care

Etymology 1

From Middle English care, from Old English caru, ċearu (“care, concern, anxiety, sorrow, grief, trouble”), from Proto-West Germanic *karu, from Proto-Germanic *karō (“care, sorrow, cry”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- (“shout, call”). Cognate with Old Saxon cara, kara (“concern, action”), Middle High German kar (“sorrow, lamentation”), Icelandic kör (“sickbed”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐌰 (kara, “concern, care”). Related also to Dutch karig (“scanty”), German karg (“sparse, meagre, barren”), Latin garriō, Ancient Greek γῆρυς (gêrus). See also chary.

noun

1. (obsolete) Grief, sorrow. [13th–19th c.]
2. Close attention; concern; responsibility.
   Care should be taken when holding babies.
3. Worry.
   I don't have a care in the world.
   Yes, heaven, I'm in heaven / And the cares that hung around me through the week / Seem to vanish like a gambler's lucky streak 1956, Irving Berlin (lyrics and music), “Cheek to Cheek”
4. Maintenance, upkeep.
   dental care
5. The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).
   The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation. 2013-06-21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10
6. The state of being cared for by others.
   in care
7. The object of watchful attention or anxiety.

Etymology 2

From Middle English caren, carien, from Old English carian (“to sorrow, grieve, be troubled, be anxious, to care for, heed”), from Proto-West Germanic *karōn (“to care”), from Proto-Germanic *karōną (“to care”). Cognate with Middle High German karn (“to complain, lament, grieve, mourn”), Alemannic German karen, kären (“to groan, wheeze, give a death rattle”), Swedish kära (“to fall in love”), Icelandic kæra (“to care, like”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐍉𐌽 (karōn, “to be concerned”).

verb

1. (transitive, intransitive) To be concerned (about), to have an interest (in); to feel concern (about).
   "She doesn't care what you think." "I don't care, I'm still going."
   And no use for anyone to tell Charles that this was because the Family was in mourning for Mr Granville Darracott […]: Charles might only have been second footman at Darracott Place for a couple of months when that disaster occurred, but no one could gammon him into thinking that my lord cared a spangle for his heir. 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax
   This newfound infatuation renders Bart uncharacteristically vulnerable. He suddenly has something to care about beyond causing trouble and makes a dramatic transformation from hell-raiser to gentleman about town. May 27, 2012, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club
2. (intransitive, polite, formal) To want, to desire; to like; to be inclined towards.
   Would you care for another slice of cake?
   Would you care to dance?
   I don't care to hear your opinion.
3. (intransitive, informal, by extension) For it to matter to, or make any difference to.
   An event aggregator facilitates a fire-and-forget model of communication. The object triggering the event doesn't care if there are any subscribers. It just fires the event and moves on. 2013, Addy Osmani, Developing Backbone.js Applications, page 175
4. (intransitive) (with for) To look after or look out for.
   Young children can learn to care for a pet.
   He cared for his mother while she was sick.
5. (intransitive, Appalachia) To mind; to object.
   After introducing herself, the therapist then asked the patient if it would be all right to do the exercises which the doctor had ordered for her. The patient would response, "Well, I don't care to." For several days, the therapist immediately left the room and officially recorded that the patient had "refused" therapy. […] It was not until months later that this therapist […] discovered that she should have been interpreting "I don't care to" as "I don't mind" doing those exercises now. 2006, Grace Toney Edwards, JoAnn Aust Asbury, Ricky L. Cox, A Handbook to Appalachia: An Introduction to the Region, Univ. of Tennessee Press, page 108