ear 
2. The external ear alone, known as the pinna, 
auricle, or concha: as, the horse laid his ears 
back. 
In another Yle ben folk, that Iwm gret Eres and longe, 
that haugen doun to here Knees. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 205. 
Hollowing one hand against his ear, 
To list a foot-fall. Tennyson, Palace of Art. 
3. Inornith.: (a) The auriculars or packet of 
auricular feathers which cover the external 
ear-passage of a bird. (6) A plumicoruor cor- 
niplume; one of the "horns" of an owl. 
4. The sense of hearing; the power of distin- 
guishing sounds ; the power of nice perception 
of the differences of sound. 
The Poet must know to whose eare he maketh his rime, 
and accommodate himselfe thereto, and not glue such 
musicke to the rude and barbarous as he would to the 
learned and delicate eare. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 72. 
5. Specifically, in music, the capacity to appre- 
ciate, analyze, and reproduce musical composi- 
tions by hearing them ; sensitiveness to musical 
intonation and to differences of pitch and qual- 
ity in musical sounds : as, a correct ear. Some- 
times called a musical ear. 
Sneer. I thought you had been a decided critic in music, 
as well as in literature. 
Dangle. So I am but I have a bad ear. 
Sheridan, The Critic, i. 1. 
When therefore I say that I have no ear, you will un- 
derstand me to mean for music. 
Lamb, Chapter on Ears. 
And men who have the gift of playing on an instrument 
by ear are sometimes afraid to learn by rule, lest they 
should lose it. J. H. Newman, Gram, of Assent, p. 323. 
6. A careful or favorable hearing ; attention ; 
heed. 
I cried unto God with my voice, . . . and he gave ear 
unto me. Pa. Ixxvii. 1. 
I gaue as good eare, and do consider as well the taulke 
that passed, as any one did there. 
Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 19. 
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice. 
Shak., Hamlet, 1. 3. 
But the bigots and flatterers who had his ear gave him 
advice which he was but too willing to take. 
Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
7t. Disposition to listen ; judgment ; taste. 
He laid his sense closer, and in fewer words, according 
to the style and ear of those times. Sir J. Denham. 
8. A part of any inanimate object having some 
likeness to the external ear. (a) A projection from 
the side of a vessel or utensil made to be used as a handle : 
as, the ears of a jar, pitcher, or other vessel. 
Each bottle had a curling ear, 
Through which the belt he drew, 
And hung a bottle on each side, 
To make his balance true. 
Coivper, John Gilpin. 
Over the fireplace were . . . iron candlesticks hanging 
by their ears. S. Judd, Margaret, ii. 7. 
(fc) That part of a bell by which it is suspended ; the can- 
non. See first cut under bell, (c) A plate of soft metal at 
the mouth of the mouthpipe of an organ, used to qualify 
the tone by being bent more or less over the opening, (d) 
The loop or ring by which the ram of a pile-driver is raised. 
(e) In printing, a projecting piece on the edge of the frisket 
or of the composing-rule. E. H. Knight. (/) One of the 
holes bored in a spherical projectile for the insertion of 
the points of the shell-hooks used in manipulating it. 
9. In arch., same as cresset, I (a) A flea In the 
ear. Seejlea. All ear or ears, listening intently ; giv- 
ing close attention to sounds or utterances. 
I was all ear, 
And took in strains that might create a soul 
Under the ribs of death. Milton, Comus, 1. 560. 
For at these [pulpit] performances she was all attention, 
att ear; she kept her heart fixed and intent on its holy 
work, by keeping her eye from wandering. 
Bp. Atterbwry, Sermons, I. vi. 
Ass's ear, a kind of sea-ear, Haliotis asininus, a fine iri- 
descent shell used in the manufacture of buttons, for in- 
laying woodwork, and for other purposes. See abalone, 
Haliotis, ormer.A't first eart, at first hearing; imme- 
diately. Dairies. 
A third cause of common errors is the credulity of men, 
that is, an easie assent to what is obtruded, or a believing 
at first ear what is delivered by others. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., i. 5. 
