*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of abear

From Middle English aberen, from Old English āberan (“to bear, carry, carry away”), from ā- (“away, out”), a- + beran (“to bear”), from Proto-Germanic *uzberaną (“to bear off, bring forth, produce”), from Proto-Indo-Euro

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

To put up with; to endure; to bear. · To bear; to carry. · To behave; to comport oneself.

noun

Bearing, behavior.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English aberen, from Old English āberan (“to bear, carry, carry away”), from ā- (“away, out”), a- + beran (“to bear”), from Proto-Germanic *uzberaną (“to bear off, bring forth, produce”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”), equivalent to a- + bear. Cognate with Old High German irberan, Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (usbairan).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "aberen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English aberen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "āberan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to bear, carry, carry away"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English āberan (“to bear, carry, carry away”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*uzberaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to bear off, bring forth, produce"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *uzberaną (“to bear off, bring forth, produce”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰer-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to bear, carry"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "prefix",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "a",
        "3": "bear"
      },
      "expansion": "a- + bear"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "irberan"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German irberan"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (usbairan)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "aberen",
      "aberen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "āberan",
      "aberan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ā-",
      "a-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "a-",
      "a-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "beran",
      "beran#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*uzberaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/uzberaną"
    ],
    [
      "*bʰer-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰer-"
    ],
    [
      "a-",
      "a-#English"
    ],
    [
      "bear",
      "bear#English"
    ],
    [
      "irberan",
      "irberan#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽",
      "𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽#Gothic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To put up with; to endure; to bear.",
        "To bear; to carry.",
        "To behave; to comport oneself."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "dialectal",
        "transitive",
        "obsolete",
        "reflexive"
      ],
      "recordId": "b68951dba151621866959bb6b81e78666bddfd895f1c512c81ef8d332b1bee11",
      "rawRecordSha256": "10a8638008012d0933ceaa7f74952e3aafbb46b8e54bfa8b857ea060aa0870bf",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1589
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Bearing, behavior."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "e73b6aab87b9ef0209ff282897c01c4e573919100f1c781515423a9db0dd4070",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2a5ee71e7e83824d430eb4e754636595c40186c6ef707e2486be6dbf4862d019",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1590
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for abear →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YWJlYXI