fere
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /fɪə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /fɪɹ/
- (Scotland) IPA(key): /fiːɹ/
- Homophone: fear
Etymology 1
From (Northumbrian) Old English fǣra, aphetic form of ġefēra ( > Middle English y-fere).
Alternative forms
Noun
fere (plural feres)
- (dialectal or obsolete) A companion, comrade or friend.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book V:
- they swange oute their swerdis and slowe of noble men of armys mo than an hondred – and than they rode ayen to theire ferys.
- 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur, Book V:
- (archaic) A spouse; an animal's mate.
- Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599)
- And Cambel took Cambrina to his fere.
- 1830, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, ‘Supposed Confessions of a Second-Rate Sensitive Mind’:
- The lamb rejoiceth in the year, / And raceth freely with his fere, / And answers to his mother’s calls / From the flower’d furrow.
- Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599)
Derived terms
Adjective
fere (comparative more fere, superlative most fere)
- (obsolete) fierce
Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for fere in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)
Latin
Etymology 1
From Proto-Indo-European *dʰer-o- (“tight, close by”), a derivative of *dʰer- (“to hold”). Cognates include firmus.
Adverb
ferē (not comparable)
- nearly, almost, well-nigh, within a little, for the most part, about.
- Closely, quite, entirely, fully, altogether, just.
- In general, generally, usually, commonly, for most of the time.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From for.
References
- fere in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- fere in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- fere in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
- Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- (ambiguous) to translate freely: his fere verbis, hoc fere modo convertere, transferre
- (ambiguous) synonyms: vocabula idem fere declarantia
- (ambiguous) to talk of a subject which was then the common topic of conversation: in eum sermonem incidere, qui tum fere multis erat in ore
- (ambiguous) as usually happens: ut fit, ita ut fit, ut fere fit
- (ambiguous) he spoke (very much) as follows: haec (fere) dixit
- (ambiguous) this is very much what Cicero said: haec Ciceronis fere
- (ambiguous) to translate freely: his fere verbis, hoc fere modo convertere, transferre
Old French
Etymology
From Latin faciō, facere.
Verb
fere
- Alternative form of faire
- circa 1180,, Chrétien de Troyes, Perceval ou le conte du Graal:
- Sire, vostre prisoniers sui
por fere ce que vos voldroiz- Sire, I am your prisoner
To do what you desire
- Sire, I am your prisoner
-
Conjugation
This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. This verb has irregularities in its conjugation. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
simple | compound | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
infinitive | fere | avoir fet | |||||
gerund | en fesant | Use the gerund of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
present participle | fesant | ||||||
past participle | fet | ||||||
person | singular | plural | |||||
first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
simple tenses |
present | faz, fe | fes | fet | femes, fesons | fetes | font |
imperfect | fesoie, feseie | fesoies, feseies | fesoit, feseit | fesiiens, fesiens | fesiiez, fesiez | fesoient, feseient | |
preterite | fis | feṣis | fist | feṣimes | feṣistes | firent | |
future | ferai | feras | fera | ferons | feroiz, fereiz, ferez | feront | |
conditional | feroie, fereie | feroies, fereies | feroit, fereit | feriiens, feriens | feriiez, feriez | feroient, fereient | |
compound tenses |
present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
past anterior | Use the preterite tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
subjunctive | que jo | que tu | qu’il | que nos | que vos | qu’il | |
simple tenses |
present | face | faces | face | faciens, façons | faciez | facent |
imperfect | feṣisse | feṣisses | feṣist | feṣissons, feṣissiens | feṣissoiz, feṣissez, feṣissiez | feṣissent | |
compound tenses |
past | Use the present subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
pluperfect | Use the imperfect subjunctive of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
— | fa | — | femes, fesons | fetes | — |