Barrel of the ear. Same as tympanum. By the ears, 
in a state of discord or contention. 
All Heav'n is by the Ears together, 
Since first that little Rogue came hither. 
Prior, Cupid and Ganymede. 
Cheeks and earst. See cheek. Dlonysius's ear. (a) 
The name given to a secret subterranean ear-shaped pas- 
sage connecting the palace of Dionysius the Elder, first 
tyrant of Syracuse (died 367 B. c.), with his stone-quarry 
prisons, through which he was able to overhear the con- 
versation of his prisoners. (i>) An aural instrument for 
the use of very deaf persons. It has a large pavilion se- 
cured by a swivel to a stand upon the floor, and an elastic 
tube with a nozle to be held to the ear. E. H. Knight. 
Drum of the ear. Same as tympanum. Over head 
and ears. See up to the ears, below. To fall together 
by the ears, to go together by the ears, to engage in 
a fight or scuffle ; quarrel. 
1816 
They will, instead of eating peaceably, fall together by 
the ears, each single one impatient to have all to itself. 
Swift, Gulliver's Travels, iv. 7. 
To give ear to. See yive.To meet the ear. See 
meet. To set by the ears, to make strife between; 
cause to quarrel. 
Who ever hears of fat men heading a riot, or herding 
together in turbulent mobs? no no it is your lean, 
hungry men who are continually worrying society, and 
setting the whole community by the ears. 
Jning, Knickerbocker, p. 157. 
To sleep upon both ears, to sleep soundly. 
Let him set his heart at rest ; I will remove this scruple 
out of his mind, that he may sleep securely upon both ears. 
Abp. Bramhall, Works, III. 518. 
Touching the ears, in the early church, a part of the 
ceremony of baptizing catechumens, consisting of touching 
the ears, and saying "Ephphatha" (be opened), a symbol 
of the opening of the understanding. Up to the ears, 
over the earst, over head and ears, deeply absorbed 
or engrossed; overwhelmed: as, over head and ears in 
debt, or in business. 
This Phedria out of hand got him a certain singing 
wench, skilfull in musicke, and fell in love with her over 
the eares. Terence (trans.), 1614. 
A cavalier was up to the ears in love with a very fine 
lady. Sir Ji. L' Estrange. 
When I was quite embarked, discovered myself up to the 
ears in a contested election. Walpole, Letters, II. 353. 
Venus's ear, an ear-shell or sea-ear ; a species of Hali- 
otis, as the ormer, H . tuberculata : with allusion to the 
fable of Aphrodite. Wine Of one eart, good wine. One 
of the aunotators of Rabelais says: "I have introduced 
the same with good success in some parts of Leicester- 
shire, and elsewhere, speaking of good ale, ale of one ear ; 
bad ale, ale of two ears. Because when it is good we give 
a nod with one ear; if bad, we shake our head, that is, 
give a sign with both ears that we do not like it. ' 
the fine white wine ! upon my conscience it is a kind 
of taffatas wine ; hin, bin, it is of one ear (il est a une 
oreille). Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, i. 6. 
ear 1 ! (er), v. t. [< ear 1 , .] To listen to ; hear 
with attention. 
I eared her language, lived in her eye. 
Fletcher (and another), Two Noble Kinsmen, iii. 1. 
ear 2 (er), . [Early mod. E. also eare; < ME. 
ere, ear, < AS. edr, contr. of orig. "eahor = 
ONorth. elier, cehher = MD. aere, D. aar = 
MLG. ar, are, LG. ar = OHG. ahir, ehir, MHG. 
elier, G. alire = Icel. Sw. Dan. ax = Goth, ahs, 
an ear, = L. acus (acer-, orig. *aczs-), chaff (see 
acerose); connected with Goth, aliana, chaff, 
= E. awn 1 ; AS. egl, a beard of grain, E. dial. 
ail; L. acus (acu-), a needle; L. acies = AS. 
ecge, E. edge, etc. : see awn 1 , ail 2 , acus, aculeate, 
aglet, edge, egg 2 ."] A spike or head of corn or 
grain; that part of a cereal plant which con- 
tains the flowers and seed. 
