ware
Old eye dialect spelling of were.
Adjective poetic
- Aware.
- And in like wise as she said so they departed, that neither the king nor none of his council were ware of their departing. - 1485 July 5, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter I, in William Caxton, editor, Le Morte D’Arthur,...
- But here thou canst not handle aught, neither make the folk ware of thee, not though thou shout thy throat hoarse. For thou and I walk here impalpable and invisible, as it were two dreams walking. - 1922, E[ric]...
Origin
From Middle English ware, war, from Old English wær, from Proto-West Germanic *war, from Proto-Germanic *waraz.
Forms
Derived
Adjective obsolete
- Wary; cautious.
- He is ware inough; he is wilye, and circumſpect for ſtirring vp any ſedition. - 1549 April 1 (Gregorian calendar), Hughe Latymer [i.e., Hugh Latimer], Augustine Bernher, compiler, “[27 Sermons Preached by the Ryght...
- Of whom be thou ware also. - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Timothy 4:15:
- Be he quite wary, as wood is ware of fire, as thigh of bramble or of thistle, he, who may be thinking to mislead these beeves or to mispossess this cattle. - 1864, Thomas Oswald Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and...
Origin
From Middle English waren (“to be ware, be on guard, be mindful, protect, guard”), from Old English warian, from Proto-West Germanic *warōn, from Proto-Germanic *warōną. Cognate with Saterland Frisian woarje (“to guard”).
Forms
Related
Derived
Noun in compounds, uncountable
- Goods or a type of goods offered for sale or use.
- Astbury was the more successful and made frequent journeys to London, where he sold his ware and obtained further orders. - 1923, John Lord, Capital and steam-power, 1750–1800:
- On Sunday, a Mr. Stephen Muturi Kamau, aged 20 years, was shot dead at Dandora while he was selling his ware. This is a well known hawker. He has been hawking his ware in Dandora. - 2002 March 28, “Kenya National...
- What in the world am I going to do with tarnished silver ware? The deeper I dig, I pull out more silver with carved handles. - 2011, Tonya Kappes, Carpe Bead'em:
- See wares.
- Pottery or metal goods.
- damascene ware, tole ware
- A style or genre of artifact.
- Crockery.
Origin
From Middle English ware, from Old English waru, from Proto-West Germanic *waru, from Proto-Germanic *warō (“attention”) as in beware, in the sense of “an object of care, a valuable”, from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to watch, keep guard”), whence also ward. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Were (“an item for exchange, barter, or sale; ware”), Dutch waar (“goods offered for sale or use; ware”), German Ware (“ware”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk vare (“ware”), Faroese vøra (“ware”), Icelandic and Swedish vara (“ware”).
Forms
Derived
Abruzzi ware Belleek ware Biddery ware biscuit ware Bizen ware Böttger ware cameo ware Chien ware Jian ware Cizhou ware Corded Ware culture crouch ware Della Robbia ware Gombroon ware Hafner ware Haymarket ware Iga ware iridescent ware Iznik ware Jackfield ware jasperware Ju ware Karatsu ware Kubachi ware
Noun UK, dialectal
- Seaweed; drift seaweed; seawrack.
- On many of the farms in East Lothian, from 100 to 120 Imperial acres are annually manured with sea-ware; and when I mention that 30 double-cart loads are spread on 1 acre, you may conceive the labour incurred in carting...
- The said farm, having been possessed […] in the deed of 12th July 1794, with the privilege of taking ware from the sea-shore for the use of the farm, and having been let by them to a tenant in 1804, with "liberty of the...
- Each ware-strand, or beach where drift-weed comes to land, is set apart for a certain number of tenants on the estate to which it belongs, and each 'brook of ware' as it comes ashore is divided among these tenants,...
Origin
From Middle English wor (in sewor) from Old English wār (“seaweed”), ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *wīraz; compare wire. Cognate with Scots wair (“seaweed”), Dutch wier (“seaweed”), Middle Dutch wier (“seaweed”).
Derived
Noun Northern England, Scotland
- Spring, springtime.
Origin
From Middle English ware, from Old Norse vár (“spring”), from Proto-Germanic *wazrą. Cognate with Icelandic vor (“spring”), Swedish vår (“spring”), Danish vår (“spring”), Scots ware, wair (“spring”).
Forms
Verb dialectal, obsolete
- To be ware or mindful of something.
- 1450, Palladius on Husbondrieː Ware the horn and heels lest they fling a flap to thee.
- c. 1450, Who Ðat Liste Lokeː Ware avoutrer untrue; Such love was never good ne may be true.
- c. 1470, The Macro Playsː ‘Ware that!’ quoth Ser Wyly.
- To protect or guard (especially oneself); to be on guard, be wary.
- Ware thee.
Forms
Verb nautical, transport
- Alternative form of wear (“to veer or bring (a sailing vessel) onto the other tack by bringing the wind around the stern”)
- The Ship wares bravely, steddy, steddy; she is before it. […] The Ship wares round, so right the Helm; hard up. - 1724, Joshua Kelly, The Modern Navigator's Compleat Tutor; Or, a Treatise of the Whole Art of Navigation...
- […] [page 67:] He then stood off to windward, and opening his lower parts, wore round under her stern, […] [pages 365-372:] I have previously to observe, that the first part of this question implies that two distinct...
- ... to ware to the eastward. - 1838, James Fenimore Cooper, Cooper's Novels, page 210:
Coordinate Terms: tack
Forms
Verb Entry 8
- Old eye dialect spelling of were.
- Againſt this ther ware many objections made by the creditors, viz., that quoad the 9000 lƀ. a year contained in his contract of marriage, they ware præferable, being præferable and prior creditors, and ſo he was...
- c. 1815, Mary Woody, A true account of Nayomy Wise A larg concors ware standing round
Verb form of, obsolete
- simple past of wear