induced by something or someone): See Thesaurus:fear
  • (terrified veneration): dread
Derived terms
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

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fear (third-person singular simple present fears, present participle fearing, simple past and past participle feared)

  2. (transitive) To be afraid of (something or someone); to consider or expect (something or someone) with alarm.
    I fear the worst will happen.
    • c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
      I greatly fear my money is not safe.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 10:28:
      And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
    • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
      At twilight in the summer there is never anybody to fear—man, woman, or cat—in the chambers and at that hour the mice come out. They do not eat parchment or foolscap or red tape, but they eat the luncheon crumbs.
    • 2013 July 19, Mark Tran, “Denied an education by war”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 1:
      One particularly damaging, but often ignored, effect of conflict on education is the proliferation of attacks on schools […] as children, teachers or school buildings become the targets of attacks. Parents fear sending their children to school. Girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.
  3. (intransitive) To feel fear.
    Never fear; help is always near.
  5. (intransitive) To worry about, to feel concern for, to be afraid for [with for].
    She fears for her son’s safety.
  6. (transitive) To venerate; to feel awe towards.
    People who fear God can be found in Christian churches.
  7. (transitive) To regret.
    I fear I have bad news for you: your husband has died.
  8. (obsolete, transitive) To cause fear to; to frighten.
  9. (obsolete, transitive) To be anxious or solicitous for.
  10. (obsolete, transitive) To suspect; to doubt.
Synonyms
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Antonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English fere, feore, from Old English fēre (“able to go, fit for service”), from Proto-Germanic *fōriz (“passable”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to put across, ferry”). Cognate with Scots fere, feir (“well, active, sound”), Middle High German gevüere (“able, capable, fit, serviceable”), Swedish för (“capable, able, stout”), Icelandic færr (“able”). Related to fare.

Adjective

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fear (comparative more fear, superlative most fear)

  1. (dialectal) Able; capable; stout; strong; sound.
    hale and fear
Alternative forms
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Anagrams

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Irish

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Old Irish fer,[5] from Proto-Celtic *wiros, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós.

Cognate with Welsh gŵr, Breton gour, Cornish gour, Gaulish viros, Latin vir, Sanskrit वीर (vīra), Lithuanian výras, Avestan 𐬬𐬍𐬭𐬀 (vīra), and Old English wer.

Noun

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fear m (genitive singular fir, nominative plural fir)

  1. man (adult male)
    Tá an fear ag ól uisce.
    The man is drinking water.
    Sláinte chuig na fir agus go marfuire na mná go deo!
    Health to the men and may the women live forever!
  2. husband, male spouse
Declension
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Declension of fear (first declension)
bare forms
case singular plural
nominative fear fir
vocative a fhir a fheara
genitive fir fear
dative fear fir
forms with the definite article
case singular plural
nominative an fear na fir
genitive an fhir na bhfear
dative leis an bhfear
don fhear 		leis na fir
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Middle Irish feraid, from Old Irish feraid.[6]

Verb

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fear (present analytic fearann, future analytic fearfaidh, verbal noun fearadh, past participle feartha) (transitive)

