fear

fear · noun, verb¹

1. Old English · inherited fromfǣran“to frighten, raven”
2. Middle English · inherited fromferen
3. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*per-“to go through, carry forth, try”
4. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*fērō
5. Old English · inherited fromfǣr
6. Middle English · inherited fromfeer
7. English todayfear

From Middle English feer, fere, fer (“fear”), from Old English fǣr, ġefǣr (“calamity, sudden danger, peril, sudden attack, terrible sight”), from Proto-Germanic *fērō, *fērą (“danger”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through, carry forth, try”). Cognate with Dutch gevaar (“danger, risk, peril”), German Gefahr (“danger, hazard, risk”), Danish fare (“danger, hazard, risk”), Faroese and Icelandic fár (“accident, anger, calamity”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk fare (“danger”), Swedish fara (“danger, risk, peril”), Latin perīculum (“danger, risk, trial”), Ancient Greek πεῖρα (peîra, “trial, experiment”), Armenian փորձ (pʻorj, “attempt”). Doublet of peril. The verb is from Middle English feren, from Old English fǣran (“to frighten, raven”), from the noun. Cognate with the archaic Dutch verb varen (“to fear, to cause fear”).

fear · adjective²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*per-“to put across, ferry”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*fēriz“passable”
3. Old English · inherited fromfēre“able to go, fit for service”
4. Middle English · inherited fromfere
5. English todayfear

From Middle English fere, feore, from Old English fēre (“able to go, fit for service”), from Proto-Germanic *fēriz (“passable”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to put across, ferry”). Cognate with Scots fere, feir (“well, active, sound”), Middle High German gevüere (“able, capable, fit, serviceable”), Swedish för (“capable, able, stout”), Icelandic fær (“able”). Related to fare.

Fear · proper noun³

1. Latin · derived fromferetrum“bier”
2. English todayFear

* As an English surname, from an obsolete noun meaning "traveler," represented in the second half of Old English gefera (“comrade, companion”). * Also as an English surname, from the root of the adjective fierce, and occasionally from the noun fear. * Also as an English surname, from the noun ferry. * Occasionally as an English surname of Norman origin, from La Fère in Aisne, possibly from Latin feretrum (“bier”).

Words from the same roots