ear1
/ɪə
/- Surgeons are sometimes able to preserve some hearing in the ear being operated on, but this is rare.
- The balancing mechanism in the ear can be tested in various ways using vestibulometric tests.
Synonyms
- In many ways, the cetacean ear is radically different from the ear of terrestrial mammals.
- Then she would have leaned over and stroked the mare's neck whispering sweet nothings in her ear as the animal pranced.
- But with near sensory overload of sound, music and colour, not having an ear for the Danish language didn't matter.
- In fact, it sounded so good that it seemed as though someone with an ear for classical music was at the helm of this company and so we decided to investigate.
- He was also a magnificent writer with an ear for language and a wonderful imagination, and a fine poet to boot.
Synonyms
- "I'm there as a chaplain to listen with a sympathetic ear to any concerns they may have, " Yee said.
- If I didn't have a shoulder to lean on or a compassionate ear willing to listen to me rant, I might've been tempted to quit.
- As for you, the membership, many of you have offered an ear to listen, time to reflect, and many hours of friendship and support.
The ear of a mammal is composed of three parts. The outer or external ear consists of a fleshy external flap and a tube leading to the eardrum or tympanum. The middle ear is an air-filled cavity connected to the throat, containing three small linked bones that transmit vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. The inner ear is a complex fluid-filled labyrinth including the spiral cochlea (where vibrations are converted to nerve impulses) and the three semicircular canals (forming the organ of balance).
Phrases
be all ears
bring something (down) about one's ears
one's ears are burning
grin (or smile) from ear to ear
have something coming out of one's ears
have someone's ear
have (or keep) an ear to the ground
in one ear and out the other
listen with half an ear
be out on one's ear
reach someone's ears
up to one's ears in
Derivatives
eared
/ adjectiveearless
/ adjective ...- We measured the total nocturnal flight time of 60 individual male moths representing seven species of eared moths and five species of earless moths.
- Small, rufous, and earless, the Serendib Scops Owl is quite unlike any other owl in Sri Lanka or anywhere else in the Indian subcontinent.
- As the ghost spoke, his earless sibling aimed a wand of fire at the stranger and the other one tried to break free of his ‘wrappings’.
Origin
Old English ēare, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch oor and German Ohr, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin auris and Greek ous.
Unsurprisingly, since their meanings are so dissimilar, the ear that allows you to hear and the one that bears seeds are different words. The first is an Old English word that goes right back to an ancient root that was shared by Latin auris, from which we get aural (mid 19th century). The second seems to come ultimately from the same root as Latin acer meaning pointed or sharp. To earmark (late 16th century) something is to set it aside for a particular purpose. Originally, though, it referred to the practice of marking the ear of an animal as a sign of ownership.
You might say that your ears are burning if you are subconsciously aware of being talked about or criticized. This phrase has been around in English since at least the early 1600s, but the idea is an ancient one, which the 1st-century ad Roman scholar Pliny mentioned in his Natural History. In 1738 Jonathan Swift wrote, ‘Miss, didn't your Left Ear burn last Night?…Because…you were extolled to the Skies.’
Rhymes
ear2
/ɪə/- Measurements were conducted at 20°C at the second leaf of seedlings and at 25°C at the second leaf above the ear during flowering.
- It is most noticeable as grayish black galls on the ear of the plant.
- And oh yeah, save her an ear of roasted corn and a cold frosty one for me, would ya?
- By sticking an ear of dried corn on top, he lured squirrels to charge up the board and then spin around for a dizzying ride.
Origin
Old English ēar, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch aar and German Ähre.