I. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English ler, lere cheek, face, aspect, from Old English hlēor cheek, face; akin to Old Saxon hleor cheek, Middle Dutch lier, liere, Old Norse hlȳr cheek, hlust ear — more at listen
obsolete : complexion , aspect , countenance
II. ˈli(ə)r, ˈli(ə) verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: probably from obsolete leer cheek, from Middle English ler, lere
intransitive verb
1. : to cast a sidelong glance : give a lascivious, knowing, or malicious look : fleer
leered like the face of a trollop worn out by the passage of men and time — T.H.Raddall
poured the drink, added water, and looked again at the judge, leering with a kind of comic cunning — R.P.Warren
2. obsolete : to move furtively : slink , sneak
leered away on the other side, as one ashamed of what he had done — John Bunyan
transitive verb
1. : to glance with or turn (the eye)
2. : to seduce with the eye
III. noun
( -s )
: a sly, sinister, or immodest glance : a knowing or wanton look
she gives the leer of invitation — Shakespeare
the sordid furtive leer of the profit seeker — A.L.Guérard
IV. adjective
archaic : looking slyly, wantonly, or knowingly
V. adjective
Etymology: Middle English lere, from Old English ge lǣr; akin to Old Saxon & Old High German lāri empty; probably derivatives from the stem of Old English lesan to gather, glean — more at lease
1. : empty , unladen
2. dialect England : weak from hunger : hungry
VI. ˈlēə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English leere, probably from Old English līra fleshy part of the body — more at leg
now dialect Britain : flank , loin
VII.
variant of lehr