ear

Etymology 1

From Middle English ere, eare, from Old English ēare (“ear”), from Proto-West Germanic *auʀā, from the voiced Verner alternant of Proto-Germanic *ausô (“ear”) (compare Scots ear, West Frisian ear, Dutch oor, German Ohr, Swedish öra, Danish øre), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws (compare Old Irish áu, Latin auris, Lithuanian ausìs, Russian у́хо (úxo), Albanian vesh, Ancient Greek οὖς (oûs), Old Armenian ունկն (unkn), and Persian گوش (gôš)).

noun

1. (countable) The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea.
2. (countable) The external part of the organ of hearing, the auricle.
3. (countable, slang) A police informant.
   No I'm not kidding, and if you don't give it to me I'll let it out that you’re an ear. 1976, Stirling Silliphant, Dean Riesner, Gail Morgan Hickman, The Enforcer
4. The sense of hearing; the perception of sounds; skill or good taste in listening to music.
   a good ear for music
5. The privilege of being kindly heard; favour; attention.
   They don’t know if they’re going to have a job in a week or a month. They don’t know if they can pay the rising prices. Instead of the paradise they expected July 1, their total existence is unsure. That some foreigners get beaten—nobody has an ear for that now. 1990-08-19, Uwe Stelbrink, quotee, “Fear and uncertainty breed xenophobia in E. Germany”, in Democrat and Chronicle, volume 158, Rochester, N.Y., page 5A
6. That which resembles in shape or position the ear of an animal; a prominence or projection on an object, usually for support or attachment; a lug; a handle; a foot-rest or step of a spade or a similar digging tool.
   the ears of a tub, skillet, or dish; The ears of a boat are outside kneepieces near the bow.
   When they got as far as the little valley north of Oppenhagen - where the land-slip took place - he thought he sat between the ears of a bucket; but shortly this vanished also, and it was only then he really came to himself again. 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 291
7. (architecture) An acroterium.
8. (architecture) A crossette.
9. (journalism) A space to the left or right of a publication's front-page title, used for advertising, weather, etc.
   In journalism, ears flank the title as boxes in the left and right top corners of a publication (generally a newspaper). 2006, Richard Weiner, Charles M. Levine, The Skinny about Best Boys, Dollies, Green Rooms, Leads, and Other Media Lingo, page 26

verb

1. (humorous) To take in with the ears; to hear.
2. To hold by the ears.
   Sometimes, the helper eared the horse down; and sometimes he used a blindfold. 1964, John Hendrix, If I Can Do It Horseback: A Cow-Country Sketchbook, page 40
   The general technique was to rope the horse around the neck, and, while one or two men eared the horse down (held him by the ears), the rider saddled the animal and stepped above him. 2013, Fay E. Ward, The Cowboy at Work

Etymology 2

From Middle English eere, er, from Old English ēar (Northumbrian dialect æhher), from Proto-West Germanic *ahaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *ahaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”). See also West Frisian ier, Dutch aar, German Ähre; also Latin acus (“needle; husk”), Tocharian B āk (“ear, awn”), Old Church Slavonic ость (ostĭ, “wheat spike, sharp point”). More at edge. The sense for an ear of a loaf of bread comes via the French épi.

noun

1. (countable) The fruiting body of a grain plant.
   He is in the fields, harvesting ears of corn.
2. Outcroppings and ridges from a baguette surface, where the uncooked dough has been scored.

verb

1. (intransitive) To put forth ears in growing; to form ears, as grain does.
   This corn ears well.

Etymology 3

From Middle English eren, from Old English erian, from Proto-West Germanic *arjan, from Proto-Germanic *arjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erh₃- (“to plough”).

verb

1. (archaic) To plough.