dare

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /deə/, US /der/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English dar, inherited from Old English durran (“to be bold enough, to venture”), from its first and third person singular present (dear, darr; second person dearst),^[2][3][4] a preterite-present verb like can,^[5] from Proto-Germanic *dars-,^[2][3] which is also the source of Old Saxon gidurran, Old High German giturran and Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌳𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐌰𐌽 (gadaursan).^[5][2][6] Outside Germanic it is cognate with Ancient Greek θαρσεῖν (tharseîn, “to be bold”) and θρασύς (thrasús, “bold”), Sanskrit धृष् (dhṛṣ, “to be bold”) and Old Church Slavonic дръзати (drŭzati, “to be bold”),^[5][2][3] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *dʰers- (“bold”).^[2][5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To have the courage to do something: about 950;^[2][7] the second person dearst is recorded earlier, in Beowulf (about 725).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The irregular forms were mostly regularized in the 16th century, but the old past tense survived as durst, now persisting mainly in northern English dialect.^[3] How dare you? is from about 1200, and the weakened I dare say, I suppose, from the late 14th century.^[3] Transitive senses with a plain object appear in the 16th century:^[5] to challenge or defy someone, especially by implying they lack courage, by the 1570s,^[3][8] and to attempt something boldly from the 1630s.^[3] The noun, a challenge, is from 1594.^[2][3] Daredevil (1794), a contraction of someone ready to dare the devil, is formed like cutthroat and scarecrow.^[2][8] The OED notes that present dare was carelessly used for the past dared or durst by 1760.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 725 – dearst, in Beowulf.^[2]
• c. 950 – dear, darr, I dare.^[2][7]
• c. 1200 – how dare you?^[3]
• late 14th century – I dare say.^[3]
• 1570s – to challenge someone.^[3]
• 1594 – the noun, a challenge.^[2]
• 1794 – daredevil.^[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To be brave or bold enough to do something.
2. To challenge someone to do something as a test of courage.
3. To face or oppose boldly; to defy.

Noun

1. A challenge to do something bold or risky.

Word family

• darer
• daredevil
• daren't
• daresay
• daring
• dassn't
• outdare
• undared

Related words

• durst
• thrasonical

Usage notes

There were also two minor words: dare, the dace (late 15th to mid-18th century), from darse, a variant of dace taken as a plural;^[9][4] and dare, to daze or fascinate, as larks caught with a mirror, whose noun was the device for catching them.^[9]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press