tear English · revision 5817

+ {{homograph|1|drop from the eye}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /tɪə/, US /tɪr/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The drop is [[inh|enm|tere]], [[inh|ang|tēar]], earlier tēahor, tæhher,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*tahr-]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which also gave Old Norse tár, German Zähre and Gothic tagr,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE [[ine-pro|*dakru-|t=tear]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) which also gave Greek dákry, Old Latin dacruma, [[la|lacrima]], Welsh deigr and Irish dér.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A drop from the eye: about 725 in ''Beowulf'' in Barnhart, 971 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A drop of any liquid, such as resin, is from before 900.^(OED 1989) Tears as the sign of grief is from before 1340,^(OED 1989) ''in tears'' from the 1550s, and ''tears of blood'' by about 1300.^(Etymonline) The verb, to shed tears, was in late Old English and again before 1425,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and of the eyes, to fill with tears, from the 1650s, mainly American.^(Etymonline) ''Teardrop'' is from 1799 and ''tear gas'' from 1917.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) ''Without tears'', without difficulty, comes from the title of a children's reading book of 1857, ''Reading without Tears''.^(Cresswell 2021)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – a teardrop.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * a900 – a drop of any liquid.^(OED 1989)

+ * a1340 – tears as grief.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1799 – ''teardrop''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1857 – ''without tears''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1917 – ''tear gas''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A drop of clear salty liquid from the [[eye]], especially when crying.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(tears)'' [[weeping|alt=Weeping]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something shaped like a hanging [[drop]].^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # Of the eyes, to fill with tears.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+

+ {{homograph|2|rip}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 850}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /teə/, US /ter/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ To rip is [[inh|enm|teren]], [[inh|ang|teran|t=to pull apart by force]], earlier teoran,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*teraną]],^(Etymonline) which also gave Dutch teren “to consume”, German zehren and Gothic distairan “to destroy”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) from PIE [[ine-pro|*der-|t=to split, flay]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) which also gave Greek dérein “to flay” and Sanskrit dṛṇā́ti “he tears”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To pull apart by force, to lacerate: before 850 in Barnhart, about 1000 as teran.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The past tense tare, still in Bible translations, gave way in the 17th century to tore, from the old participle toren.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Pulling away by force is from the early 14th century, and ''to be torn between'' two choices by 1871.^(Etymonline) To move with violent haste is from the 1590s, and ''to tear a cat'', to rant, is in Shakespeare.^(Etymonline) The noun, a torn place, is from 1611, in Cotgrave's dictionary,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and the act of tearing from the 1660s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''To tear someone off a strip'' was RAF slang of the 1940s.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 850 – to pull apart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 14th century – to pull away by force.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – to rush.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1611 – a rent, a torn place.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1871 – ''torn between''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pull apart or into pieces by force; to [[rip]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To make a hole or split in something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To pull away by force.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' To move very fast.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hole or split made by tearing.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tearful]]

+ * [[teardrop]]

+ * [[lachrymose]]

+ * [[tore]]

+ * [[torn]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A rare old tear, something of the finest quality, came from Dutch or Low German teer “fine, delicate”.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}