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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Dear \Dear\ (d[=e]r), adjective [Compar. {Dearer} (d[=e]r"[~e]r); superl. {Dearest} (d[=e]r"[e^]st).] [OE. dere, deore, AS. de['o]re; akin to OS. diuri, D. duur, OHG. tiuri, G. theuer, teuer, Icel. d[=y]rr, Dan. & Sw. dyr. Cf. {Darling}, {Dearth}.]
1. Bearing a high price; high-priced; costly; expensive.
The cheapest of us is ten groats too dear. --Shak.
2. Marked by scarcity or dearth, and exorbitance of price; as, a dear year.
3. Highly valued; greatly beloved; cherished; precious. ''Hear me, dear lady.'' --Shak.
Neither count I my life dear unto myself. --Acts xx. 24.
And the last joy was dearer than the rest. --Pope.
Dear as remember'd kisses after death. --Tennyson.
4. Hence, close to the heart; heartfelt; present in mind; engaging the attention. (a) Of agreeable things and interests.
[I'll] leave you to attend him: some dear cause Will in concealment wrap me up awhile. --Shak.
His dearest wish was to escape from the bustle and glitter of Whitehall. --Macaulay. (b) Of disagreeable things and antipathies.
In our dear peril. --Shak.
Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven Or ever I had seen that day. --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
dearest
noun: a beloved person; used as terms of endearment [syn: {beloved}, {dear}, {loved one}, {honey}, {love}]
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |