dare

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɛə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /dɛɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

From Middle English durren, from Old English durran, from Proto-Germanic *durzaną (“to dare”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰedʰórse (“to dare”), reduplicated stative of the root *dʰers- (“to be bold, to dare”), an *-s- extension of *dʰer- (“to hold, support”). Cognate with Low German dören, Dutch durven, Ancient Greek τεθαρσήκασι (tetharsḗkasi), Sanskrit दधर्ष (dadhárṣa), but also with Ancient Greek θρασύς (thrasús), Albanian nder, Lithuanian drįsti, Russian дерза́ть (derzátʹ).

dare (third-person singular simple present dare or dares, present participle daring, simple past dared or (archaic) durst, past participle dared)

1. (intransitive) To have enough courage (to do something).

   I wouldn't dare argue with my boss.

   • Shakespeare

     The fellow dares not deceive me.

   • Macaulay

     Why then did not the ministers use their new law? Because they durst not, because they could not.

2. (transitive) To defy or challenge (someone to do something)

   I dare you (to) kiss that girl.

3. (transitive) To have enough courage to meet or do something, go somewhere, etc.; to face up to

   Will you dare death to reach your goal?

   • The Century

     To wrest it from barbarism, to dare its solitudes.

4. (transitive) To terrify; to daunt.
   • Beaumont and Fletcher

     For I have done those follies, those mad mischiefs, / Would dare a woman.

5. (transitive) To catch (larks) by producing terror through the use of mirrors, scarlet cloth, a hawk, etc., so that they lie still till a net is thrown over them.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Nares to this entry?)

• Dare is a semimodal verb. The speaker can choose whether to use the auxiliary "to" when forming negative and interrogative sentences. For example, "I don't dare (to) go" and "I dare not go" are both correct. Similarly "Dare you go?" and "Do you dare (to) go?" are both correct.
• In negative and interrogative sentences where "do" is not used, the third-person singular form of the verb is usually "dare" and not "dares": "Dare he go? He dare not go."
• Colloquially, "dare not" can be contracted to "daren't". According to the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, "daren’t" is used occasionally in ordinary past time contexts (Kim daren’t tell them so I had to do it myself).
• Rare regional forms dassn't and dasn't also exists in the present tense and archaic forms dursn't and durstn't in the past tense.
• The expression dare say, used almost exclusively in the first-person singular and in the present tense, means "think probable". It is also spelt daresay.
• Historically, the simple past of dare was durst. In the 1830s, it was overtaken by dared, which has been markedly more common ever since.

• Appendix:English modal verbs

dare (plural dares)

1. A challenge to prove courage.
2. The quality of daring; venturesomeness; boldness.
   • Shakespeare

     It lends a lustre […] / A large dare to our great enterprise.

3. Defiance; challenge.
   • Chapman

     Childish, unworthy dares / Are not enought to part our powers.

   • Shakespeare

     Sextus Pompeius / Hath given the dare to Caesar.

• dairous
• dareful

Old English darian.

dare (third-person singular simple present dares, present participle daring, simple past and past participle dared)

1. (obsolete) To stare stupidly or vacantly; to gaze as though amazed or terrified. [13^th-16^thc.]
2. (obsolete) To lie or crouch down in fear. [13^th-16^thc.]
   • 1485 July 31, Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], (please specify the book number), [London]: […] [by William Caxton], OCLC 71490786; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: Published by David Nutt, […], 1889, OCLC 890162034:

     , Bk.XX, ch.xix:

     ‘Sir, here bene knyghtes com of kyngis blod that woll nat longe droupe and dare within thys wallys.’

dare (plural dares)

1. A small fish, the dace.
   • 1766, Richard Brookes, The art of angling, rock and sea-fishing

     The Dare is not unlike a Chub, but proportionably less; his Body is more white and flatter, and his Tail more forked.

• 'eard, Dear, Rade, Read, Reda, ared, dear, rade, read

dare

1. (music) tambourine

From Latin dare, present active infinitive of dō, from Proto-Italic *didō, from Proto-Indo-European *dédeh₃ti, from the root *deh₃- (“give”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈda.re/, [ˈd̪äːre]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -are

dare

1. (transitive) to give, to transfer the possession/holding of something to someone else
2. (transitive) to yield, to bear, to give, to produce, to return

The imperative forms of the second-person singular are compounded with pronouns as follows:

• da' + ci → dacci
• da' + gli → dagli
• da' + gli/le + la → dagliela
• da' + gli/le + le → dagliele
• da' + gli/le + li → daglieli
• da' + gli/le + lo → daglielo
• da' + le → dalle
• da' + mi → dammi

dare m (plural dari)

1. debit

• arde
• rade

dare

1. Rōmaji transcription of だれ

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈda.re/, [ˈda.rɛ]

dare

1. present active infinitive of dō
2. second-person singular present passive imperative of dō

dare

1. to give

• AEDLL

dare ? (plural dares)

1. (continental Normandy, anatomy) belly, stomach

• ventre (Jersey, Guernsey), vãtr (Sark)

• IPA^(key): /dɑˈɾə/
• Hyphenation: da‧re

dare f

1. tree