Word of The Day for Monday, May 9, 2011

yare

yare (yahr)  adv

Definition:
1. agile; lively
2. responding easily; maneuverable (nautical, used of a vessel)
3. ready; prepared (archaic) 

yarely adverb

Origin:
before 900; O.E. gearo "ready," from P.Gmc. prefix *ga- + *arw-; related to gearwe "clothing, dress"

Related:
Synonyms: agile, lively; maneuverable; ready, prepared
Related Words: gear

Sentence Examples:
• Now I shall tell thee that we have striven to beat, so as not to be driven off our course, but all would not avail, wherefore for these three hours we have been running before the wind; but, fair sir, so big hath been the sea that but for our ship being of the stoutest, and our men all yare, we had all grown exceeding wise concerning the ground of the mid-main. - The Wood Beyond the World, William Morris

• Your ships are not well mann'd;
Your mariners are muleteers, reapers, people
Ingross'd by swift impress. In Caesar's fleet
Are those that often have 'gainst Pompey fought;
Their ships are yare; yours heavy. No disgrace
Shall fall you for refusing him at sea,
Being prepar'd for land.
 - The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, William Shakespeare

• Faith, then, up foot! be yare, or, by the mass, I may forget that I am in some sort your captain and in some your debtor!  Go! - The Black Arrow, Robert Louis Stevenson

Sources: Free Dictionary, Online Etymology

Word-E: A Word-A-Day

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