abear

transitive verb

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\ əˈba(a)(ə)r, -be(ə)r \

Definition of abear

chiefly dialectal

: endure, abide —usually used with can and negative I can't abear a sulk— H. G. Wells

History and Etymology for abear

Middle English aberen “to bear up, raise, put up with, endure,” going back to Old English āberan “to bear, sustain, endure,” from a- “out, away” (also as weak perfective prefix) + beran to bear; a- (also ā-, ǣ- under stress in nominal derivatives) akin to Old Frisian a-, perfective prefix, Old Saxon ā-, ō- (unstressed a-) and probably to Old English or- “outward, extreme, lacking (in nominal compounds),” Old Frisian & Old Saxon ur-, or-, Old High German ar-, ir-, er- unstressed inchoative verb prefix, ur “out of, away from,” Old Norse ūr-, ör-, “out of, from,” ør-, privative prefix, Gothic us- “out of,” us-, privative and perfective prefix; if from pre-Germanic *ud-s- akin to Old English ūt “out”