cheer English · revision 10260

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=xno chere|origins=la cara|origins=grc κάρα}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /t͡ʃɪə/ ''(UK)''; /t͡ʃɪɹ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English chere, [[bor|xno|chere|t=the face]], Old French chiere, face, countenance, look,^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from Late Latin cara, face (source also of Spanish [[m|es|cara]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) possibly from Greek [[m|grc|κάρα|tr=kára|t=head]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) from PIE *ker-, horn, head.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The face, especially as expressing emotion: about 1200 in Etymonline, probably before 1200 in the ''Ancrene Riwle'' in Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the face the word came to mean its expression, hence a mood or frame of mind, from the mid-13th century,^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) which could be good or bad, ''sorrowful cheer'' or ''heavy cheer'',^(Cresswell 2021) but the positive sense, gladness, has predominated since about 1400,^(Etymonline) first recorded before 1393 in Gower.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Kindly welcome and entertainment are from before 1300,^(OED 1989) and the food provided, fare, from 1375.^(OED 1989) The greeting ''what cheer?'' (mid-15th century) was taken up by the Algonquian peoples of southern New England from the Puritans.^(Etymonline) A shout of encouragement is recorded by 1720, perhaps from nautical slang;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) ''cheers'' as a salutation before drinking is from 1919.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, to comfort, is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) to encourage by words or deeds from the early 15th,^(Etymonline) and to salute with shouts by the late 18th century.^(Etymonline) Barnhart notes that ''be of good cheer'' looks tautological today but preserves the old sense, mood.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – the face.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-13th century – a mood.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1375 – food and drink.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1393 – gladness.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 15th century – to encourage (verb).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1720 – a shout of encouragement.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1919 – cheers!^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A shout of approval, encouragement or congratulation.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Gaiety or [[joy]]; good spirits.^(AHD)

+ # A source of comfort or happiness.^(AHD)

+ # Festive food and drink.^(AHD)

+ # A rehearsed chant shouted in unison by cheerleaders.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make or become happier or more hopeful, often with ''up''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To applaud or acclaim with shouts.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To encourage with shouts, often with ''on''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cheerer]]

+ * [[cheeringly]]

+ * [[cheerleader]]

+ * [[cheerless]]

+ * [[cheerly]]

+ * [[cheerful]]

+ * [[cheers]]

+ * [[cheery]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cerebral]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Cheer, a pheasant of the Himalayas, is a different word, from Nepali.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024) Trench notes that cheer once meant the face or countenance, as in ''the cheer and the countenance'', a sense now lost.^(Trench 1859)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}