bare - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English bare, bar, from Old English bær (“bare, naked, open”), from Proto-West Germanic *baʀ, from Proto-Germanic *bazaz (“bare, naked”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰosós, from *bʰos- (“bare, barefoot”).

Cognate with Scots bare, bair (“bare”), Saterland Frisian bar (“bare”), West Frisian baar (“bare”), Dutch bar (“bare”), German bar (“bare”), Swedish bar (“bare”), Icelandic ber (“bare”), Lithuanian basas (“barefoot, bare”), Polish bosy (“barefoot”).

bare (comparative barer, superlative barest)

  1. Minimal; that is or are just sufficient.
    Synonyms: mere, minimal
    Antonyms: ample, plentiful, sufficient
    a bare majority
  2. Naked, uncovered.
    Synonyms: exposed, naked, nude, uncovered, undressed
    Antonyms: covered, covered up, dressed, unexposed
    • 1961, Roald Dahl, James and the Giant Peach, Knopf, page 46:
      "I refuse to show myself out of doors in my bare feet," the Centipede said. "I have to get my boots on again first."
  3. Having no supplies.
    Synonyms: empty, unfurnished, unstocked, unsupplied
    Antonyms: full, furnished, stocked, supply, supplied, well-stocked
    a room bare of furniture
    The cupboard was bare.
    • 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, retrieved 31 October 2012:
      Localities across New Jersey imposed curfews to prevent looting. In Monmouth, Ocean and other counties, people waited for hours for gasoline at the few stations that had electricity. Supermarket shelves were stripped bare.
  4. Having no decoration.
    Synonyms: empty, plain, unadorned, undecorated; see also Thesaurus:unadorned
    Antonyms: adorned, decorated, ornate; see also Thesaurus:gaudy
    The walls of this room are bare — why not hang some paintings on them?
  5. Having had what usually covers (something) removed.
    Synonyms: despoiled, stripped, uncovered
    Antonym: covered
    The trees were left bare after the swarm of locusts devoured all the leaves.
  6. (MLE, MTE, Yorkshire, slang, not comparable) A lot or lots of.
    It's taking bare time.
    • 2005 July 13, Ryan, quotee, “‘We like the easy money. We like the lifestyle’”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
      The phone would answer, we'd go round the corner, pass something to someone, go back and we'd have bare dough, we'd have bare money in our pocket.
    • 2016 December 3, Millie B, “Soph Aspin Send”, performed by Millie B:
      You shagged bare lads, you're a little sket / Have you heard your bars? They're fucking pept
    • 2023, Nathan Bryon, Tom Melia, directed by Raine Allen-Miller, Rye Lane, spoken by Nathan (Simon Manyonda):
      Oh, come on. Help a brother out. People see you coppin', might inspire them. Look, I know you ain't payin' bills right now. Man must have bare peas saved up.
  7. With head uncovered; bareheaded.
    Synonym: uncovered
    • [1633], George Herbert, “The Church-porch”, in [Nicholas Ferrar], editor, The Temple. Sacred Poems, and Private Ejaculations, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel; and are to be sold by Francis Green, […], →OCLC, page 14:
      When once thy foot enters the church, be bare. / God is more there, then thou: for thou art there / Onely by his permiſſion.
  8. Without anything to cover up or conceal one's thoughts or actions; open to view; exposed.
    Synonyms: apparent, displayed; see also Thesaurus:apparent
    Antonyms: concealed, obscured; see also Thesaurus:hidden
  9. (figuratively) Mere; without embellishment.
    Synonyms: alone, simple, only, very; see also Thesaurus:mere
  10. Threadbare, very worn.
    Synonyms: shabby, worn-out
  1. Not insured.
    Synonyms: noninsured, uninsured

minimal

naked, uncovered

having no decoration

Translations to be checked

bare

  1. (dialect) Barely.
    • 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
      The fiend had bare departed when Ailie came over the threshold to find the auld carline glunching over the fire.
    • 2009, Allan Cole with Chris Bunch, The Wars of the Shannons:
      He finally came back to himself and asked why the furor. "Why," Lucy said, "because this is Christmas Eve. We have bare enough time to get ready for the ball, after dinner, as it is."
    • 2011, Elizabeth Vaughan, Warprize:
      “I've bare enough for these two, much less fill your belly.”
  2. (MLE, slang) Very; significantly.
    That pissed me off bare.
    That's bare stupid.
  3. (slang) Without a condom.
    • 2000, Northeast African Studies - Volume 7, page 119:
      While none of the participants had complete confidence in condoms, they continued to use them as a better alternative than “going in bare".
    • 2002, The Society of Malawi Journal - Volumes 55-58, page 70:
      It would be fine to have these women bare, without condoms.
    • 2010, M. L. Matthews, I Am Not the Father: Narratives of Men Falsely Accused of Paternity, →ISBN:
      I like to go bare. I don't like wearing condoms, actually I hate 'em.

