I. ˈir noun
Etymology: Middle English ere, from Old English ēare; akin to Old High German ōra ear, Latin auris, Greek ous
Date: before 12th century
1.
a. : the characteristic vertebrate organ of hearing and equilibrium consisting in the typical mammal of a sound-collecting outer ear separated by the tympanic membrane from a sound-transmitting middle ear that in turn is separated from a sensory inner ear by membranous fenestrae
b. : any of various organs (as of a fish) capable of detecting vibratory motion
2. : the external ear of humans and most mammals
3.
a. : the sense or act of hearing
b. : acuity of hearing
c. : sensitivity to musical tone and pitch ; also : the ability to retain and reproduce music that has been heard
d. : sensitivity to nuances of language especially as revealed in the command of verbal melody and rhythm or in the ability to render a spoken idiom accurately
4. : something resembling a mammalian ear in shape, position, or function: as
a. : a projecting part (as a lug or handle)
b. : either of a pair of tufts of lengthened feathers on the head of some birds
5. : attention , awareness
lend an ear
6. : a space in the upper corner of the front page of a periodical (as a newspaper) usually containing advertising for the periodical itself or a weather forecast
7. : a person who listens : listener
looking for a friendly ear
•
- all ears
- by ear
- in one ear and out the other
- on one's ear
- up to one's ears
[
ear 1a: 1 pinna, 2 lobe, 3 auditory meatus, 4 tympanic membrane, 5 eustachian tube, 6 cochlea, 7 auditory nerve, 8 stapes, 9 semicircular canals, 10 incus, 11 malleus, 12 bones of skull
]
II. noun
Etymology: Middle English er, from Old English ēar; akin to Old High German ahir ear, Old English ecg edge — more at edge
Date: before 12th century
: the fruiting spike of a cereal (as wheat or Indian corn) including both the seeds and protective structures
III. intransitive verb
Date: 14th century
: to form ears in growing
the rye should be ear ing up