Etymologically
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gear

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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
  • 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