bear 
Wyld roring Buls lie would him make 
To tame, and ryde their backes, not made to beare. 
Spi'iiser, F. Q., I. vi. 24. 
2. To lean; weigh; rest fixedly or burden- 
somely: as, the sides of two inclining objects 
tintr upon or against one another. 
In tile important matter of taxation, the point in which 
the pressure of every government bears the most con- 
stantly upon the whole people. Brougham, 
3. To tend; be directed in a certain way, 
whether with or without violence : as, to bear 
away ; to bear back ; to bear in ; to bear out to 
sea; to bear upon; to bear down upon; the 
fleet bore down upon the enemy. 
spinola, with his shot, did bear upon those within, who 
:.|>l>cured upon the walls. Sir. J. llaiiininl. 
Who's there '! bear back there \ Stand from the door \ 
B. Jomton, Cynthia's Revels, v. 2. 
The party soon set sail, and bore for England. 
Bancroft, Hist. U. S., I. 89. 
Down upon him bare the bandit three. 
Tennyson, Geraint. 
Hence 4. To have reference (to) ; relate (to); 
come into practical contact (with) ; have a bear- 
ing : as, legislation bearing on the interests of 
labor. 
There was one broad principle which bore equally upon 
every class, that the lauds of England must provide for 
the defense of England. Froude, Sketches, p. 144. 
5. To be situated as to the point of the com- 
pass, with respect to something else: as, the 
land bore E. N. E. from the ship. 6. To suffer, 
as with pain ; endure. 
They bore as heroes, but they felt as men. Pope. 
I can not, can not bear. Dryden. 
7. To be patient. [Bare.] 8. To produce 
fruit ; be fruitful, as opposed to being barren : 
as, the tree still continues to bear. 
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said 
in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that Is an 
hundred years old ? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years 
old, bear! Gen. xvii. 17. 
9. To take effect ; succeed. 
Having pawned a full suit of clothes for a sum of money, 
which, my operator assured me, was the last he should 
want to bring all our matters to bear. Guardian. 
To bear against. See above, 2. To bear away (/(.), 
to change the course of a ship more away from the wind. 
To bear In with, to run or tend toward : as, a ship 
bears in with the land ; opposed to bear off or keep at a 
greater distance. To bear on or upon. See above, 2, 3, 
and 4. To bear up. (a) Kant., to put the helm up so as 
to bring the vessel into the wind, (b) To be firm ; have 
fortitude. 
(IfJ we found evil fast as we find good 
In our first years, or think that it is found, 
How could the innocent heart bear up and live \ 
Wordsworth, Prelude, viii. 
To bear up for (.), to sail or proceed toward : as, we 
made all sail and bore up for Hong Kong. To bear up 
With or under, to sustain with courage ; endure without 
succumbing ; be firm under : as, to bear up under affliction. 
So long as nature 
Will bear up with this exercise, so long 
I daily vow to use it. SAafc, W. T., iii. 2. 
He's of a nature 
Too bold and fierce to stoop so, but bears up, 
Presuming on his hopes. 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, i. 1. 
To bear up wltht, to keep up with ; be on the same foot- 
ing as. 
What shoulde he doe? Fain he would have the name 
to be religious, fain he would bear up with his neighbours 
in that. Milton, Areopagitica, p. 39. 
To bear with, to endure ; be indulgent to ; forbear to 
resent, oppose, or punish. 
Reason would that I should bear with you. 
Acts xviii. 14. 
If the matter be meane, and meanly handled, I pray you 
beare both with me and it. 
Aicham, The Scholemaster, p. 22. 
To bring to bear. See bring. 
bear 2 (bar), n. [< ME. bere, < AS. bera = D. beer 
= LG. baar = OHG. bero, MHG. ber, G. bar, m., 
= Icel. bera, f ., a bear. Cf. Icel. Sw. Dan. bjorn, 
a bear (appar. = AS. beorn, a man, a warrior, 
orig. a bear? see bern?), an extended form 
490 
of the same word. Perhaps ult. = L. ferus, 
wild, fcra, a wild beast: see fierce.] 1. A 
large plantigrade carnivorous or omnivorous 
mammal, of the family Ursidce, especially of 
the genus Ursus. The teeth of the true bears are 42, 
and none of the molars are sectorial. The animals are less 
truly carnivorous than most of the order to which they 
belong, feeding largely upon roots, fruits, etc., as well as 
houey and insects. The tail is rudimentary, and the muz- 
zle is prominent, with mobile lips and a slender, some- 
times very extensile, tongue. The best-known species is 
the brown or black bear of Europe and Asia, Ursus arctos, 
found chiefly in northerly regions, of which several varie- 
ties are described, differing much in size and color, and 
to some extent in shape ; it is ordinarily about 4 feet long 
and 2J feet high ; its flesh is eaten, its pelt is used for 
robes, and its fat is in great demand as an unguent known 
as bear's grease. The grizzly bear of North America, U. 