The barley was in the ear, and the flax was boiled. 
Ex. ix. 31. 
Red ear, an ear of maize exceptionally of a deep-red color. 
Such an ear, when found, was made a source of sport at 
old-fashioned corn-huskings in the United States. 
For each red ear a gen'ral kiss he gains. 
Joel Barlow, Hasty Pudding. 
Great ardor was evinced in pursuit of the red ^ir [of 
corn], for which piece of fortune the discoverer had the 
privilege of a kiss from any lady he should nominate. 
S. Judd, Margaret, ii. 6 
ear 2 (er), v. i. [< ear 2 , .] To shoot, as an ear; 
form ears, as corn. 
The stalke was first set, began to eare ere it came to 
halfe growth, and the last not like to yeeld any thing at 
all. Capt. John Smith, True Travels, II. 236. 
ear 3 t (er), v. t. [Early mod. E. also eare ; < ME. 
eren, erien, < AS. erian = OFries. era = MD. 
eren, eeren, errien, aeren = MLG. eren = OHG. 
erran, MHG. eren, ern, G. dial, aren, eren = Icel. 
erja = Sw. arja = Goth, arjan = L. arare (whence 
E. arable, q. v. ) = Gr. ap6eiv, apovv = Ir. araim = 
OBulg. Serv. Bohem. orati = Russ. orati = Lith. 
arti = Lett, art, plow.] To cultivate with a 
plow; plow; till. 
To sowe and eree upp feeldes fatte and weet, 
And weedes tender yette oute of hem geet. 
Palladium, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 142. 
A rough valley which is neither eared nor sown. 
Deut. xxi. 4. 
The English were brought so low, that they were fain to 
till and eare the Ground, whilst the Danes sate idle, and 
eat the Fruit of their Labours. Baker, Chronicles, p. 13. 
For this daie men that doo eare the ground there doo 
oft plow up bones of a large size, and great store of ar- 
mour. Holinshed, Descrip. of Britain, i. 11. 
ear 4 (ar), adv. [Sc., < ME. er, mr, ear, etc., early, 
usually ere, before: see ere and early."] Early. 
ear 5 (er), n. [E. dial., by misdivision of a near, 
a kidney, as an ear: see near 2 and Tcidney.] A 
kidney. Brockett; Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
earabiet (er'a-bl), a. [< ear 3 + -able. Cf. ara- 
ble."] Capable of being tilled ; being under cul- 
tivation ; arable. 
He [the steward] is further to see what demeanes of his 
lordes is most meete to be taken into his handes, so well 
for meddowe, pasture, as earable, &c. 
Order of a Nobleman's House, Archreol., XIII. 315. 
eared 
earache (er'ak), . Pain in the ear; otalgia. 
earalt (er'al), a. [Improp. < ear 1 4- -al. Cf. 
aural.'] Receiving by the ear; aural; auricular. 
They are not true penitents that are merely earal, ver- 
bal, or worded men, that speak more than they really in- 
tend. Hewyt, Sermons (1658), p. 34. 
earbob (er'bob), . An ear-ring or ear-drop. 
[New Eng.] 
I've got a pair o' ear-bobs and a handkercher piu I'm a 
goin' to give yon, if you'll have them. 
L. M. Almtt, Hospital Sketches, p. 35. 
ear-bone (er'bon), . 1. A bone of the ear; 
one of the bones composing the otocrane, otic 
capsule, or periotic mass, inclosing the organ 
of hearing. 2. One of the auditory ossicles or 
bonelets of the cavity of the middle ear ; an 
ossiculum auditus, as the malleus, incus, or 
stapes. See first cut under ear. 3. A hard 
concretion in the cavity of the inner ear; an 
ear-stone, otosteon, or otolith (which see). 
ear-brisk (er'brisk), a. Having ears that move 
or erect themselves quickly ; attentive. [Rare.] 
