wear 
Wtar out tliy youth with shapeless idleness. 
Shak.,r. a. ofV.,i, 1.8. 
Tears, sighs, and groans you shall wear out your days 
with. Fletcher, Wife for a Month, v. S. 
Hence — (c) To obliterate ; efface. 
Men that are bred in blood have no way left 'em, 
No bath, no purge, no time to 7vear it out 
Or wash it off, Imt penitence and prayer. 
Beau, and FL, Knight of Malta, iv. 2. 
Who have almost worn out all the impressions of the 
work of the Law written in their hearts. 
StiUingfleet, Sermons, I. ii. 
(d) To harass ; tire completely ; fatigue ; exhaust ; waste 
or consume the strength of. 
Stunn'd and worn out with endless Chat. 
Prior, Alma, iii. 
" Here," said I to an old soldier with one hand, who 
had been campaign'd, and worn out to death in ,the ser- 
vice, " here 's a couple of sous for tliee." 
Sterne, Sentimental Journey, Jlontriul. 
To wear the breeches. See breeches.— To wear the 
willow. See willowi, 1.— To Wear yellow hose or 
stockingst. See yellow. 
II. intraiis. It. To be in fashion ; be in com- 
mon or recognized use. 
Like the brooch and the tooth-pick, which wear not now. 
Shak., All's Well, i. 1. 172. 
2t. To become fit or suitable by use; become 
accustomed. [Bare.] 
Let still the woman take 
An elder than herself ; -so ivears she to him ; 
So sways she level in her husband's heart. 
Shak., T. N., ii. 4. 31. 
3. To last or liold out in course of use or the 
lapse of time : generally with well or ill. 
The flattery with which he began, in telling me how well 
I wore, was not disagi'eeable. Steele, Tatler, No. 208. 
4. To undergo gradual impairment or diminu- 
tion through use, attrition, or lapse of time; 
waste or diminish gradually ; become obliter- 
ated: often with away, off, or out. 
Thou wilt surely mar away. Ex. xviii. 18. 
Thougli marble irear with raining. 
Shak., Lucrece, 1. 5ti(). 
The suffering plough-share or the flint may wear. 
B, Jonsoa, Poetaster, i. 1. 
Love, like some Stains, will wear out of it self. 
Ethereye, Slie Would if She Could, v. 1 
If passion causes a present terror, yet it soon wears off. 
Locke. 
They showed him all mantier of furniture whicli their 
Lord had provided for pilgrims, as sword, shield, helmet, 
breast-plate, all -prayer, and shoes that would not 7('caroM(. 
Butiyan, Pilgrim's Progress, i. 
5. To pass or be spent ; become gradually con- 
sumed or exhausted. 
Away, I say ; time wears. Shak., M. W. of W., v. 1. 8. 
The day wears ; 
And those that have been offering early prayers 
Are now retiring homeward. 
Beau, and FL, Thierry and Theodoret, iv. 1. 
The day rvears away; if you think good, let us prepare 
to be going. Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progi-ess, ii. 
6. To move or advance slowly ; make gradual 
progress : as, the winter wore on. 
Never morning %vore 
To evening l)ut some heart did i)reak. 
Tennyson, In Memoriani, vi. 
As time wore on and the offices were filled, tlie throng of 
eager aspirants diniinislied and faded away. 
The Century, XLI. .33. 
7. To become; grow. [Old Eng. and Scotch.] 
Tile Spaniards l)egau to ware weary, for winter drew on. 
Bemers. 
8. yuut., to come round with the head away 
from the wind : said of a ship. 
The helm was hard np, the after yards shaking, and the 
ship in the act of wearitiy. 
K. H. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 372. 
To wear on or upont, to have on ; wear. 
Tlicrfoic I made my visitaeiouns, . . . 
And wered uvon my gaye scarlet gytes. 
C/iaucer,' Prol. to Wife of ISatll's Tale, 1. r>m. 
wear' (war), ». [< wcar'^, »-.] 1. The act of 
wearing or using, or the state of being worn or 
used, as garments, ornaments, etc. ; use: as, a 
garment not for every-day wear. 
Tliey have a gi-eat manufacture of coarse woollen cloth 
in and aljout Sulonica, whicli is exported to all parts of 
Turky for the wear of common people. 
J'ococke, Description of the East, II. ii. ird. 
He ha<i transferred all the contents of his every-day 
pockets to tliose actually in irear. 
Georije Eliot, Mill on the Floss, i. 9. 
2. Stuff or material for articles of wear ; ma- 
terial for giinnents, etc. 
Nor. Wliat's in tliat pack there? 
First Sold. 'Tis English cloth. 
JVor. Tliat's a goo(l near indeed. 
Beau, and Fl., Kniglit iif Malta, ii. 1. 
3. An article or articles worn, or intended or 
fit to be worn ; style of dress, adornment, or 
the like; hence, fashion; vogue. 
6860 
Pom. I hope, sir, your good worship will be my bail. 
Lucio. No, indeed, will I not, Pompey; it is not the 
wear. Shak., M. for M., iii. 2. 78. 
