bear
To carry; to support the weight of; to endure.
Etymology
From Old English beran, from Proto-Germanic *beraną, from PIE *bʰer- "to carry, to bear." One of the most prolific roots in English: "birth," "burden," "bier," and through Latin ferre: "fertile," "transfer," "offer," "prefer," "refer," "differ," "conference," "suffer," and through Greek: "metaphor" (to carry across), "euphoria" (well-carried), and "Christopher" (Christ-bearer).
The Journey: *bʰer- → bear
*bʰer-
*beraną
beran
beren
bear
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *bʰer-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | phérō |
| Latin | ferre |
| Armenian | berem |
| Sanskrit | bhárati |
| Old Irish | beirid |
| Lithuanian | bérti |
| Old Church Slavonic | bĭrati |
Did You Know?
Metaphor literally means "to carry across" — from Greek meta- "across" + phérō "I carry" (from PIE *bʰer-). A metaphor carries meaning from one domain to another. Christopher means "Christ-bearer," and Lucifer means "light-bearer" (Latin lux + ferre).
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰer-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.