I. ˈi(ə)r, ˈiə noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English ere, from Old English ēare; akin to Old High German ōra ear, Old Norse eyra, Gothic auso, Latin auris, Greek ous, Lithuanian ausis
1.
a. : the characteristic vertebrate organ of hearing and equilibrium consisting in the typical mammal of a sound-collecting outer ear separated by a membranous drum from a sound-transmitting middle ear which in turn is separated from a sensory inner ear by membranous fenestrae, the whole being variously simplified in lower vertebrates in which the outer ear is frequently absent, the middle often modified or absent, and the inner in some cases reduced to the structures concerned with equilibrium
b. : any of various organs (as an otocyst or a chordotonal organ) capable of detecting vibratory motion especially of frequencies higher than several vibrations per second that is taking place in the surrounding medium whether this detection takes the form of hearing as commonly understood or not — compare hearing , labyrinthine sense ; organ of corti
2. : the external ear of man and most mammals
3.
a. : the sense or act of hearing
a keen ear
: perception of sound
b. : refinement or acuity of the sense of hearing
a nice ear for pitch
c. : the ability to catch and retain or reproduce music by hearing it
to play by ear
often : the ability to imagine aurally a tone or group of tones with correct relative pitch
a violinist must have a good ear
4. : something resembling in shape or position a mammalian ear: as
a. : a projecting part (as a lug, plate, or handle) or either of a pair of such parts that is suitable for lifting, transporting, adjusting, or fixing in position the object of which it is a part (as the handle of a pitcher or platter or tub, the cannon of a bell, or the leather pull for tightening the cord of a drum)
b.
(1) : a process on an animal body : auricle
(2) : either of a pair of tufts of lengthened feathers on the head of certain birds
(3) : the tuft of specialized feathers associated with the ear opening in some birds
c. : crossette 1
d. : either of the lateral scrolled ends of the cresting of a Chippendale chair or mirror
e. : a projecting tag inadvertently formed during deep-drawing of sheet metal
f. : a device usually in the form of a grooved bronze casting for supporting a trolley wire
g. : a projection on certain printed letters (as the right-hand projection of the upper part of g )
h. : the projecting part of a typesetter's composing rule — called also neb
i. : either of two right-angled projections at the uppermost edge of a linotype matrix
j. : one of the boxes or spaces in the upper corners of the front page of a newspaper usually containing advertising of the paper itself or a weather forecast
5.
a. : hearing , audience ; especially : compassionate and favorable attention
give ear to my plea
I seek the merciful ear of our Lord
b. : awareness , attention
when her kindness came to the ear of her enemies, they were bowed with shame
it has come to my ear that you have missed several classes
6. : the stiff reflexed end of an oriental composite bow
•
- by the ears
- in one ear and out the other
- on one's ear
- to the ears
- up to the ears
[s]ear.jpg[/s] [
ear 1a: 1 pinna, 2 lobe, 3 auditory meatus, 4 tympanic membrane, 5 eustachian tube, 6 auditory nerve, 7 cochlea, 8 semicircular canals, 9 stapes, 10 incus, 11 malleus, 12 bones of skull
]
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English eren, from Old English erian; akin to Old High German erien to plow, Old Norse erja, Gothic arjan, Latin arare, Greek aroun, Lithuanian arti
now dialect England : to plow or till : cultivate
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English ere, er, from Old English ēar; akin to Old High German ahir ear, Old Norse ax, Gothic ahs ear, Latin acus chaff, Greek achnē chaff, Old English ecg edge — more at edge
: the fruiting head of a cereal (as Indian corn, wheat, or rye) including both the kernels of grain and protective and supporting structures
plump golden ears of wheat rustling in the breeze
IV. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English eren, from ere, er, n.
: to form ears in the course of growing
this corn ears well
— often used with up
the rye should soon be earing up
V. (|)ār, (|)er, _ər
variant of ere I
VI. ˈi(ə)r, ˈiə
dialect
variant of year