Etymologically
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wear

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /weə/, US /wer/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English weren,[2][3] inherited from Old English werian (“to clothe, put on, cover”),[2][4] from Proto-Germanic *wazjaną,[4][5] the source also of Old Saxon and Old High German werien, Old Norse verja and Gothic wasjan “to clothe”,[4][5][3] from Proto-Indo-European *wes- (“to clothe”),[2][4][5] which is also the source of Latin vestis “clothing” (whence vest), Greek hennúnai “to clothe”, Sanskrit váste “puts on” and Hittite wassiya- “to clothe”.[4][5][3] The old weak verb became strong (wore, worn) on the model of bear, swear and tear, from the 1300s, and the change was hardly established before the 1500s.[4][5] The noun is from the verb.[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English werian, “to clothe, put on”, is found before 899, in Alfred's translation of Orosius,[4] and “to carry on the body as clothing” about 893 in the OED.[6] Barnhart's first Middle English example, before 1121, is of growing the hair or beard in a certain way.[4]

Semantic evolution

The secondary sense, “to consume or damage by frequent use”, from the late 13th century,[2][4] comes from the effect of continued use on clothes.[2] The Germanic verb for wearing was a homonym of the verb for “to protect, ward off” (Gothic warjan, Old English werian), which may explain why it was displaced in most Germanic languages.[2] “To last out in use” is from the 16th century.[5] Wear out is by the late 14th century,[2] wear away by the mid-15th century,[2] wear off from the 1690s,[2] and wear down, “to blunt by steady resistance”, from 1843.[2] The noun, the action of wearing, is from 1464,[4][6] clothing, as in menswear, from 1570,[4] and wear and tear from 1666, in Pepys,[4] or the 1660s.[2] The worse for wear is from 1782.[2][6]

Timeline

  • before 899 – Old English werian, to clothe.[4]
  • late 13th century – to wear out by use.[2][4]
  • late 14th century – wear out.[2]
  • 1464 – noun, the action of wearing.[4][6]
  • 1570 – noun, clothing.[4]
  • 1666 – wear and tear.[4]
  • 1690s – wear off.[2]
  • 1782 – the worse for wear.[2][6]
  • 1843 – wear down.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To have on the body as clothing, decoration or protection.
  2. To have or show in one's appearance: wear a smile, wear one's hair long.
  3. To damage or reduce by long use or friction; to be damaged in this way.
  4. To last in use: the coat has worn well.
  5. To tire or exhaust: worn out.
  6. Of time: to pass slowly: the evening wore on.
  7. (British, informal) To accept or tolerate.

Noun

  1. Clothing of a particular kind: evening wear.
  2. Damage from use: wear and tear.
  3. The act of wearing; use as clothing.
  4. Capacity to last in use.

Word family

  • wearer
  • outwear
  • outworn
  • overwear
  • ready-to-wear
  • rewear
  • wearability
  • unwearable
  • vest
  • vestment
  • invest

Usage notes

A separate nautical verb wear, past tense wore, “to bring a ship onto the other tack by turning the stern to the wind”, is from the early 17th century and of unknown origin.[5][7][8] A third wear, “to defend, protect”, survives in dialect and is related to weir.[3][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 n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)