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Added 9 October 2026

wear

/wɛə/ noun

In Latin: portō, gerō, vestiō Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about wear at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Impairment resulting from long use.
the tires showed uneven wear
A covering designed to be worn on a person's body.
The act of having on your person as a covering or adornment.
she bought it for everyday wear

verb

Be dressed in.
She was wearing yellow that day
Have on one's person.
He wore a red ribbon
Have in one's aspect; wear an expression of one's attitude or personality.
He always wears a smile

Origin

Inherited from Middle English weren, werien, from Old English werian (“to clothe, cover over; put on, wear, use; stock (land)”), from Proto-West Germanic *waʀjan, from Proto-Germanic *wazjaną (“to clothe”), from Proto-Indo-European *wes- (“to dress, put on (clothes)”). Cognate to Sanskrit वस्ते (váste), Ancient Greek ἕννυμι (hénnumi, “put on”), Latin vestis (“garment”) (English vest), Albanian vesh (“dress up, wear”), Tocharian B wäs-, Old Armenian զգենում (zgenum), Welsh gwisgo, Hittite 𒉿𒀸- (waš-). Originally a weak verb (i.e. with a past tense in -ed), it became irregular during the Middle English period by analogy with verbs like beren (whence bear) and teren (whence tear).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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