ore
/oɹ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.10 in modern English
3
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Rock or other material that contains valuable or utilitarian materials; primarily a rock containing metals or gems for which it is typically mined and processed.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A type of fine wool, especially of the type historically produced in the market town of Leominster, Herefordshire.
Uncountable
noun
Alternative form of öre.
name
A suburban area, formerly a village, in Hastings borough, East Sussex, England (OS grid ref TQ8311).
Example Sentences
- "They generally occur in the earth in what are called veins, and are seldom found in the pure metallic state, but generally in combination with some other substance, in which state they are called ores."
- "Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese, a silvery metal, began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated."
- "Stepnohirsk grew into a town from the village of Sukhoivanivka in the 1980s after vast deposits of manganese ore nearby were discovered."
- "In the time of Æthelred the Unready when the pound contained 240 pence, the ore was reckoned at 16 pence, but in earlier times there was probably much variation."
- "But then the ore of Lempſter / By Got is never a Sempſter; / That when he is ſpun, ore did, / Yet match him with hir thrid"
- "When I behold the violet paſt prime, / And ſable curls or ſiluer'd ore with white: […]"
Etymology
From Middle English or, oor, blend of Old English ōra (“ore, unwrought metal”), of uncertain origin, and ār (“brass, copper, bronze”), from Proto-West Germanic *aiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *aiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éyos. Compare Old Norse eir (“brass, copper”), German ehern (“of metal, of iron”), Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌶 (aiz, “ore”); also Dutch oer (“ferrous hardpan; bog iron ore”). Compare Latin aes (“bronze, copper”), Avestan 𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬵 (aiiah), Sanskrit अयस् (áyas, “copper, iron”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /oɹ/
- British English: /ɔː/
Usage
Inflected Forms
ores (plural)
woar (alternative)