bare

See also: Baré, bāre, bārē, barē, båre, and Bäre

English

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /bɛə(ɹ)/, /bɛː(ɹ)/, enPR: bâr
  • (US) IPA(key): /bɛɚ/, enPR: bâr
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
  • Homophone: bear

Etymology 1

From Middle English bare, bar, from Old English bær (“bare, naked, open”), from Proto-Germanic *bazaz (“bare, naked”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰos- (“bare, barefoot”). Cognate with Scots bare, bair (“bare”), Saterland Frisian bar (“bare”), West Frisian baar (“bare”), Dutch baar (“bare”), German bar (“bare”), Swedish bar (“bare”), Icelandic ber (“bare”), Lithuanian basas (“barefoot, bare”), Polish bosy (“barefoot”).

Adjective

bare (comparative barer, superlative barest)

  1. Minimal; that is or are just sufficient.
    a bare majority
    • Addison
      the bare necessaries of life
  2. Naked, uncovered.
    I do wonder why keeping my little breasts bare can be lewd even as none tells my brother anything for being bare-chested.
  3. Having no supplies.
    a room bare of furniture
    The cupboard was bare.
    • 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
      Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare.
  4. Having no decoration.
    The walls of this room are bare — why not hang some paintings on them?
  5. Having had what usually covers (something) removed.
    The trees were left bare after the swarm of locusts devoured all the leaves.
  6. (Britain, slang, not comparable) A lot or lots of.
    It's bare money to get in the club each time, man.
  7. With head uncovered; bareheaded.
    • Herbert
      When once thy foot enters the church, be bare.
  8. Without anything to cover up or conceal one's thoughts or actions; open to view; exposed.
    • Milton
      Bare in thy guilt, how foul must thou appear!
  9. (figuratively) Mere; without embellishment.
    • Macaulay
      Those who lent him money lent it on no security but his bare word.
  10. Threadbare, very worn.
    • Shakespeare
      It appears by their bare liveries that they live by your bare words.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Adverb

bare

  1. (Britain, slang) Very; significantly.
    This porno's bare whack, bruv.
  2. Barely.
    • 2009, Allan Cole; Chris Bunch, The Wars of the Shannons:
      He finally came back to himself and asked why the furor. "Why," Lucy said, "because this is Christmas Eve. We have bare enough time to get ready for the ball, after dinner, as it is."
    • 2011, Elizabeth Vaughan, Warprize:
      “I've bare enough for these two, much less fill your belly.”
  3. Without a condom
    • 2000, Northeast African Studies - Volume 7, page 119:
      While none of the participants had complete confidence in condoms, they continued to use them as a better alternative than “going in bare".
    • 2002, The Society of Malawi Journal - Volumes 55-58, page 70:
      It would be fine to have these women bare, without condoms.
    • 2010, M. L. Matthews, I Am Not the Father: Narratives of Men Falsely Accused of Paternity, →ISBN:
      I like to go bare. I don't like wearing condoms, actually I hate 'em.
Translations

Noun

bare (plural bares)

  1. (‘the bare’) the surface, the (bare) skin
    • 1599, John Marston, Antonio and Mellida
      In sad good earnest, sir, you have toucht the very bare of naked truth [...]
    • 2002, Darren Shan, Hunters of the dusk: 7:
      Vancha clasped the bare of my neck and squeezed amiably.
  2. Surface; body; substance.
    • Marston
      You have touched the very bare of naked truth.
  3. (architecture) That part of a roofing slate, shingle, tile, or metal plate, which is exposed to the weather.

Etymology 2

From Middle English baren, from Old English barian, from Proto-Germanic *bazōną (“to bare, make bare”).

Verb

bare (third-person singular simple present bares, present participle baring, simple past and past participle bared)

  1. (transitive) To uncover; to reveal.
    She bared her teeth at him.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 3

Inflected forms.

Verb

bare

  1. (obsolete) simple past tense of bear
    • Bible, Josh. iii. 15
      The feet of the priest that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water.
    • 1898, J. Meade Falkner, Moonfleet Chapter 5
      And so I put thee on my shoulder and bare thee back, and here thou art in David's room, and shalt find board and bed with me as long as thou hast mind to

References

  • bare in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • bare in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

Basque

Adjective

bare

  1. calm

Noun

bare

  1. slug
  2. spleen

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbarɛ/

Noun

bare

  1. vocative singular of bar

Danish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /barə/, [ˈb̥ɑːɑ]

Adverb

bare

  1. just
  2. simply
  3. only, merely

Conjunction

bare

  1. I wish, I hope, if only
    • 1979, Tove Ditlevsen, Vi har kun hinanden: To som elsker hinanden (→ISBN)
      Bare vi var alene.
      I wish we were alone.
    • 2014, Pernille Eybye, Blodets bånd #1: Blodsøstre, Tellerup A/S (→ISBN)
      „Bare jeg kunne blive hele natten," fortsatte han.
      "If only I could stay all night", he continued.
    • 2013, Lyngby-Taarbæk Bibliotekerne, Tanker om tid: 15 udvalgte noveller, BoD – Books on Demand (→ISBN), page 43
      Bare jeg kunne spole tiden tilbage.
      If only I could turn back time.

Synonyms

Adjective

bare

  1. definite and plural of bar

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Audio(file)

Verb

bare

  1. (archaic) singular present subjunctive of baren

Italian

Noun

bare f

  1. plural of bara

Anagrams

Lithuanian

Noun

bare m

  1. locative singular of baras
  2. vocative singular of baras

Manx

Adjective

bare

  1. best

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch *bāra, from Proto-Germanic *bērō.

Noun

bâre f

  1. bier, stretcher

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

Further reading

  • “bare (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
  • “bare (IV)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

bare

  1. definite singular of bar
  2. plural form of bar

Adverb

bare

  1. only, merely, just
  2. but

Conjunction

bare

  1. if; as long as

See also

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adverb

bare

  1. form removed with the spelling reform of 2012; superseded by berre

Swedish

Adjective

bare

  1. absolute definite natural masculine form of bar.
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