He (the colt] was an ear-brisk and high-necked critter. 
S. Judd, Margaret, ii. 7. 
ear-brush (er'brush), n. A brush consisting of 
a piece of sponge attached to a handle, used to 
clean the interior (external auditory nieatus) 
of the ear ; an aurilave. 
ear-cap (er'kap), n. A cover for the ear against 
cold. 
ear-cockle (er'kok"l), n. [< ear 2 -f cockle*-."] A 
disease in wheat caused by the presence in the 
grain of worms belonging to the genus Tylelen- 
chus. Called in some parts of England purples. 
ear-conch (er'konk), n. The shell of the ear; 
the external ear, concha, auricle, or pinna. 
ear-confessiont (er'kpn-fesh"on), . Auricular 
confession. See confession. 
I shall .dispute with a Greek about the articles of the 
faith which my elders taught me and his elders deny, as 
ear-confession. 
Tyndale, Ans. to Sir T. More, etc. (Parker Soc. , 1850), p. 133. 
Pardons, pilgrims, ear -confession, and other popish mat- 
ters. Bp. Bale, Select Works, p. 57. 
ear-cornet (er'kfir'net), . A small auricle or 
ear-trumpet worn in the hollow of the outer ear. 
ear-COUgh (er'k6f), n. A cough provoked by 
irritation in the ear. 
eard (3rd), n. [< ME. erd, cered, eard, home, < 
AS. eard, land, country, dwelling-place, home 
(= OS. ard, dwelling-pla,ce, = OHG. art, a plow- 
ing, etc.), connected with erian, E. ear 3 , plow 
(see ear 3 ); prob. not connected with earfli."] 
If. Land; country; dwelling-place. 
God-bar him into paradis, 
An - /'/ al f ul of swete blis. 
Genesis and Exodus, 1. 209. 
2. [PartlyconfusedwithearWi 1 .] Earth. [Prov. 
Eng. and Scotch.] 
He Mini ii<-<li' feerd [gathered an army] swulc nas lucure 
eier on erde. Layamon, I. 177. 
ear-drop (er'drop), n. An ornamental pendant 
to an ear-ring ; an ear-ring with a pendant. 
Lady's ear-drops, the common garden fuchsia: so called 
from the formation and pendency of its flowers. 
ear-dropper (er'drop"er), n. If. An eaves- 
dropper. Dames. 
It is possible an car-dropper might hear such things 
talk'd at cock-pits and dancing schools. 
Bp. Haclcet, Life of Abp. Williams, ii. 81. 
2. Same as ear-drop. [Colloq.] 
Come, we can go down now. I'm as ready as a mawkin 
can be there's nothing awanting to frighten the crows, 
now I've got my ear-droppern in. 
George Eliot, Silas Marner, xi. 
eardrop-tree (er'drop-tre), . A lofty legu- 
minous tree of Jamaica, Enterolobium cyclocar- 
pum, the pod of which is curved so as to form a 
complete circle. 
ear-drum (er'drum), n. 1. The middle ear; 
the tympanum. See tympanum, and first cut 
under ear. 2. More especially, the tympanic 
membrane: as, to burst or puncture the ear- 
drum. See cuts under ear and tympanic. 
ear-dust (er'dust), . The small gritty par- 
ticles found in the cavity of the inner ear of 
many animals ; minute concretions in the laby- 
rinth, distinguished from otoliths or otostea by 
their fineness ; otoconia. See otoconiiiin. 
eared 1 (erd), a. [< ear 1 + -erf 2 .] 1. Having 
ears ; having appendages or processes resem- 
bling the external ear. In heraldry, animals borne 
in coat-armor wiih their ears differing in tincture from 
that of the body are blazoned eared of such a metal or 
color. 
2. In ornith., having conspicuous auricular 
feathers, as the eared g^ebe, or having plumi- 
corns, as various species of eared owls. 3. 
In Mammalia, auriculate ; having large or pe- 
