different between leer vs observe

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /l??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /l??/
• Rhymes: -??(r)

Etymology 1

Exact development uncertain, but apparently from a verb *leer (“to make a face”), from leer (“face”).

Verb

leer (third-person singular simple present leers, present participle leering, simple past and past participle leered)

1. (intransitive) To look sideways or obliquely; now especially with sexual desire or malicious intent.
2. (transitive) To entice with a leer or leers.

Conjugation

Translations

Noun

leer (plural leers)

1. A significant side glance; a glance expressive of some passion, as malignity, amorousness, etc.; a sly or lecherous look.
2. An arch or affected glance or cast of countenance.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English ler, leor (“face, cheek”), from Old English hl?or (“face, cheek, profile”), from Proto-Germanic *hleuz? (“ear, cheek”), from Proto-Indo-European *?lews- (“temple of the forehead, cheek”), from Proto-Indo-European *?lewe-, *?lew- (“to hear”). Cognate with Scots lire, lere (“face, appearance, complexion”), Dutch lier (“cheek”), Swedish lyra (“pout”), Norwegian lia (“hillside”), Icelandic hlýr (“the face, cheek, countenance”). Related to Old English hlyst (“sense of hearing, listening”) and hlysnan (“to listen”). More at list, listen.

Alternative forms

• lyre, lire, lere

Noun

leer (plural leers)

1. (obsolete) The cheek.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Holinshed to this entry?)

2. (obsolete) The face.
3. (obsolete) One's appearance; countenance.
   • c. 1390, William Langland, Piers Plowman, I:

     A loueli ladi of lere · in lynnen yclothed / Come down fram a castel.
4. (obsolete) Complexion; hue; colour.
5. (obsolete) Flesh; skin.
6. (Britain dialectal) The flank or loin.

Etymology 3

From Middle English lere, from Old English ?el?r, *l?re (“empty, void, empty-handed”), from Proto-Germanic *l?ziz, *l?zijaz (“empty”), from Proto-Indo-European *les- (“to collect, pick”). Cognate with Dutch laar (“a clearing in the woods”), German leer (“empty”). Related to Old English lesan (“to gather, collect”). More at lease.

Alternative forms

• lear

Adjective

leer (comparative more leer, superlative most leer)

1. (obsolete) Empty; unoccupied; clear.

   a leer stomach

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Gifford to this entry?)

2. (obsolete) Destitute; lacking; wanting.
3. (obsolete) Faint from lack of food; hungry.
4. (Britain dialectal, obsolete) Thin; faint.
5. (obsolete) Having no load or burden; free; without a rider.
   • 1629, Ben Jonson, The New Inn

     a leer horse

6. (obsolete) Lacking sense or seriousness; trifling; frivolous.

   leer words

Derived terms

• leerness

Etymology 4

From Middle English leren, from Old English l?ran (“to teach, instruct, guide, enjoin, advise, persuade, urge, preach, hand down”), from Proto-Germanic *laizijan? (“to teach”), from Proto-Indo-European *leis- (“track, footprint, furrow, trace”). Cognate with Dutch leren (“to teach”), German lehren (“to teach”), Swedish lära (“to teach”). Related to Old English l?r (“lore, learning, science, art of teaching, preaching, doctrine, study, precept, exhortation, advice, instigation, history, story, cunning”). See lore.

Verb

leer (third-person singular simple present leers, present participle leering, simple past and past participle leered)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To teach.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To learn.

Etymology 5

See lehr.

Noun

leer (plural leers)

1. Alternative form of lehr

Anagrams

• Erle, LREE, Reel, reel

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /l??r/

Etymology 1

From Dutch leren, from Middle Dutch lêren, from Old Dutch l?ren, from Proto-Germanic *laizijan?.

Verb

leer (present leer, present participle lerende, past participle geleer)

1. To learn.

Etymology 2

From Dutch leer, from Middle Dutch lêre, from Old Dutch l?ra, from Proto-Germanic *laiz?.

Noun

leer (uncountable)

1. A teaching.

Etymology 3

From Dutch leer, from older leder, from Middle Dutch l?der, from Old Dutch *lether, from Proto-Germanic *leþr?.

Noun

leer (uncountable)

1. leather

Etymology 4

From Dutch leer (dialectal synonym of ladder), from Middle Dutch leer.

Noun

leer (plural lere)

1. A ladder.

Descendants

• ? Sotho: lere
• ? Xhosa: ileli

Danish

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -e???r

Noun

leer c

1. indefinite plural of le

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le?r/
• Hyphenation: leer
• Rhymes: -e?r

Etymology 1

Contraction of leder, from Middle Dutch leder, from Old Dutch *lether, fromProto-Germanic *leþr?.

Noun

leer n (uncountable)

1. Leather.

   Synonym: leder

Derived terms

• kunstleer
• leerdoek
• leertje
• leertouwen

Descendants

• Afrikaans: leer

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch lêre, from Old Dutch l?ra, from Proto-Germanic *laiz?.

Noun

leer f (plural leren, diminutive leertje n)

1. A doctrine.
2. Theory, teachings.
3. A field of learning; set of lessons and theory on a subject within a discipline.

Derived terms

• beleren
• betekenisleer
• dwaalleer
• erfelijkheidsleerleer
• evolutieleer
• geloofsleer
• getallenleer
• leermeester
• leerstelling
• leervast
• notenleer
• rechtsleer
• verzamelingenleer
• vormleer
• warmteleer
• zedenleer

Descendants

• Afrikaans: leer

Etymology 3

From Middle Dutch leer, contraction of ledere.

Noun

leer f (plural leren)

1. (dialectal, dated) Alternative form of ladder.

Descendants

• Afrikaans: leer

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the main entry.

Verb

leer

1. first-person singular present indicative of leren
2. imperative of leren

Anagrams

• lere

Estonian

Etymology 1

From Middle Low German leger, lager. Etymological twin of laager.

Noun

leer (genitive leeri, partitive leeri)

1. A camp
2. A side (in a conflict)

   Ta on vastaste leeris

   He's on the enemies' side.

Declension

Etymology 2

From Middle Low German lere (“study, learning”).

Noun

leer (genitive leeri, partitive leeri)

1. A (protestant) confirmation into the faithful community.

Declension

German

Etymology

From Middle High German l?r, l?re, l?re, from Old High German l?ri, from Proto-Germanic *l?ziz. Cognate with Dutch laar, English leer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le???/
• Homophone: lehr
• Rhymes: -e???

Adjective

leer (comparative leerer, superlative am leersten)

1. empty

Declension

Antonyms

• voll
• gefüllt

Derived terms

• leeren
• leerlaufen
• nichtleer
• halb leer

Verb

leer

1. singular imperative of leeren
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of leeren

Further reading

• “leer” in Duden online

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

leer

1. present tense of lee

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German leer.

Adjective

leer

1. empty

Romansch

Etymology

From Latin a?r, with the initial 'l' added from a preceding definite article.

Noun

leer m

1. (Sutsilvan) air

Synonyms

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran) aria
• (Puter, Vallader) ajer

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin legere, present active infinitive of leg? (whence English lesson and legend), from Proto-Italic *leg?, from Proto-Indo-European *le?-. Compare English legible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /le?e?/, [le?e?]

Verb

leer (first-person singular present leo, first-person singular preterite leí, past participle leído)

1. to read

   Synonym: ridear

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• Quechua: liyiy

English

Etymology

From Middle French observer, from Old French [Term?], from Latin observare (“to watch, note, mark, heed, guard, keep, pay attention to, regard, comply with, etc.”), from ob (“before”) + servare (“to keep”), from Proto-Indo-European *serw- (“to guard”). Cognate with Gothic ???????????????????? (sarwa, “weapons, armour”), Old English searu (“device, design, contrivance, art, cunning, craft, artifice, wile, deceit, stratagem, ambush, treachery, plot, trick, snare, ambuscade, cleverness, machine, engine, fabric, armor, equipment, arms”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?z??v/, (rare) /?b?z??v/
• (General American, Canada) enPR: ?b-zûrv?, IPA^(key): /?b?z?v/
• Rhymes: -??(?)v
• Hyphenation: ob?serve

Verb

observe (third-person singular simple present observes, present participle observing, simple past and past participle observed)

1. (transitive) To notice or view, especially carefully or with attention to detail.
   • 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb

     “One horse?” interjected Holmes. ¶ “Yes, only one.” ¶ “Did you observe the colour?”
2. (transitive) To follow or obey the custom, practice, or rules (especially of a religion).
3. (transitive) To take note of and celebrate (a holiday or similar occurrence); to follow (a type of time or calendar reckoning).

   • Ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread.

   • 2020 (March 7), Jackie Dunham, "Daylight time: How to get enough sleep when the clocks spring forward, CTV News:

     On Sunday, most of Canada will observe daylight time and spring forward an hour in order to reflect the increasing sunlight.

4. (intransitive) To comment on something; to make an observation.

   • Elbows almost touching they leaned at ease, idly reading the almost obliterated lines engraved there. ¶ "I never understood it," she observed, lightly scornful. "What occult meaning has a sun-dial for the spooney? I'm sure I don't want to read riddles in a strange gentleman's optics."

Synonyms

• (follow a custom): celebrate

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• observe in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• observe in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• obverse, verbose

French

Verb

observe

1. first-person singular present indicative of observer
2. third-person singular present indicative of observer
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of observer
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of observer
5. second-person singular imperative of observer

Portuguese

Verb

observe

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of observar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of observar
3. first-person singular imperative of observar
4. third-person singular imperative of observar

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ob?serve]

Verb

observe

1. third-person singular present subjunctive of observa
2. third-person plural present subjunctive of observa

Spanish

Verb

observe

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of observar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of observar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of observar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of observar.