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Sear - 11 dictionary results
sear
1
[seer] 
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | to burn or char the surface of: She seared the steak to seal in the juices. |
| 2. | to mark with a branding iron. |
| 3. | to burn or scorch injuriously or painfully: He seared his hand on a hot steam pipe. |
| 4. | to make callous or unfeeling; harden: The hardship of her youth has seared her emotionally. |
| 5. | to dry up or wither; parch. |
–verb (used without object)
| 6. | to become dry or withered, as vegetation. |
–noun
| 7. | a mark or scar made by searing. |
–adjective
| 8. | sere 1 . |
Origin:
bef. 900; (adj.) ME sere, OE sēar; c. D zoor; (v.) ME seren, OE sēarian, deriv. of sēar
bef. 900; (adj.) ME sere, OE sēar; c. D zoor; (v.) ME seren, OE sēarian, deriv. of sēar
sear
2 [seer] –noun
| a pivoted piece that holds the hammer at full cock or half cock in the firing mechanism of small arms. |
Origin:
1550–60; < MF serre a grip, deriv. of serrer to lock up, close < VL *serrāre, for LL serāre to bar (a door), deriv. of L sera door-bar; VL -rr- unexplained
1550–60; < MF serre a grip, deriv. of serrer to lock up, close < VL *serrāre, for LL serāre to bar (a door), deriv. of L sera door-bar; VL -rr- unexplained
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To Sear
| sear 1 (sîr) v. seared, sear·ing, sears v. tr.
To become withered or dried up. n. A condition, such as a scar, produced by searing. [Middle English seren, from Old English sēarian, to wither, from sēar, withered.] |
| sear 2 (sîr) n. The catch in a gunlock that keeps the hammer halfcocked or fully cocked. [Probably French serre, something that grasps, from Old French, lock, from serrer, to grasp, from Vulgar Latin *serrāre, from Late Latin serāre, to bolt, from Latin sera, bar, bolt; see ser-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
| sear 3 (sîr) adj. Variant of sere1. |
| sere 1 also sear (sîr) adj. Withered; dry: sere vegetation at the edge of the desert. [Middle English, from Old English sēar.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Sear
Sear\, Sere \Sere\ (s[=e]r), a. [OE. seer, AS. se['a]r (assumed) fr. se['a]rian to wither; akin to D. zoor dry, LG. soor, OHG. sor[=e]n to to wither, Gr. a"y`ein to parch, to dry, Skr. [,c]ush (for sush) to dry, to wither, Zend hush to dry. [root]152. Cf. Austere, Sorrel, a.] Dry; withered; no longer green; -- applied to leaves. --Milton. I have lived long enough; my way of life Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf. --Shak.Sear
Sear\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Seared; p. pr. & vb. n. Searing.] [OE. seeren, AS. se['a]rian. See Sear, a.]1. To wither; to dry up. --Shak. 2. To burn (the surface of) to dryness and hardness; to cauterize; to expose to a degree of heat such as changes the color or the hardness and texture of the surface; to scorch; to make callous; as, to sear the skin or flesh. Also used figuratively. I'm seared with burning steel. --Rowe. It was in vain that the amiable divine tried to give salutary pain to that seared conscience. --Macaulay. The discipline of war, being a discipline in destruction of life, is a discipline in callousness. Whatever sympathies exist are seared. --H. Spencer. Note: Sear is allied to scorch in signification; but it is applied primarily to animal flesh, and has special reference to the effect of heat in marking the surface hard. Scorch is applied to flesh, cloth, or any other substance, and has no reference to the effect of hardness. To sear, to close by searing. "Cherish veins of good humor, and sear up those of ill." --Sir W. Temple.Sear
Sear\, n. [F. serre a grasp, pressing, fr. L. sera. See Serry.] The catch in a gunlock by which the hammer is held cocked or half cocked. Sear spring, the spring which causes the sear to catch in the notches by which the hammer is held.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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sear (v.)
O.E. searian "dry up, to whither," from P.Gmc. *saurajan, from root of sear "dried up, withered" (see sere). Meaning "to brand, to burn by hot iron" is recorded from 1530; fig. use is from 1582.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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