Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗A large, generally omnivorous mammal (a few species are purely carnivorous or herbivorous) of the family Ursidae; having shaggy fur, a very small tail, and flat feet. · The meat of this animal. · A rough, unmannerly, uncouth person. · An investor who sells commodities, securities, or futures in anticipation of a fall in prices.
To endeavour to depress the price of, or prices in.
Characterized by declining prices in securities markets or by belief that the prices will fall.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der.? Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der. Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer-der. Proto-Germanic *berô Proto-West Germanic *berō Old English bera Middle English bere English bear From Middle English bere, from Old English bera, from Proto-West Germanic *berō, from Proto-Germanic *berô (“bear”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian beer (“bear”), Saterland Frisian Boar, Boare (“bear”), West Frisian bear (“bear”), Cimbrian and Mòcheno per (“bear”), Dutch beer (“bear”), German Bär (“bear”), German Low German Boor (“bear”), Limburgish baer, Béër (“bear”), Luxembourgish Bier (“bear”), Vilamovian baor, bar (“bear”), West Flemish beir (“bear”), Yiddish בער (ber, “bear”), Danish, Faroese, and Norwegian Bokmål bjørn (“bear”), Icelandic and Swedish björn (“bear”), Norwegian Nynorsk bjøinn, bjønn, bjørn (“bear”), Gothic *𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰 (*baira, “bear”). etymology notes This is generally taken to be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“shining, brown”) (compare Tocharian A parno, Tocharian B perne (“radiant, luminous”), Lithuanian bė́ras (“brown”)), related to brown, bruin, and beaver. On this theory, the Germanic languages replaced the older name of the bear, *h₂ŕ̥tḱos, with the epithet "brown one", presumably due to taboo avoidance; compare Russian медве́дь (medvédʹ, “bear”, literally “honey-eater”). However, Ringe (2006:106) doubts the existence of a root *bʰer- meaning "brown" ("an actual PIE word of [the requisite] shape and meaning is not recoverable") and suggests that a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer- (“wild animal”) "should therefore perhaps be preferred", implying a Germanic merger of *ǵʰw and *gʷʰ (*gʷʰ may sometimes result in Germanic *b, perhaps e.g. in *bidjaną, but it also seems to have given the g in gun and the w in warm).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Root classification mention*bʰerH-ine-pro
- Root classification mention*ǵʰwer-ine-pro
- Inherited-form mentionbereenm
- Inherited-form mentionberaang
- Inherited-form mention*berōgmw-pro
- Inherited-form mention*berôgem-pro · bear
- Cognate mentionbeerfrr · bear
- Cognate mentionBoarstq
- Cognate mentionbearfy · bear
- Cognate mentionbeernl · bear
- Cognate mentionBärde · bear
- Cognate mentionbaerli
- Cognate mentionBierlb · bear
- Cognate mentionbaorwym
- Cognate mentionbeirvls · bear
- Cognate mentionבערyi · bear
- Cognate mentionbjøinnnn
- Cognate mention*𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰got · bear
- Derivation mention*bʰerH-ine-pro · shining, brown
- Cognate mentionbė́raslt · brown
- Cognate mentionмедве́дьru · bear
- Derivation mention*ǵʰwer-ine-pro · wild animal
This page abbreviates 7 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:bere<id:bear>",
"id": "animal",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der.?\nProto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der.\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer-der.\nProto-Germanic *berô\nProto-West Germanic *berō\nOld English bera\nMiddle English bere\nEnglish bear\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"brown\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*bʰerH-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"pierce\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*bʰerH-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"wild\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*ǵʰwer-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*berô\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*berō\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"bera\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"bere\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"bear\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"animal\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"bear\" id=\"English:_animal\">"
},
{
"name": "root",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*bʰerH-",
"4": "*bʰerH-",
"5": "*ǵʰwer-",
"id": "brown",
"id2": "pierce"
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "bere",
"id": "bear"
},
"expansion": "Middle English bere"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "bera"
},
"expansion": "Old English bera"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro",
"3": "*berō"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *berō"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*berô",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *berô (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "col-top",
"args": {
"1": "2",
"2": "cog"
},
"expansion": "Cognates"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "frr",
"2": "beer",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "North Frisian beer (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "stq",
"2": "Boar"
},
"expansion": "Saterland Frisian Boar"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "fy",
"2": "bear",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "West Frisian bear (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "cim,mhn",
"2": "per",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "Cimbrian and Mòcheno per (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "beer",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "Dutch beer (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "Bär",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "German Bär (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nds-de",
