pear


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

pear

an edible fruit; the tree itself: partridge in a pear tree
Not to be confused with:
pair – two things that are matched for use together: a pair of socks; a married, engaged, or dating couple; two mated animals; a pair of horses
pare – to cut off the outer coating, layer, or part of: pare an apple
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
click for a larger image
pear
left: Comice
center: Starkrimson
right: Bosc

pear

 (pâr)
n.
1. Any of several trees of the genus Pyrus in the rose family, having glossy leaves and white flowers, especially P. communis, widely cultivated for its edible fruit.
2. The fruit of any of these trees, having gritty, juicy flesh and usually a shape that is spherical at the base and tapering toward the stalk.

[Middle English pere, from Old English peru, a fruit of the pear tree, ultimately from Vulgar Latin *pira, from Latin, pl. of pirum; akin to Greek apion, pear (both Greek and Latin being borrowed from the same unknown source).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pear

(pɛə)
n
1. (Plants) a widely cultivated rosaceous tree, Pyrus communis, having white flowers and edible fruits
2. (Plants) the sweet gritty-textured juicy fruit of this tree, which has a globular base and tapers towards the apex
3. (Forestry) the wood of this tree, used for making furniture
[Old English pere, ultimately from Latin pirum]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pear

(pɛər)

n.
1. the edible fruit, typically rounded but elongated and growing smaller toward the stem, of a tree, Pyrus communis, of the rose family.
2. the tree itself.
[before 1000; Middle English pe(e)re, Old English peru < Latin pira, pl. of pirum pear]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.pear - sweet juicy gritty-textured fruit available in many varietiespear - sweet juicy gritty-textured fruit available in many varieties
edible fruit - edible reproductive body of a seed plant especially one having sweet flesh
bosc - greenish-yellow pear
anjou - a pear with firm flesh and a green skin
bartlett pear, bartlett - juicy yellow pear
seckel, seckel pear - small yellowish- to reddish-brown pear
pear tree, Pyrus communis, pear - Old World tree having sweet gritty-textured juicy fruit; widely cultivated in many varieties
false fruit, pome - a fleshy fruit (apple or pear or related fruits) having seed chambers and an outer fleshy part
2.pear - Old World tree having sweet gritty-textured juicy fruitpear - Old World tree having sweet gritty-textured juicy fruit; widely cultivated in many varieties
pear - sweet juicy gritty-textured fruit available in many varieties
genus Pyrus, Pyrus - fruit trees native to the Old World: pears
fruit tree - tree bearing edible fruit
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
إجّاص، كُمَّثْرىكُمِّثرَى
hruškahruškovýhrušeň
pære
pirnpirnipuu
گلابی
päärynäpäärynäpuu
kruška
körtekörtefa
pera
西洋ナシ
서양배
pirumpirus
kriaušėkriaušės formos
bumbierisbumbieru-
pară
hruškahruškový
hruška
päronpäronträd
ลูกแพร์
quả lê

pear

[pɛəʳ] N (= fruit) → pera f (also pear tree) → peral m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

pear

[ˈpɛər] n
(= fruit) → poire f
(also pear tree) → poirier m
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

pear

nBirne f; (= tree)Birnbaum m

pear

:
peardrop
n (= pendant)tropfenförmiger Anhänger m; (= sweet) hartes Bonbon in Birnenform
pear-drop
adj earring etctropfenförmig
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

pear

[pɛəʳ] n (fruit) → pera; (tree) → pero
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

pear

(peə) noun
a type of fruit of the apple family, round at the bottom and narrowing towards the stem or top. She's very fond of pears; (also adjective) a pear tree.
ˈpear-shaped adjective
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

pear

كُمِّثرَى hruška pære Birne αχλάδι pera päärynä poire kruška pera 西洋ナシ peer pære gruszka pêra груша päron ลูกแพร์ armut quả lê 梨子
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
Pinocchio ate one pear in a twinkling and started to throw the core away, but Geppetto held his arm.
Horseshoes, swords, and the heads of halberds, or bills, are often found there ; one place is called the ``Danes' well,'' another the ``Battle flats.'' From a tradition that the weapon with which the Norwegian champion was slain, resembled a pear, or, as others say, that the trough or boat in which the soldier floated under the bridge to strike the blow, had such a shape, the country people usually begin a great market, which is held at Stamford, with an entertainment called the Pear-pie feast, which after all may be a corruption of the Spear-pie feast.
LITTLE Benjamin said, "It spoils people's clothes to squeeze under a gate; the proper way to get in, is to climb down a pear tree."
No one would expect to raise a first-rate melting pear from the seed of a wild pear, though he might succeed from a poor seedling growing wild, if it had come from a garden-stock.
Pear grows on pear, apple on apple, and fig on fig, and so also with the grapes, for there is an excellent vineyard: on the level ground of a part of this, the grapes are being made into raisins; in another part they are being gathered; some are being trodden in the wine tubs, others further on have shed their blossom and are beginning to show fruit, others again are just changing colour.
This young fellow's healthy cheek is like a sun-toasted pear in hue, and would seem to smell almost as musky; he cannot have been three days landed from his Indian voyage.
Most unpleasant of all was the first minute when, on coming, happy and good-humored, from the theater, with a huge pear in his hand for his wife, he had not found his wife in the drawing-room, to his surprise had not found her in the study either, and saw her at last in her bedroom with the unlucky letter that revealed everything in her hand.
This might have stopped another man; but Bar, sticking to him fresh as ever, said, 'As to pears, now?'
Some of the trees bore yellow oranges and some russet pears, so the hungry adventurers suddenly found themselves provided with plenty to eat and to drink.
There was a tree just behind which bore alligator pears, and all about were the cocoa-nuts which gave the land its revenue.
In July come gilliflowers of all varieties; musk-roses; the lime-tree in blossom; early pears and plums in fruit; jennetings, codlins.
"Mas'r George is such a beautiful reader, now, I know he'll stay to read for us," said Aunt Chloe; "'pears like 't will be so much more interestin'."