wear: [OE] Wear goes back to a prehistoric Germanic *wazjan, of whose other descendants only the Icelandic past participle varinn ‘clad’ survives. This was formed from the base *was-, which in turn was descended from Indo- European *wes-, source of Latin vestis ‘clothing’, from which English gets vest, vestment, etc. => vest
wear (v.)
Old English werian "to clothe, put on, cover up," from Proto-Germanic *wazjan (cognates: Old Norse verja, Old High German werian, Gothic gawasjan "to clothe"), from PIE *wos-eyo-, from root *wes- (4) "to clothe" (cognates: Sanskrit vaste "he puts on," vasanam "garment;" Avestan vah-; Greek esthes "clothing," hennymi "to clothe," eima "garment;" Latin vestire "to clothe;" Welsh gwisgo, Breton gwiska; Old English wæstling "sheet, blanket;" Hittite washshush "garments," washanzi "they dress").
The Germanic forms "were homonyms of the vb. for 'prevent, ward off, protect' (Goth. warjan, O.E. werian, etc.), and this was prob. a factor in their early displacement in most of the Gmc. languages" [Buck]. Shifted from a weak verb (past tense and past participle wered) to a strong one (past tense wore, past participle worn) in 14c. on analogy of rhyming strong verbs such as bear and tear. Secondary sense of "use up, gradually damage" (late 13c.) is from effect of continued use on clothes. To wear down (transitive) "overcome by steady force" is from 1843. To wear off "diminish by attrition or use" is from 1690s.
wear (n.)
"action of wearing" (clothes), mid-15c., from wear (v.). Meaning "what one wears" is 1560s. To be the worse for wear is attested from 1782; noun phrase wear and tear is first recorded 1660s, implying the sense "process of being degraded by use."
双语例句
1. He arrived on January 9, disheveled and much the worse for wear.
他是1月9号到的，蓬头垢面，疲惫不堪。
来自柯林斯例句
2. In warm weather, you should wear clothing that is cool and comfortable.
在热天里，应该穿凉快舒适的衣服。
来自柯林斯例句
3. I wear my old shoes every day. One sole has come unglued.
我每天都穿那双旧鞋，有一只鞋底已经脱胶了。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Women were reproved if they did not wear hats in court.
女性如果在法庭不戴帽子，就会受到谴责。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Individualists say that you should be able to wear what you want.
