ear

Meanings

Noun

• The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea.
• The external part of the organ of hearing, the auricle.
• A police informant.
• The sense of hearing; the perception of sounds; skill or good taste in listening to music.
• The privilege of being kindly heard; favour; attention.
• That which resembles in shape or position the ear of an animal; a prominence or projection on an object, usually for support or attachment; a lug; a handle.
• An acroterium.
• A crossette.
• A space to the left or right of a publication's front-page title, used for advertising, weather, etc.
• The fruiting body of a grain plant.

Verb

• To take in with the ears; to hear.
• To hold by the ears.
• To put forth ears in growing; to form ears, as grain does.
• To plough.

Related

Similar words

• head
• spike

Origin

• From Middle English ere, eare, from Old English ēare, from Proto-West Germanic *auʀā, from the voiced Verner alternant of Proto-Germanic *ausô ("ear") (compare Scots ear, West Frisian ear, Dutch oor, German Ohr, Swedish öra, Danish øre), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws (compare Old Irish áu, Latin auris, Lithuanian ausìs, Russian у́хо, Albanian vesh, Ancient Greek οὖς, Old Armenian ունկն, and Persian هوش).
• Image:Wheat close-up.JPG|thumb|right|Ears of wheat.
• From Middle English eere, er, from Old English ēar (Northumbrian dialect æhher), from Proto-Germanic *ahaz (compare West Frisian ier, Dutch aar, German Ähre), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- ("sharp") (compare Latin acus ("needle; husk"), Tocharian B āk ("ear, awn"), Old Church Slavonic ость ("wheat spike, sharp point"). More at edge.
• From Old English erian, from Proto-Germanic *arjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃- ("to plough").