Definitions and meaning of care
care
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kɛə/
- (General American) enPR: kâr, IPA(key): /kɛɚ/, [kʰe(ə̯)ɹ], [kʰɛ(ə̯)ɹ]
-
- (dialectal) enPR: kêr IPA(key): /kɪə(ɹ)/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /keː/
- (New Zealand, without the cheer–chair merger) IPA(key): /keə/
- (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger) IPA(key): /kiə/
- (Scotland) IPA(key): /keɹ/
- (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA(key): /kɜː(ɹ)/
- Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
- Homophones: Keir (cheer–chair merger), cur (fair–fur merger)
Etymology 1
From Middle English care, from Old English caru, ċearu (“care, concern, anxiety, sorrow, grief, trouble”), from Proto-West Germanic *karu, from Proto-Germanic *karō (“care, sorrow, cry”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- (“shout, call”). Cognate with Old Saxon cara, kara (“concern, action”), Middle High German kar (“sorrow, lamentation”), Icelandic kör (“sickbed”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐌰 (kara, “concern, care”). Related also to Dutch karig (“scanty”), German karg (“sparse, meagre, barren”), Latin garriō, Ancient Greek γῆρυς (gêrus). See also chary.
Noun
care (countable and uncountable, plural cares)
- (obsolete) Grief, sorrow. [13th–19th c.]
- Close attention; concern; responsibility.
-
- 1925, Walter Anthony and Tom Reed (titles), Rupert Julian (director), The Phantom of the Opera, silent movie:
- ‘Have a care, Buquet—ghosts like not to be seen or talked about!’
- (countable, uncountable) Worry.
- (uncountable) Maintenance, upkeep.
- (uncountable) The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).
- (uncountable) The state of being cared for by others.
- The object of watchful attention or anxiety.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English caren, carien, from Old English carian (“to sorrow, grieve, be troubled, be anxious, to care for, heed”), from Proto-West Germanic *karōn (“to care”), from Proto-Germanic *karōną (“to care”).
Cognate with Old Saxon karōn (“to lament”), Middle High German karen, karn (“to complain, lament, grieve, mourn”), archaic German karen (“to groan, gasp”), Alemannic German karen, kären (“to groan, gasp”), Swedish kära (“to fall in love”), Icelandic kæra (“to care, like”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐍉𐌽 (karōn, “to be concerned”).
Verb
care (third-person singular simple present cares, present participle caring, simple past and past participle cared)
- (transitive, intransitive) To be concerned (about), to have an interest (in); to feel concern (about).
- (intransitive, polite, formal, chiefly in the negative) To want, to desire; to like; to be inclined towards or interested in.
- (intransitive, informal, by extension) To be affected by, to treat as relevant for a subsequent course of action.
- (intransitive) (with for) To look after or look out for.
- (intransitive, Appalachia) To mind; to object.
Usage notes
- The sense “to want” is most commonly found as an interrogative or negative sentence, and may take a for clause (would you care for some tea?) or (as a catenative verb) takes a to infinitive (would you care to go with me?). See Appendix:English catenative verbs.
- In the sense “to be concerned about”, care may idiomatically take a figurative amount as a direct object, as in the fixed phrase care a fig (equivalent to give a fig), or care one whit.
Conjugation
Derived terms
Translations
References
Anagrams
- acer, race-, Cera, Race, caer, e-car, CERA, Acre, acre, Crea, race
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kaʁ/
- Homophones: car, carent, cares, carre, carrent, carre, quarre, quarres, quarrent, quart
Verb
care
- inflection of carer:
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- second-person singular imperative
Anagrams
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈka.re/
- Rhymes: -are
- Hyphenation: cà‧re
Adjective
care f pl
- feminine plural of caro
Anagrams
- Arce, acre, c'era, cera, crea, reca
Latin
Pronunciation
- carē: (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈka.reː]
- carē: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈkaː.re]
- cāre: (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈkaː.rɛ]
- cāre: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈkaː.re]
Verb
carē
- second-person singular present active imperative of careō
Adjective
cāre
- vocative masculine singular of cārus
Adverb
cārē (comparative cārius, superlative cārissimē)
- at a high price
References
- “care”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “care”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- care in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Middle English
Etymology
From Old English caru, ċearu (“care, concern, anxiety, sorrow, grief, trouble”), from Proto-West Germanic *karu, from Proto-Germanic *karō. See Modern English care for more.
Pronunciation
Noun
care (plural cares)
- grief; sorrow [from 13th c.]
Descendants
- English: care
- Scots: care
- Yola: caure, caare, caar
References
- “cāre, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Old English
Pronunciation
Noun
care
- accusative/genitive/dative singular of caru
Pali
Alternative forms
Noun
care
- inflection of cara (“walker; frequenting”):
- locative singular
- accusative plural
Verb
care
- first-person singular present/imperative middle of carati (“to walk”)
- optative active singular of carati (“to walk”)
Romanian
Etymology 1
Inherited from Latin quālis, quālem. Compare Italian quale, Provençal car, Ligurian quar and Aromanian cari, cai, care.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈka.re/
- Rhymes: -are
- Hyphenation: ca‧re
Determiner
care
- which
Inflection
Pronoun
care
- which, that, who
Etymology 2
Noun
care n pl
- plural of car (“cart”)
Etymology 3
Verb
care
- third-person singular/plural present subjunctive of căra
References
- “care”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025
Venetan
Adjective
care f
- feminine plural of caro
Source: wiktionary.org