ENGLISH
REFERENCE

pear

n. countable
A1 Beginner US //ˈpɛɹ// UK //pˈeə// pear

n. a sweet, juicy fruit that is usually narrow at the top and wider at the bottom. It has a thin skin that can be green, yellow, or brown.

n. the edible, pomaceous fruit of a tree in the genus Pyrus, typically characterized by a bulbous base and a tapering neck.


SIMPLE

I usually eat a fresh pear for my afternoon snack.

CONTEXTUAL

The chef served a dessert of sliced pear poached in red wine and topped with cinnamon.

COMPLEX

While apples are often crisp and tart, this variety of pear is prized for its buttery texture and delicate floral aroma when perfectly ripe.

Origin

From Middle English pere, from Old English pere, from Proto-West Germanic *peru, from Vulgar Latin pira, originally the plural of Latin pirum but reconstrued as a feminine singular, ultimately a loanword from an unknown Mediterranean substrate source. Cognate with Scots peer (“pear”), Saterland Frisian Peere, Pere (“pear”), West Frisian par (“pear”), Dutch peer (“pear”), Danish, Greenlandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk pære (“pear”), Faroese, Icelandic pera (“pear”), Swedish päron (“pear”), German Birne (“pear”), Luxembourgish Bier, Bir (“pear”), Vilamovian biyn (“pear”), Yiddish באַר (bar, “pear”), French poire (“pear”).

Usage

Refers to both the fruit and the tree itself.

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