Bear (To)

Come, bear a hand! Come and render help! In French, “Donner un coup à quelquʹun.” Bring a hand, or bring your hand to bear on the work going on.

To bear arms. To do military service.

To bear away (Nautical). To keep away from the wind.

To bear one company. To be one’s companion.

“His faithful dog shall bear him company.”

Pope: Essay on Man, epistle i. 112.

To bear down. To overpower; to force down.

“Fully prepared to bear down all resistance.”—Cooper: The Pilot, chap. xviii.

To bear down upon (Nautical). To approach from the weather side.

To bear in mind. Remember; do not forget. Carry in your recollection.

“To learn by heart,” means to learn memorīter. Mind and heart stand for memory in both phrases.

To bear out. To corroborate, to confirm.

To bear up. To support; to keep the spirits up.

To bear with. To show forbearance; to endure with complacency.

“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation?”-Numbers xiv. 27.

To bear the bell. (See Bell.)

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.