bear

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bear¹ / be(ə)r/ • v. (past bore / bôr/ ; past part. borne / bôrn/ ) [tr.] 1. (of a person) carry: he was bearing a tray of brimming glasses. ∎  have or display as a visible mark or feature: a small boat bearing a white flag. ∎  (bear oneself) carry or conduct oneself in a particular manner: she bore herself with dignity. 2. support: walls that cannot bear a stone vault. ∎  take responsibility for: no one likes to bear the responsibility for such decisions. ∎  be able to accept or stand up to: it is doubtful whether either of these distinctions would bear scrutiny. 3. endure (an ordeal or difficulty): she bore the pain stoically. ∎  manage to tolerate (a situation or experience): she could hardly bear his sarcasm I cannot bear to see you hurt ∎  (cannot bear someone/something) strongly dislike: I can't bear caviar. 4. give birth to (a child): she bore six daughters his wife had borne him a son. ∎  (of a tree or plant) produce (fruit or flowers): a squash that bears fruit shaped like cucumbers. 5. [intr.] turn and proceed in a specified direction: bear left and follow the old road. PHRASES: bear arms 1. carry firearms. 2. wear or display a coat of arms. bear the burden of suffer the consequences of. bear fruit fig. yield positive results: plans for power-sharing may be about to bear fruit. bear someone malice (or ill will) wish someone harm. bear the stamp of be clearly identifiable with: their tactics bear the stamp of Soviet military training. bear witness (or testimony) to testify to: little is left to bear witness to the past greatness of the city. bring to bear 1. muster and use to effect: she had reservations about how much influence she could bring to bear. 2. aim (a weapon): bringing his rifle to bear on a distant target. does not bear thinking about is too terrible to contemplate.PHRASAL VERBS: bear down (of a woman in labor) exert downward pressure in order to push the baby out. ∎  put pressure on someone or something: he bore down and allowed the Bears only one more run. bear down on move quickly toward someone, in a purposeful or an intimidating manner. bear on be relevant to (something): two kinds of theories that bear on literary studies. ∎  be a burden on (someone): a tax that will bear heavily on poorer households. bear something out support or confirm something: this assumption is not borne out by any evidence. bear with be patient or tolerant with. bear² • n. 1. a large, heavy, mostly omnivorous mammal of the family Ursidae that walks on the soles of its feet, with thick fur and a very short tail. ∎  a teddy bear. ∎ inf. a rough, unmannerly, or uncouth person. ∎  a large, heavy, cumbersome man: a lumbering bear of a man. ∎  (the Bear) the constellation Ursa Major or Ursa Minor. 2. Stock Market a person who forecasts that prices of stocks or commodities will fall, esp. a person who sells shares hoping to buy them back later at a lower price: [as adj.] bear markets. Often contrasted with bull¹ (sense 2 of the noun ). PHRASES: loaded for bear inf. fully prepared for any eventuality, typically a confrontation or challenge.

bear1 a bear is the type of an uncouth and savage creature. In medieval usage, also taken as symbolizing sloth and gluttony.

A bear is the emblem of St Gall, a 7th-century Irish monk and hermit living in what is now Switzerland, and the Russian St Seraphim (1759–1833), who while living as a hermit cared for bears and other wild animals.



From the late 18th century, the Bear has been used to denote Russia.


bear and ragged staff the crest of the Earls of Warwick, showing a bear with a staff having projecting stumps or knobs; the bear is said to derive from Arthgal, a legendary Earl of Warwick, who because his name meant ‘bear’ took the animal as his badge; the ragged staff refers to the story that his son killed a giant with a young ash tree, which he tore up by the roots.
bear garden originally (like the Paris of Chancery) a place set apart for baiting of bears with dogs for sport, and such areas were also often used for other rough sports. The term is now used for a scene of uproar and confusion.
bear leader in the 18th century, a humorous name for a rich young man's travelling tutor, seen as one managing a somewhat uncouth charge.

bear. Several species of this large mammal, family Ursidae, were common in western and northern Europe until modern times so that the bear was, along with the boar, one of the most ferocious native beasts a person might encounter. Not surprisingly, then, the bear figured often in the Celtic imagination. Bears are found on Gaulish coins and statuettes. The bear-goddess Artio, also known as Andarta, was venerated at what is now Berne (‘bear city’), Switzerland. Another bear divinity was Matus or Matunus, venerated at Risingham, north of Hadrian's Wall. Names deriving from native forms for ‘bear’ are cited often in Welsh and Irish genealogies. The Welsh for bear is arth or arthen; cf. Bret. arzh, giving rise to the Gaelic personal name Art and possibly also Arthur. Archaic OIr. for bear is math; OIr. and MidIr. mathgamain; ModIr. mathghamhain; ScG mathghamhainn. See also BEITHIR.

bear2 in Stock Exchange usage, a person who sells shares hoping to buy them back again later at a lower price. The term (applied to the stock thus sold) is recorded from the early 18th century, and was common at the time of the South of Chancery. The dealer in this kind of stock was known as the bearskin jobber, and it seems likely that the original phrase was ‘sell the bearskin’, and that it derived from the proverbial advice don't sell the skin till you have caught the bear.

