Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BEAR, v.t. [pret. bore; pp. born, borne. Sax. bæran, beran, beoran, byran, gebæran, geberan, gebyran, abæran, aberan, to bear, carry, bring, sustain, produce, bring forth; gebyrian, gebyrigan, to pertain to, to belong to, to happen, to become, or be suitable; answering to the Latin fero, porto, pario and oporteo. Hence, probably, Sax. barn, bearn, a son, coinciding with born. Goth. bairan, to bear, or carry; gabairan, to bear; G. führen, to carry, and gebären, to bring forth; D. beuren, to lift, voeren, to carry or bear; baaren, to bring forth; Sw. bära, to carry; bära fram, to bring forth; barn, a son; Dan. bærer, to carry, bear, produce; L. fero, pario, porto; Gr. φερω, φορεω; Sp. and Port. parir, to bring forth; portar, to carry; It. portare, to carry; Ir. bearadh, beirim, to bear or bring forth, to tell or relate, whence Fr. parler; Russ. bere, to take, to carry; Sans. bharadi, to bear. This verb I suppose to be radically the same as the Shemitic ברא, to produce; L. pario. The primary sense is to throw out, to bring forth, or in general, to thrust or drive along. It includes the proper significations, both of L. fero and pario; Shemitic פרה, farah, and ፈረየ, fari. Hence, probably Gr. βαρος, βαρυς, and a great family of words. See Class Br. Nos. 15, 22, 33, 35.]

1. To support; to sustain; as, to bear a weight or burden.
2. To carry; to convey; to support and remove from place to place; as, they bear him upon the shoulder; the eagle, beareth them on her wings. – Isaiah. Deuteronomy.
3. To wear; to bear as a mark of authority or distinction, as, to bear a sword, a badge, a name; to bear arms in a coat.
4. To keep afloat; as, the water bears a ship.
5. To support or sustain without sinking or yielding; to endure; as, a man can bear severe pain or calamity; or to sustain with proportionate strength, and without injury; as, a man may bear stronger food or drink.
6. To entertain; to carry in the mind; as, to bear a great love for a friend; to bear inveterate hatred to gaming.
7. To suffer; to undergo; as, to bear punishment.
8. To suffer without resentment, or interference to prevent; to have patience; as, to bear neglect or indignities.
9. To admit or be capable of; that is, to suffer or sustain without violence, injury, or change; as, to give words the most favorable interpretation they will bear.
10. To bring forth or produce, as the fruit of plants, or the young of animals; as, to bear apples; to bear children.
11. To give birth to, or be the native place of. Here dwelt the man divine whom Samos bore. – Dryden.
12. To possess and use as power; to exercise; as, to bear sway.
13. To gain or win. Some think to bear it by speaking a great word. – Bacon. [Not now used. The phrase now used is, to bear away.]
14. To carry on, or maintain; to have; as, to bear a part in conversation.
15. To show or exhibit; to relate; as, to bear testimony or witness. This seems to imply utterance, like the Latin fero, to relate or utter.
16. To sustain the effect, or be answerable for; as, to bear the blame.
17. To sustain, as expense; to supply the means of paying; as, to bear the charges, that is, to pay the expenses.
18. To be the object of. Let me but bear your love, and I'll bear your cares. [Unusual.] – Shak.
19. To behave; to act in any character; as, hath he borne himself penitent? [Not usual.] – Shak.
20. To remove, or to endure the effects of; and hence, to give satisfaction for. He shall bear their iniquities. – Is. liii. Heb. ix. To bear the infirmities of the weak, To bear one another's burdens, is to be charitable toward their faults, to sympathize with them, and to aid them in distress. – Brown. To bear off, is to restrain; to keep from approach; and in seamanship, to remove to a distance; to keep clear from rubbing against any thing; as, to bear off a blow; to bear off a boat; also, to carry away; as, to bear off stolen goods. To bear down, is to impel or urge; to overthrow or crush by force; as, to bear down an enemy. To bear down upon, to press to overtake; to make all sail to come up with. To bear hard, is to press or urge. Cesar doth bear me hard. – Shak. To bear on, is to press against; also to carry forward, to press, incite or animate. Confidence hath borne thee on. – Milton. To bear through, is to conduct or manage; as, to bear through the consulship. B. Jonson. Also, to maintain or support to the end; as religion will bear us through the evils of life. To bear out, is to maintain and support to the end; to defend to the last. Company only can bear a man out in an ill thing. – South. To bear up, to support, to keep from falling. Religious hope bears up the mind under sufferings. – Addison. To bear up, to keep afloat. To bear a body. A color is said to bear a body in painting, when it is capable of being ground so fine, and mixed so entirely with the oil, as to seem only a very thick oil of the same color. – Johnson. To bear date, is to have the mark of time when written or executed; as, a letter or bond bears date, Jan. 6, 1811. To bear a price, is to have a certain price. In common mercantile language, it often signifies or implies, to bear a good or high price. To bear in hand, to amuse with false pretenses; to deceive. – Bacon. South. Shak. I believe this phrase is obsolete, or never used in America. To bear a hand, in seamanship, is to make haste, be quick.