bare (plural bares)

  1. (with the) The surface, the (bare) skin.
    • 2002, Darren Shan, Hunters of the dusk: 7:
      Vancha clasped the bare of my neck and squeezed amiably.
  2. Surface; body; substance.
  3. (architecture) That part of a roofing slate, shingle, tile, or metal plate, which is exposed to the weather.

From Middle English baren, from Old English barian, from Proto-Germanic *bazōną (“to bare, make bare”).

bare (third-person singular simple present bares, present participle baring, simple past and past participle bared)

  1. (transitive, sometimes figurative) To uncover; to reveal.
    She bared her teeth at him.
    The tabloid newspaper promised to bare all.

The verb should not be confused with the verb bear.

to uncover, reveal

Inflected forms.

bare

  1. (obsolete) simple past of bear
    • [1898], J[ohn] Meade Falkner, Moonfleet, London; Toronto, Ont.: Jonathan Cape, published 1934, →OCLC:
      And so I put thee on my shoulder and bare thee back, and here thou art in David's room, and shalt find board and bed with me as long as thou hast mind to

bare (comparative bareago, superlative bareen, excessive bareegi)

  1. calm

bare anim

  1. slug

bare inan

  1. spleen

bare

  1. vocative singular of bar

From the adjective bar (“naked”).

bare

  1. just
  2. simply
  3. only, merely

bare

  1. I wish, I hope, if only (introduces a wish)
    • 1979, Tove Ditlevsen, Vi har kun hinanden: To som elsker hinanden, →ISBN:
      Bare vi var alene.
      I wish we were alone.
    • 2014, Pernille Eybye, Blodets bånd #1: Blodsøstre, Tellerup A/S, →ISBN:
      „Bare jeg kunne blive hele natten," fortsatte han.
      "If only I could stay all night", he continued.
    • 2013, Lyngby-Taarbæk Bibliotekerne, Tanker om tid: 15 udvalgte noveller, BoD – Books on Demand, →ISBN, page 43:
      Bare jeg kunne spole tiden tilbage.
      If only I could rewind time.
  2. if only (introduces a conditional subclause)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

bare

  1. inflection of bar:
    1. definite singular
    2. plural

bare

  1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of baren

bare

  1. inflection of bar:
    1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
    2. strong nominative/accusative plural
    3. weak nominative all-gender singular
    4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

bare f

  1. plural of bara

bare m

  1. locative/vocative singular of baras

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

bare

  1. best

From Old Dutch *bāra, from Proto-West Germanic *bāru, from Proto-Germanic *bērō.

bâre f

  1. bier, stretcher

Weak feminine noun

| | singular | plural | | | ----------- | ----------- | ----- | | nominative | bâre | bâren | | accusative | bâre | bâren | | genitive | bâre, bâren | bâren | | dative | bâre, bâren | bâren |

From Old English bær, from Proto-West Germanic *baʀ, from Proto-Germanic *bazaz.

bare

  1. unclothed; naked, nude

bare

  1. alternative form of barre

bare

  1. (rare) alternative form of bere (“barley”)

bare

  1. (Northern) alternative form of bor

bare

  1. to stand

Compare Persian باره (bâre, “subject, issue”).

bare m

  1. topic
  2. hashtag

bare

  1. definite singular of bar
  2. plural of bar

bare

  1. only, merely, just
  2. but

bare

  1. if; as long as

bare

  1. (pre-2012) alternative form of berre

bare

  1. inflection of bær:
    1. strong feminine accusative singular
    2. strong masculine/neuter instrumental singular
    3. strong masculine/feminine nominative/accusative plural
    4. weak feminine/neuter nominative singular
    5. weak neuter accusative singular

bare (Cyrillic spelling баре)

  1. vocative singular of bȃr

bare (Cyrillic spelling баре)

  1. inflection of bȁra:
    1. genitive singular
    2. nominative/accusative/vocative plural

bare

  1. definite natural masculine singular of bar