The associated bull is of later date, and may perhaps have been suggested by the existence of bear in this sense.
bear market a market in which share prices are falling, encouraging selling.

bear Large, omnivorous mammal with a stocky body, thick coarse fur and a short tail. Bears are native to the Americas and Eurasia. The sun bear is the smallest species, the Kodiak brown bear the largest. Bears have poor sight and only fair hearing, but an excellent sense of smell. They kill prey with a blow from their powerful forepaws. In cold regions, most bears become dormant or hibernate in winter. Length: 1.3–3m (4–10ft); weight: 45–725kg (100–1600lb). Order Carnivora; family Ursidae; there are approximately nine species.

Bear river, 350 mi (563 km) long, rising in the Uinta Mts., NE Utah, and flowing in a U-shaped course NW through Wyoming and Idaho, then S into Utah to enter Great Salt Lake. A perennial stream, the Bear played an important role in the development of the region by the Mormons in the mid-1800s. The Bear irrigates c.50,000 acres (20,230 hectares). At the river's mouth is Bear River National Wildlife Reserve.

bear large mammal of the family Ursidae in the order Carnivora, found almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. Bears have large heads, bulky bodies, massive hindquarters, short, powerful limbs, very short tails, and coarse, thick fur. They walk on the entire sole of the foot and normally move with a slow, ambling gait. However, they are capable of moving with great speed when necessary and some achieve bursts of 35 mi (56 km) per hour. Most bears can climb trees and swim well. They stand on the hind feet to reach objects with their paws. They have large, strong, non-retractile claws, used for catching prey and for digging. Their teeth are adapted to grinding as well as tearing. Nearly all species are omnivorous, feeding on fruits, roots and other plant matter, honey, carrion, insects, fish, and small mammals.

Adult bears are solitary except during the mating season. Groups may feed together where quantities of food are available, but there is little social contact. In cold climates bears sleep through most of the winter in individual dens made in caves or holes in the ground. This sleep is not a true hibernation, as the bear's metabolism remains in a normal state and it may wake and emerge during warm spells. The young, usually twins, are born during winter in a very immature state. Cubs stay with their mothers for about a year, and females usually mate only every other year. Bears are not generally subject to predation, unless they are in a weakened condition. A bear is a formidable adversary and may attack a human if it is injured or startled.

Types of Bears

The brown bear of Eurasia, Ursus arctos, is extinct in much of Western Europe, but small numbers survive in some wooded sections of that region and larger numbers in Russia and N Asia. The Russian variety was the bear most often trained to dance and box in circuses and shows in the past.

The Asian black bear, or moon bear, Selenarctos thibetanus, is found in forests from central Asia and the Himalayas to Japan. The sun bear, Helarctos malayanus, is found in tropical forests of SE Asia. Smallest of the bears, it is about 4 ft (120 cm) long and weighs about 100 lb (45 kg). It spends much time in trees and is fond of honey; it is sometimes called honey bear (a name also applied to the kinkajou ). The sloth bear, Melursus ursinus, is a medium-sized bear of the forests of S India and Sri Lanka.

The North American brown bears, including the Kodiak bear and grizzly bear , are regarded by many authorities as varieties of U. arctos. Brown bears are dish-faced; i.e., their muzzles curve upward in profile. Their shoulders are humped. They range in color from yellow-brown to nearly black, with much color variation among different varieties, local populations, and individuals. Most varieties do not climb well. The Kodiak bear, or big brown bear, is the largest living member of the Carnivora, sometimes reaching a length of 9 ft (2.7 m), a shoulder height of 4 1/2 ft (140 cm), and a weight of over 1,600 lb (730 kg). It is found along the south coast of Alaska and, like the Siberian brown bear, eats large numbers of salmon during salmon runs.

The most widespread and numerous North American bear is the so-called black bear, U. americanus, found in Alaska, Canada, the Great Lakes region, mountainous areas of the United States, and on the Gulf Coast. American black bears range in color from light brown to black; in northern regions there are gray and nearly white forms. Their muzzles are always cinnamon brown and are straight in profile. They are further distinguished from brown bears by their smaller size and by their hindquarters, which are higher than their shoulders. Males are usually about 6 ft (190 cm) long and weigh about 500 lb (230 kg).

The polar bear , Thalarctos maritimus, is an almost exclusively carnivorous species of the Arctic. The only bear of the Southern Hemisphere is the spectacled bear, Tremarctos ornatus, of the Andes Mts.; it is so called from the light-colored circles around its eyes. Recent evidence suggests also including the giant panda , Ailuropoda melanoleuca as a bear.

Classification

Bears are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Carnivora, family Ursidae.

Bibliography

See R. Perry, Bears (1970).

bear2 carry; give birth to. OE. str. vb. beran = OS., OHG. beran, ON. bera, Goth. bairan, f. Gmc. *ber- :- IE. *bher-, as in Skr. bhárati, Gr. phérein, L. ferre. The mod. pt. bore dates from c.1400, but did not gen. supersede bare till after 1600; for the pp. See BORN, BORNE.

bear3 bear and forbear a recommendation to patience and tolerance recorded in English from the late 16th century. In classical Greek, the Phrygian Stoic philosopher Epictetus (ad c.50–120) has, ‘be patient and endure.’

bear v. past bore; past part. borne (of a vehicle or boat) convey (passengers or cargo).
bear arms carry firearms.
bring to bear aim (a weapon):
bringing his rifle to bear on a distant target. bear off change course away from the wind.

bear1 mammal of the family Ursidae. OE. bera, OHG. bero (G. bär) :- WGmc. *beran-.

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