Dispatcheth his lacquey to the chamber early to know 
what her colours are for the day, with purpose to apply 
his wear that day accordingly. 
B. Jimson, Cynthia's Kevels, v. 2. 
The general icear for all sorts of people is a small Tur- 
ban. Dampier, Voyages, II. L 129. 
4. Use ; usage received in course of being worn 
or used; the impairment or diminution in bulk, 
value, efficiency, etc., which results from use, 
friction, time, or the like. 
This rag of scarlet cloth — for time, and wear, and a sac- 
rilegious moth had reduced it to little other than arag — 
on careful examination, assumed the shape of a letter. 
Hawthorne, Scarlet Letter, Int., p. 35. 
A fibre capable of such strain and wear as that is used 
only in the making of heroic natures. Lowell, Garfield. 
He might have seen the wear 
Of thirty summers. 
William, Morris, Earthly Paradise, III. 336. 
Wear and tear, the loss by wearing ; the waste, diminu- 
tion, decay, or injury which anything sustains by ordinary 
use : as, tlie wear and tear of machinery ; the wear and 
tear of furniture. 
■wear^t (wer), v. t. [< ME. weren, werien, weo- 
rien (pret. wereile), < AS. werian, guard, defend, 
protect, = OS. werian, hinder, = OHG. werjan, 
weren, hinder, obstruct, protect, defend, MH6. 
wern, loergen, G. wehren, guard, protect, = Icel. 
rerja = Sw. rarja = Dan. veerge, defend, = Goth. 
warjati, guard, protect; from the root of ware'^, 
wanj^, and so ult. connected with ward^ and 
guard.'] 1. To guard; watch, as a gate, etc., 
so that it is not entered ; defend. 
Fadir, that may do no dere 
Goddis comaundement to fullfyll ; 
For fra all wathes he will vs were, 
Whar-so we wende to wirke bis wille. 
York Plays, p. 61. 
I set him to wear the fore-door wi' the speir while I kept 
the back-duor wi' the lance. 
Border Minstrelsy, i. 208. {Jamieson.) 
2. To ward off; prevent from approaching or 
entering: as, to wear the wolf from the sheep. 
— 3. To conduct or guide with care or caution, 
as into a fold or place of safety. [Scotch.] 
Will ye gae to the ewe-buchts, Marion, 
And wear in the sheep wi' me*y 
Old Sony, in Ramsay's Tea-Table Miscellany. 
■wear^, n. See weir. 
'wearable (war'a-bl), a. and it. [< wcar'^ + able.} 
1. a. Capable of being worn ; fit for wear, as a 
garment or a textile fabric. 
Respecting the hereafter of the wearable fabrics, the 
furiiitnre, and the walls, we can assert thus much, that 
they are all in process of decay. 
JS. Spencer, First Principles, § 93. 
II. n. A garment; a piece of wearing-ap- 
parel. 
The Celt . . . moved off with Mrs. Button's wearablet, 
and deposited the trunk containing them safely in the 
boat. Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian, xli. 
Let a woman ask me to give her an edible or a wear- 
able; ... I can, at least, understand the demand. 
Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, xxiii. 
■wears (wer), «. [A spelling of icear^, iccir.] 
In Iter., a bearing representing a screen or 
fence made of wattled twigs, or the like, and 
upright stakes, 
fesse. 
■wearer (war'er), «. [< wear'^ + -<■('.] 1. One 
who wears, bears, or carries on the body, or as 
an appendage to the body : as, the wearer of a 
cloak, a sword, or a crown. 
By Jupiter, 
Were T the wearer ofAntonins' beard, 
I would not shave 't today. 
Shak., A. andC.ii. 2. 7. 
Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers toss'd 
And flutter'd into rags. Milton, P. L., iii. 490. 
2. That whicli wears, wastes, or consumes : as, 
the waves are the patient iccarers of the rocks. 
weariable (wer'i-a-bl). a. [< weari/i + -able.] wearishnesst, « 
Capable of becoming wearied or fatigued. Qiiar- 
tcrlij liev. [Rare.] 
wearied (wer'id), p. a. Tired; fatigued; ex- 
hausted with exertion. 
The Sainoeds know these vnknowne deserts, and can 
tell where the raosse growetli wherewith they refresh 
their wearied Deere. I'urchas, Pilgrimage, p. 434. 
Weariful (wer'i-f ill), rt. [< ircon/l + -/■«?.] An 
unnecessary extension of wcarij'^ ; perhaps sug- 
gested by teearisome.'] Full of weariness ; caus- 
ing weariness; wearisome; tiresome; tedious. 
[Rare.] 
I was reading " Polexanilre," the wearifullest of bo(.^ks, 
I think ; and 1 heard nothing but the rats and the mice. 
A. E. Barr, Friend Olivia, ii. 
wearisome 
wearifuUy (wer'i-fvd-i), adv. In a weariful 
manner; wearisomely. [Rare.] 
The long night passed slowly and wearifully. 