  1. to shed (a liquid)
  2. to excrete
Conjugation
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conjugation of fear (first conjugation – A)
singular plural relative autonomous
first second third first second third
indicative present fearaim fearann tú;
fearair† 		fearann sé, sí fearaimid fearann sibh fearann siad;
fearaid† 		a fhearann; a fhearas /
a bhfearann* 		feartar
past d'fhear mé; d'fhearas /
fhear mé‡; fhearas‡ 		d'fhear tú; d'fhearais /
fhear tú; fhearais‡ 		d'fhear sé, sí /
fhear sé, sí‡ 		d'fhearamar; d'fhear muid /
fhearamar; fhear muid‡ 		d'fhear sibh; d'fhearabhair /
fhear sibh;
fhearabhair‡ 		d'fhear siad; d'fhearadar /
fhear siad; fhearadar‡ 		a d'fhear /
ar fhear* 		fearadh
past habitual d'fhearainn /
fhearainn‡; bhfearainn‡‡ 		d'fheartá /
fheartá‡; bhfeartᇇ 		d'fhearadh sé, sí /
fhearadh sé, sí‡; bhfearadh sé, s퇇 		d'fhearaimis; d'fhearadh muid /
fhearaimis; fhearadh muid‡; bhfearaimis‡‡; bhfearadh muid‡‡ 		d'fhearadh sibh /
fhearadh sibh‡; bhfearadh sibh‡‡ 		d'fhearaidís; d'fhearadh siad /
fhearaidís; fhearadh siad‡; bhfearaidís‡‡; bhfearadh siad‡‡ 		a d'fhearadh /
a bhfearadh* 		d'fheartaí /
fheartaí‡; bhfearta퇇
future fearfaidh mé;
fearfad 		fearfaidh tú;
fearfair† 		fearfaidh sé, sí fearfaimid;
fearfaidh muid 		fearfaidh sibh fearfaidh siad;
fearfaid† 		a fhearfaidh; a fhearfas /
a bhfearfaidh* 		fearfar
conditional d'fhearfainn / fhearfainn‡; bhfearfainn‡‡ d'fhearfá / fhearfá‡; bhfearfᇇ d'fhearfadh sé, sí / fhearfadh sé, sí‡; bhfearfadh sé, s퇇 d'fhearfaimis; d'fhearfadh muid / fhearfaimis‡; fhearfadh muid‡; bhfearfaimis‡‡; bhfearfadh muid‡‡ d'fhearfadh sibh / fhearfadh sibh‡; bhfearfadh sibh‡‡ d'fhearfaidís; d'fhearfadh siad / fhearfaidís‡; fhearfadh siad‡; bhfearfaidís‡‡; bhfearfadh siad‡‡ a d'fhearfadh /
a bhfearfadh* 		d'fhearfaí / fhearfaí‡; bhfearfa퇇
subjunctive present go bhfeara mé;
go bhfearad† 		go bhfeara tú;
go bhfearair† 		go bhfeara sé, sí go bhfearaimid;
go bhfeara muid 		go bhfeara sibh go bhfeara siad;
go bhfearaid† 		— go bhfeartar
past dá bhfearainn dá bhfeartá dá bhfearadh sé, sí dá bhfearaimis;
dá bhfearadh muid 		dá bhfearadh sibh dá bhfearaidís;
dá bhfearadh siad 		— dá bhfeartaí
imperative fearaim fear fearadh sé, sí fearaimis fearaigí;
fearaidh† 		fearaidís — feartar
verbal noun fearadh
past participle feartha

* indirect relative
† archaic or dialect form
‡ dependent form
‡‡ dependent form used with particles that trigger eclipsis

Mutation

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Mutated forms of fear
radical lenition eclipsis
fear fhear bhfear

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

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  1. ^ Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, § 57, page 30
  2. ^ Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart (in German), volume II, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 106
  3. ^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, § 269, page 95
  4. ^ de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1977) Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge: An Deilbhíocht (in Irish), 2nd edition, Institiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath [Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies], section 5, page 3
  5. ^ Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 fer”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
  6. ^ Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “feraid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Further reading

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Scots

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Noun

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fear (plural fears)

  1. fear

Verb

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fear (third-person singular simple present fears, present participle fearin, simple past feart, past participle feart)

  1. to fear
  2. to frighten, scare

Scottish Gaelic

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old Irish fer, from Proto-Celtic *wiros, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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fear m (genitive singular fir, plural fir)

  1. man
  2. husband, male spouse

Declension

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Declension of fear (type I masculine noun)
Indefinite
Singular Plural
Nominative fear fir
Genitive fir fhear
Dative fear fir; fearaibh✝
Definite
Singular Plural
Nominative (am) fear (na) fir
Genitive (an) fhir (nam) fear
Dative (an) fhear (na) fir; fearaibh✝
Vocative fhir fheara

✝ obsolete form, used until the 19th century

Derived terms

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Pronoun

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fear (genitive fir)

  1. somebody, something, one

Usage notes

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Derived terms

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Mutation

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Mutation of fear
radical lenition
fear fhear

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Scottish Gaelic.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

See also

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Further reading

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West Frisian

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Etymology 1

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From Old Frisian fethere, from Proto-West Germanic *feþru, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō, from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥.

Cognate with English feather, Greek φτερό (fteró, “wing, feather”), Latin penna (“wing, feather”) and Irish éan (“bird”).

Noun

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fear c (plural fearren, diminutive fearke)

  1. feather
  2. spring (mechanical device)
Further reading
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  • “fear (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Etymology 2

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From Proto-Germanic *farjǭ. Cognate with Dutch veer, English ferry.

Noun

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fear n (plural fearen)

  1. ferry
Further reading
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  • “fear (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Etymology 3

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From Old Frisian *farn, from Proto-West Germanic *farn.

Noun

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fear c (plural fearen)

  1. fern
Further reading
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  • “fear (III)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

Etymology 4

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From Old Frisian *farch, from Proto-West Germanic *farh. Cognate with English farrow.

Adjective

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fear

  1. farrow
Inflection
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Inflection of fear
uninflected fear
inflected feare
comparative —
positive
predicative/adverbial fear
indefinite c. sing. feare
n. sing. fear
plural feare
definite feare
partitive fears
Further reading
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  • “fear (V)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
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