ware

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun articles of the same kind or material; usually used in combination: `silverware', `software'
  2. noun commodities offered for sale
  3. verb spend extravagantly

Etymology

From Middle English ware, from Old English waru, from Proto-West Germanic *waru, from Proto-Germanic *warō (“attention”) as in beware, in the sense of “an object of care, a valuable”, from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to watch, keep guard”), whence also ward. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Were (“an item for exchange, barter, or sale; ware”), Dutch waar (“goods offered for sale or use; ware”), German Ware (“ware”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk vare (“ware”), Faroese vøra (“ware”), Icelandic and Swedish vara (“ware”).

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