W. Black, In Far Lochal)er, xxiii. 
weariless (wer'i-les), a. [< neary + -lesg.] In- 
cessant; unwearying; unwearied: as, weariless 
wings. Hogg. [Rare.] 
Beaten and packed 
With the flashing flails of weariless seas. 
Lowell, Appledore, UL 
wearily (wer'i-li), adv. In a weary manner; 
like one fatigued. 
You look wearily. Shak., Tempest, iii. 1. 32. 
weariness (wer'i-nes), n. [< ME. icerynes, weri- 
nesse, wcrynesse, iverinisse, < AS. werigyies, weri- 
nes, weariness, < werig, weary: see weary and 
-ness.~\ 1. The state of being weary or tired; 
that lassitude or exhaustion of strength which 
is induced by labor, or lack of sleep or rest ; fa- 
tigue. 
After his hnntcng and his besynesse, 
ffor his travell and his grcte werynes. 
He telle a slepe. Generydes (E. E. T. S.), L 160. 
We come to a certayne 8t<:ine vpon ye which onr Messyd 
Lady was wont to rest her werynes whan she most deuout- 
ly visyted these holy placcis] after ye ascension of or Lord. 
Sir R. Guylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 33. 
Weariness 
Can snore niKUi the flint, when resty sloth 
Finds the down pillow hard. 
Shak., Cymbellne, iiL 6. S3. 
With weariness and wine opprcss'd. 
Dryden, tr. of Ovid's Metamorph., xiL 763. 
2. Mental depression proceeding from monot- 
onous continuance ; tedium ; ennui ; languor. 
Till one could yield for weariness. 
Tennyson, Merlin and 'Vivien. 
3. A feeling of dissatisfaction or vexation 
with something or vrith its continuance. 
A man would die, though he were neither valiant nor 
miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thiug so 
oft over and over. Bacon, Death (ed. 1887). 
The Thirteenth King was Osred, whose Wife Cutburga, 
out of a loathing Weariness of Wedlock, sued out a Di- 
vorce from her Husband, and built a Nunnery at Win- 
burn in Dorsetshire, where in a Rel igious Habit she ended 
her life. Baker, Chronicles, p. 8. 
= SyiL 1. Lassitude, etc. See fatigue. 
wearing (war'ing), n. [< ME. werung, weriunge; 
verbal n. of Wforl, r.] 1. The act of one who 
wears. — 2. That which one wears; clothes; gar- 
ments. 
Give me my nightly icearing, and adieu. 
Shak., Othello, iv. 3. 1«. 
3. The act of wearing away or passing. 
Now again in a half-month's wearing goes Sigrid into the 
wild. William Morris, Sigurd, i. 
wearing (war'ing), p. a. Wasting; consuming; 
exhausting; tiring: as, wearing suspense or 
grief. 
wearing-apparel (war'ing-a-par"el), n. Gar- 
ments worn, or made for wearing; dress in 
general. 
wear-iron (war'!'' em), «. A friction-guard, 
consisting of a plate of iron or steel, set on the 
surface or edge of a softer material to pre- 
vent abrasion, as on the edge of the body of a 
wagon, to prevent the forward wheels from 
wearing, grinding, or scraping the body in 
turning. Also wear-plate. 
It is generally represented in wearisnt (wer'ish), a. [Also weeri.sh, werish, 
u-arish; origin uncertain ; some confusion with 
weary^, and perhaps with watcrish, appears to 
exist.] 1. Insipid; tasteless; weak; washy. 
Wenisshe, as meate is that is nat well tastye — . . . mal 
sauoriS. Palsgratx, p. 328. 
As wcrishe and as vnsauery as beet*s. 
Udall, tr. of Apophthegms of Erasmus, p. lia (^Varies.) 
2. Withered; wizen; shnmk. 
A wretched wearish elfe. SpenMr, F. Q., IV. v. 34. 
A wearish hand, 
.K bloodless lip. Ford, Love's Sacrifice, v. 1. 
.\ little, trearish old man, very melancholy by natui-e. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., To the Reader, p. 2. 
, Insipidity. Udall. (^Daries.) 
wearisome fwer'i-sum), a. [< iceary'^ + -6-owf.] 
Causing weariness; tiresome; tedious; irk- 
some; monotonous: as, a wearisome m&vch; a 
ivearisome day's work. 
Alas, the way is wearisome and long I 
Shal.. T. G. ofV, ii. 7. 8. 
Gmi had delivered their souls of the trearixoine burdens 
of sin and vanity. Penn, Rise and Progress of Quakers, ii. 
Few portions of Spanish literature show anything more 
stiff and wearisome than the long declamations and dis- 
cussions in this dull fiction. Ticknor, Span. Lit, III. 88. 
= Syn. Wearisome, Fatiguing, Tiresome, Tedious, Irk- 
some, prolix, humdrum, prosy, dull. WearisMne and /a- 
tiiming are essentially the same in meaning and strength ; 
they arc equally appropriate whether the person acts or is 
acted upon : as, the old man was so deaf that it » as equally 
