Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ear

/ˈɪə̯/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.43 in modern English

Syllables
ear
IPA
/ˈɪə̯/
3
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The external part of the organ of hearing, the auricle.

Countable

noun

A police informant.

Countable; Slang

noun

The privilege of being kindly heard; favour; attention.

noun

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; a foot-rest or step of a spade or a similar digging tool.

noun

An acroterium.

noun

A crossette.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws Proto-Germanic *ausô Proto-West Germanic *auʀā Old English ēare Middle English ere English ear From Middle English eare, eere, ere, eyr, ire, yere, ȝhere, from Old English ēare (“ear”), from Proto-West Germanic *auʀā, from the voiced Verner alternant of Proto-Germanic *ausô (“ear”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws (“ear”), from *h₂ew- (“to perceive”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian uaar, uar, uur (“ear”), Saterland Frisian Oor (“ear”), West Frisian ear (“ear”), Alemannic German Oor (“ear”), Central Franconian Uhr (“ear”), Dutch oor (“ear”), German Ohr (“ear”), Low German Ohr, Oor, Or, our, Ur (“ear”), Luxembourgish Ouer (“ear”), Vilamovian ür (“ear”), Yiddish אויער (oyer, “ear”), Danish and Norwegian Bokmål øre (“ear”), Elfdalian ära (“ear”), Faroese oyra (“ear”), Icelandic eyra (“ear”), Jamtish ǿre (“ear”), Norwegian Nynorsk øra, øre, øyra, øyre (“ear”), Swedish öra (“ear”), Gothic 𐌰𐌿𐍃𐍉 (ausō, “ear”); also Old Irish áu, ó (“ear”), Latin auris, ōris (“ear”), Greek αφτί (aftí), αυτί (aftí, “ear”), Albanian vesh (“ear; handle”), Latvian auss (“ear”), Lithuanian ausis (“ear”), Belarusian ву́ха (vúxa, “ear”), Bulgarian ухо́ (uhó, “ear”), Czech, Polish, Silesian, and Slovak ucho (“ear”), Kashubian ùchò (“ear”), Lower Sorbian and Upper Sorbian wucho (“ear”), Macedonian уво (uvo, “ear”), Polabian vaux’ü (“ear”), Russian у́хо (úxo, “ear”), Serbo-Croatian у̏во, у̏хо, ȕho, ȕvo (“ear”), Slovene uho (“ear”), Slovincian wùchô (“ear”), Ukrainian ву́хо (vúxo, “ear”), Armenian ունկ (unk, “ear”), Persian هوش (hōš / huš, “intellect; intelligence; understanding”), Sanskrit उषस् (uṣas, “outer passage of the ear”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *h₂ew-, eare, ēare, *auʀā, *ausô, *h₂ṓws

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈɪə̯/
  • British English: /ˈɪə̯/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Law.

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Homonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce ear?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɪə̯/.
What does ear mean?
The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea.
Where does ear come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce ear

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ear”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɪə̯/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ear”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “ear” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.