"2": "Boor",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "German Low German Boor (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "li",
"2": "baer"
},
"expansion": "Limburgish baer"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "lb",
"2": "Bier",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "Luxembourgish Bier (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "wym",
"2": "baor"
},
"expansion": "Vilamovian baor"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "vls",
"2": "beir",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "West Flemish beir (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "yi",
"2": "בער",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "Yiddish בער (ber, “bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "da,fo,nb",
"2": "bjørn",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "Danish, Faroese, and Norwegian Bokmål bjørn (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "is,sv",
"2": "björn",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "Icelandic and Swedish björn (“bear”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nn",
"2": "bjøinn"
},
"expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk bjøinn"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "got",
"2": "*𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰",
"t": "bear"
},
"expansion": "Gothic *𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰 (*baira, “bear”)"
},
{
"name": "col-top",
"args": {
"1": "2",
"2": "etymology notes"
},
"expansion": "etymology notes"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*bʰerH-",
"t": "shining, brown"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“shining, brown”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "xto",
"2": "",
"3": "parno"
},
"expansion": "Tocharian A parno"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "txb",
"2": "",
"3": "perne",
"t": "radiant, luminous"
},
"expansion": "Tocharian B perne (“radiant, luminous”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "lt",
"2": "bė́ras",
"t": "brown"
},
"expansion": "Lithuanian bė́ras (“brown”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ru",
"2": "медве́дь",
"t": "bear",
"lit": "honey-eater"
},
"expansion": "Russian медве́дь (medvédʹ, “bear”, literally “honey-eater”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*ǵʰwer-",
"t": "wild animal"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer- (“wild animal”)"
},
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:bere<id:bear>",
"id": "animal",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der.?\nProto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der.\nProto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer-der.\nProto-Germanic *berô\nProto-West Germanic *berō\nOld English bera\nMiddle English bere\nEnglish bear"
}
],
"links": [
[
"*bʰerH-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰerH-#Proto-Indo-European:_brown"
],
[
"*bʰerH-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰerH-#Proto-Indo-European:_pierce"
],
[
"*ǵʰwer-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰwer-#Proto-Indo-European:_wild"
],
[
"*berô",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/berô#Proto-Germanic:_bear"
],
[
"*berō",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/berō"
],
[
"bera",
"bera#Old_English"
],
[
"bere",
"bere#Middle_English:_bear"
],
[
"bere",
"bere#Middle_English:_bear"
],
[
"bera",
"bera#Old_English"
],
[
"*berō",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/berō"
],
[
"*berô",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/berô"
],
[
"beer",
"beer#North_Frisian"
],
[
"Boar",
"Boar#Saterland_Frisian"
],
[
"Boare",
"Boare#Saterland_Frisian"
],
[
"bear",
"bear#West_Frisian"
],
[
"Cimbrian",
"per#Cimbrian"
],
[
"per",
"per#Mòcheno"
],
[
"beer",
"beer#Dutch"
],
[
"Bär",
"Bär#German"
],
[
"Boor",
"Boor#Low_German"
],
[
"baer",
"baer#Limburgish"
],
[
"Béër",
"Béër#Limburgish"
],
[
"Bier",
"Bier#Luxembourgish"
],
[
"baor",
"baor#Vilamovian"
],
[
"bar",
"bar#Vilamovian"
],
[
"beir",
"beir#West_Flemish"
],
[
"בער",
"בער#Yiddish"
],
[
"Danish",
"bjørn#Danish"
],
[
"Faroese",
"bjørn#Faroese"
],
[
"bjørn",
"bjørn#Norwegian_Bokmål"
],
[
"Icelandic",
"björn#Icelandic"
],
[
"björn",
"björn#Swedish"
],
[
"bjøinn",
"bjøinn#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
],
[
"bjønn",
"bjønn#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
],
[
"bjørn",
"bjørn#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
],
[
"*𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰",
"Reconstruction:Gothic/𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰"
],
[
"*bʰerH-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰerH-"
],
[
"parno",
"parno"
],
[
"perne",
"perne"
],
[
"bė́ras",
"bėras#Lithuanian"
],
[
"brown",
"brown#English"
],
[
"bruin",
"bruin#English"
],
[
"beaver",
"beaver#English"
],
[
"*h₂ŕ̥tḱos",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ŕ̥tḱos"
],
[
"медве́дь",
"медведь#Russian"
],
[
"*ǵʰwer-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ǵʰwer-"
],
[
"*bidjaną",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/bidjaną"
],
[
"gun",
"gun#English"
],
[
"warm",
"warm#English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"A large, generally omnivorous mammal (a few species are purely carnivorous or herbivorous) of the family Ursidae; having shaggy fur, a very small tail, and flat feet.",
"The meat of this animal.",
"A rough, unmannerly, uncouth person.",
"An investor who sells commodities, securities, or futures in anticipation of a fall in prices."
],
"tags": [
"countable",
"uncountable",
"figuratively"
],
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"sourceRecordOrdinal": 29510
},
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To endeavour to depress the price of, or prices in."
],
"tags": [
"transitive"
],
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},
{
"pos": "adj",
"glosses": [
"Characterized by declining prices in securities markets or by belief that the prices will fall."
],
"tags": [
"not-comparable"
],
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}