ENGLISH
REFERENCE

abear

v.
C2 Proficiency abear Archaic Dialect

v. to be able to tolerate or handle something difficult. It is a very old word that people rarely use today.

v. to be able to tolerate, endure, or withstand something.


SIMPLE

He could not abear the cold of the winter.

CONTEXTUAL

The old man could not abear the noise of the city and moved to the countryside.

COMPLEX

In the archaic text, the knight is described as a man who could not abear the weight of his own guilt, leading to his eventual downfall.

Origin

From Middle English aberen, from Old English āberan (“to bear, carry, carry away”), from ā- (“away, out”), a- + beran (“to bear”), from Proto-Germanic uzberaną (“to bear off, bring forth, produce”), from Proto-Indo-European bʰer- (“to bear, carry”), equivalent to a- + bear. Cognate with Old High German irberan, Gothic 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (usbairan).

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