beer
UK /ˈbɪə̯/ · US /ˈbi.ɚ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms beers beering beered be-er
- noun (uncountable) An alcoholic drink fermented from starch material, commonly barley malt; often with hops or some other substance (like gruit) to impart a bitter flavor. “Beer is brewed all over the world.”
- noun (uncountable) A fermented extract of the roots and other parts of various plants, as spruce, ginger, sassafras, etc.
- noun (uncountable) A solution produced by steeping plant materials in water or another fluid.
- noun (countable) A glass, bottle, or can of any of the above beverages. “I bought a few beers from the shop for the party.”
- noun (countable) A variety of the above beverages. “Pilsner is one of the most commonly served beers in Europe.”
- verb (informal, transitive) To give beer to (someone).
- verb (informal, intransitive) To drink beer.
- noun (nonstandard) One who is or exists.
- proper noun A village in East Devon district, Devon, England.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
ale amber fluid amber nectar bitter brew brewski brewsky cold one coldie liquid bread oat soda reeb suds tinnie wobbly pop
Etymology
From Middle English ber, bere, from Old English bēor (“beer”) (Oxford OED notes: "rare, except in poetry"), from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą (“beer”) (putatively from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewsóm), meaning “brewer's yeast”.
However, also see the "beer" entry on EtymOnline (q.v.), which links a connection to monastic Vulgar Latin *biber (“a drink, beverage”), from Latin bibere (“to drink”). Samuel Johnson in his famous 18th-century A Dictionary of the English Language guessed it was from (unattested) Welsh *bîr; he distinguished it in his time from ale — the ancient usual word — by beer being older-aged and/or smaller.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Bjoor (“beer”), West Frisian bier (“beer”), Dutch bier (“beer”), German Low German Beer (“beer”), German Bier (“beer”), dialectal Swedish bjor, bör (“beer”), Norwegian Nynorsk bjor (“beer”), Faroese bjór (“beer”), Icelandic bjór (“beer”).
From Middle English beere, equivalent to be + -er.
From Old English bearu (“grove”), from Proto-West Germanic *baru, from Proto-Germanic *barwaz (“grove”).
* As an English surname, from the place name in Devon (see Etymology 1 above); also from Old English bār (“boar”).
* As a north German and Dutch surname, from beer (“bear”). See also the surnames Baer and Bahr.
* As an Alemannic German surname, spelling variant of Bier (“beer”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A fermented liquor made from any malted grain, but commonly from barley malt, with hops or some other substance to impart a bitter flavor.
- noun A fermented extract of the roots and other parts of various plants, as spruce, ginger, sassafras, etc. Small beer, weak beer; (fig.) insignificant matters. "To suckle fools, and chronicle small beer." Shak.
Etymology [OE. beor, ber, AS. beór; akin to Fries. biar, Icel. bj, OHG. bior, D. & G. bier, and possibly E. brew. *93, See Brew.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “beer”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details