horribilii, is as regards specific classification hardly sepa- 
rable from the last, and like it runs into several varieties, 
as the cinnamon bear, etc. It is ordinarily larger than the 
European, and is noted for its ferocity and tenacity of life. 
It inhabits the mountainous portions of western North 
America. The common black bear of North America is a 
smaller and distinct species, If. americanux, usually black 
with a tawny snout, but it also runs into a cinnamon va- 
riety. See cut under Ursus. The polar bear or white 
bear, Ursus or Thalassarctus maritiiiiti*, is very distinct, 
Grizzly Bear ( Ursus horribilis'). 
Polar Bear ( Urim maritimMl). 
of great size, peculiar shape, and white or whitish color, 
marine and maritime, and piscivorous to some extent, 
though seals constitute much of its food. The Syrian 
bear, U. syriaeus, and the Himalayan hear, U. himalaya- 
nus, respectively inhabit the regions whence they take 
their names. The spectacled bear, Urmix or Tremarctos 
ornatiix, is the sole representative of the Ursulce in South 
America : so called from the light-colored rings around the 
eyes, which have exactly the appearance of a pair of spec- 
tacles, the rest of the face and body being black. The 
Malayan bear or bruang, U. malayanus, is a small, black, 
close-haired species, with a white mark on the throat, with 
protrusile lips and slender tongue, capable of being taught 
a variety of amusing tricks in confinement. The sloth-bear 
or aswail of India is distinct from the other bears, and is 
usually placed in a different genus, Melursus labiatus. See 
Ursidtr, and cut under asuv.il. 
2. The Anglo-Australian name of a marsupial 
quadruped, the koala, Phascolarctos cinereus. 
See koala. 3. [cop.] The name of two con- 
stellations in the northern hemisphere, called 
the Great and the Little Bear. Both these figures 
have long tails. The principal stars of the Great Bear 
compose the figure of Charles's Wain, or the Dipper. In 
the tail of the Little Bear is the pole-star. See Ursa. 
4. A rude, gruff, or uncouth man. 
You are a great bear, I'm sure, to abuse my relations. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, iii. 1. 
5. [Prob. in allusion to the proverb " to sell a 
bear's skin before one has caught the bear." 
(There is a similar proverb about the lion's skin. ) 
One who sold stocks in this way was formerly 
called a bearskin jobber, later simply a bear ; now 
usually explained, in connection with its cor- 
relative bull, as in allusion to a bear, "which 
pulls down with its paws," 
as opposed to a bull, "which 
tosses with its horns."] In 
exchanges: (af) Stock which 
one contracts to deliver at a 
future date, though not in the 
possession of the seller at the 
time the contract is made : in 
the phrases to buy or sell the 
bear. (6) One who sells stocks, 
grain, provisions, or other 
commodities neither owned 
nor possessed by him at the 
time of selling them, but 
which he expects to buy at a 
lower price before the time 
fixed for making delivery, (c) 
One who endeavors to bring 
down prices, in order that he 
may buy cheap : opposed to a 
bull, who tries to raise the 
price, that he may sell dear. 
Every one who draws a bill or is- 
sues a note unconsciously acts as a 
bear upon the gold market. 
Jeunu, Money and Mech. of Ex- ^ r ..^ m , ,, rl 
(change, p. 315. < ). natural size. 
bearbine 
6. A popular name for certain common cater- 
pillars of the family Arctiidw, which are dense- 
ly covered with long hair resembling the fur 
of a bear. They undergo their transformation under 
old boards or other sheltered places, forming a slight 
cocoon composed chiefly of their own hair. Spilosoiiia 
Virginica (Fabricius) is a common example; the moth in 
white with a few black spots, the abdomen orange-colored, 
banded with white, and ornamented with three rows of 
black dots. See cut in preceding column. 
7. In metal., one of the names given to the 
metallic mass, consisting of more or less mal- 
leable iron, sometimes found in the bottom of 
an iron furnace after it has gone out of blast. 
