tare

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun an adjustment made for the weight of the packaging in order to determine the net weight of the goods
noun any of several weedy vetches grown for forage
noun weedy annual grass often occurs in grainfields and other cultivated land; seeds sometimes considered poisonous

From Middle English tare (“vetch”), from Old English *taru, from Proto-West Germanic *taru.

(Other translations have “tares” and “darnel”.)) — The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems, Geoffrey Chaucer
He has torn up the wheat with the tares; ’tis all the same. — Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo
“I hope there will be more wheat and fewer tares every year,” said Amy softly. — Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

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