gear

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ɡɪə/, US /ɡɪr/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English gere, probably borrowed from Old Norse gørvi (“apparel, gear”),^[2][3][4][5] related to gerr “ready” and gøra “to make”,^[2][3] from Proto-Germanic *garwjan (“to make, prepare, equip”).^[2] Old English gearwe “clothing, equipment” may be the source of some uses.^[2][6] It is related to yare.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fighting equipment, armour and weapons: about 1200 in Etymonline, about 1205 in the OED.^[2][7] The OED's earliest sense, habits or manners, is from about 1200 and obsolete.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Clothing, and the harness of a horse, are from the early 14th century,^[2][7] and equipment or tools in general from the late 14th century, such as a ship's rigging.^[2] The toothed wheel of a machine is by the 1520s (1523 in Barnhart),^[2][3] the parts that transmit motion in a motor from 1814,^[2] and a vehicle's gear by 1888.^[2] The verb, to equip for fighting or to dress, is from about 1200, and to put machinery in gear from 1851.^[2] The British slang adjective “stylish, excellent” is from 1951, from that's the gear (1925), and was spread by the Beatles about 1963.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – armour and weapons.^[2]
• early 14th century – clothing, harness.^[2]
• 1523 – a toothed wheel.^[3]
• 1814 – mechanical gearing.^[2]
• 1851 – verb, to put in gear.^[2]
• 1888 – the gear of a vehicle.^[2]
• 1951 – slang, excellent.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A toothed wheel that turns another in a machine.
2. A setting of the gears in a vehicle, giving a certain speed: first gear.
3. The equipment or clothing used for a particular activity.
4. Personal belongings.

Verb

1. To adapt something for a particular purpose: geared to beginners.
2. To provide with gears or equipment.

Word family

• gearless
• regear
• gear up

Related words

• yare

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 n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press