8. Xaut., a square block of wood 
weighted with iron, or a rough mat 
filled with sand, dragged to and fro 
on a ship's decks instead of a holy- 
stone (which see). 9. In metal- 
irorlcing, a portable puuching-ma- 
chlne for iron plates. E. Ji. Knight. 
Bear's grease, the fat of bears, exten- 
sively used to promote the growth of hair. 
The unguents sold under this name, how- 
ever, are in a great measure made of hog's 
lard or veal-fat, or a mixture of both, 
scented and slightly colored. Order of 
the Bear, an order of knights instituted by the emperor 
Frederick II. of Germany, and centered at the abbey of 
St. Gall, in what is now Switzerland. It perished when 
the cantons became independent of the house of Austria. 
Woolly bear. See woolly. 
bear 3 (bar), v. t. [< bear't, n., 5.] In the stock 
exchange, to attempt to lower the price of : as, 
to bear stocks. See bear 2 , n., 5. 
bear 3 , bere 3 (ber), . [Early mod. E. also beer, 
< ME. bere, < AS. bere, barley, = Icel. barr = 
North Fries, berre, bar, bar = Goth. *baris (in 
adj. barizeins), barley, = L. far, com. See bar- 
leyl and farina.] Barley: a word now used 
chiefly in the north of England and in Scotland 
for the common four-rowed barley, Hordeum 
rulgarc. The six-rowed kind, H. hexastichon, 
is called big. 
Malt made from bere or bigg only, in Scotland and Ire- 
land, for home consumption. 
G. Scamell, Breweries and Malting, p. 136. 
bear* (ber), n. [Also written beer, and archai- 
cally bere, < ME. bere = LG. Wire, > G. biihre, a 
pillow-case.] A pillow-case: usually in com- 
position, pillow-bear. [Now only dialectal.] 
Many a pylowe and every bere 
Of clothe of Reynes to slepe softe. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, I. 254. 
bearable (bar' a-bl), a. [< bear 1 + -able.'] Ca- 
pable of being borne ; tolerable ; endurable ; 
supportable. 
bearably (bar'a-bli), adv. In a bearable man- 
ner. 
bearance (bar'ans), n. [< bear 1 + -mice. Cf. 
forbearance.'] "1. Endurance; patient suffer- 
ing. [Archaic.] 2. In much., a bearing. 
bear-animalcule (bar'an-i-mal'kul), . A gen- 
eral name for one of the minute arachnidans of 
the order Arctisca or Tardigrada, and family 
Macrobiotida;. Also called water-bear. See cut 
under Arctisca. 
bear-baiting (bar'ba"ting), n. The sport of 
setting dogs, usually mastiffs, to fight with 
captive bears. The practice was prohibited in 
Great Britain by Parliament in 1835. 
Let him alone : I see his vein lies only 
For falling out at wakes and bear-baitings, 
That may express him sturdy. 
Beau, and Fl., Captain, iv. 3. 
Bear-baiting, then a favourite diversion of high and low, 
was the abomination ... of the austere sectaries. The 
Puritans hated it, not because it gave pain to the bear, 
but because it gave pleasure to the spectators. 
Macaulay, Hist. Eng., ii. 
bearbane (bar'ban), n. A variety of the wolf s- 
bane, Aconitum Lycoctonum. 
bearberry (bar'ber"i), n. ; pi. bearberries (-iz). 
1. A trailing evergreen ericaceous shrub, Arc- 
tostaphylos uva-ursi, found throughout the arc- 
tic and mountainous portions of the north- 
ern hemisphere, and bearing small bright-red 
drupes. The leaves are very astringent and slightly bit- 
ter, and under the name uva-ursi are used in medicine as 
an astringent tonic, chiefly in affections of the bladder. It 
is the , kinnikinic which the Indians of western America 
mix with their tobacco for smoking. Also called bear's- 
bilberry, bear's-grape, and foxtterry. 
2. In the Pacific States, a species of Rhamnus, 
B. Purshiana, named from the fondness of bears 
for its berries. Also called bearwood Alpine 
or black bearberry, a dwarf arctic-alpine species of the 
genus Arctostaphylos, A. alpina. 
bearbine, bearbind (ber'bin, -bind), . [< bears 
+ bine, bind: see bine 1 ."] The name in England 
of several common species of Convolvulus, as C. 
arrensis, C. septum, and ( '. Soldanella, from their 
twining about and binding together the stalks 
of barley. Also incorrectly written barebind. 
