*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of lear

From Middle English laire, leire, lere, northern Middle English variants of lore, loare (“doctrine, teaching, lore”), from Old English lār (“lore”). More at lore.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Something learned; a lesson. · Learning, lore; doctrine.

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

From Middle English laire, leire, lere, northern Middle English variants of lore, loare (“doctrine, teaching, lore”), from Old English lār (“lore”). More at lore.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionlaireenm
  • Inherited-form mentionlārang · lore
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "laire"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English laire"
    },
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "lār",
        "t": "lore"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English lār (“lore”)"
    }
  ],
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    [
      "laire",
      "laire#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "leire",
      "leire#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "lere",
      "lere#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "lore",
      "lore#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "loare",
      "loare#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "lār",
      "lar#Old_English"
    ],
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      "lore#English"
    ]
  ],
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        "Something learned; a lesson.",
        "Learning, lore; doctrine."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland",
        "countable",
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To teach. · To learn.

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

From Middle English learen, leren (“to learn", also "to teach”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionlearenenm
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "leren",
      "leren#Middle_English"
    ]
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  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To teach.",
        "To learn."
      ],
      "tags": [
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        "transitive",
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

Alternative form of lehr.

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

See lehr.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
verb

Deliberate misspelling of learn

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

A reference to the "Quality Learing Center", an allegedly fradulent Somali-American-run childcare center in Minneapolis, U.S., which closed in 2026.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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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 lear →

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-bGVhcg