Etymology : Middle English ere, from Old English Eare; akin to Old High German Ora ear, Latin auris, Greek ous
Pronunciation : ir, Er
Function : noun
Date : before 12th century
1. part of the body used for hearing; ability to differentiate between musical tones; sense of hearing; ear of corn, corncob. see:
bend ear. ear\ear\ , n. [as. e?re; akin to ofries. ?re, ?r, os. ra, d. oor, ohg. ra, g. ohr, icel. eyra, sw. ?ra, dan. ?re, goth. auso, l. auris, lith. ausis, russ. ukho, gr. ; cf. l. audire to hear, gr. , skr. av to favor, protect. cf. auricle, orillon.].
2. the organ of hearing; the external ear.note: in man and the higher vertebrates, the organ of hearing is very complicated, and is divisible into three parts: the external ear, which includes the pinna or auricle and meatus or external opening; the middle ear, drum, or tympanum; and the internal ear, or labyrinth. the middle ear is a cavity connected by the eustachian tube with the pharynx, separated from the opening of the external ear by the tympanic membrane, and containing a chain of three small bones, or ossicles, named malleus, incus, and stapes, which connect this membrane with the internal ear. the essential part of the internal ear where the fibers of the auditory nerve terminate, is the membranous labyrinth, a complicated system of sacs and tubes filled with a fluid (the endolymph), and lodged in a cavity, called the bony labyrinth, in the periotic bone. the membranous labyrinth does not completely fill the bony labyrinth, but is partially suspended in it in a fluid (the perilymph). the bony labyrinth consists of a central cavity, the vestibule, into which three semicircular canals and the canal of the cochlea (spirally coiled in mammals) open. the vestibular portion of the membranous labyrinth consists of two sacs, the utriculus and sacculus, connected by a narrow tube, into the former of which three membranous semicircular canals open, while the latter is connected with a membranous tube in the cochlea containing the organ of corti. by the help of the external ear the sonorous vibrations of the air are concentrated upon the tympanic membrane and set it vibrating, the chain of bones in the middle ear transmits these vibrations to the internal ear, where they cause certain delicate structures in the organ of corti, and other parts of the membranous labyrinth, to stimulate the fibers of the auditory nerve to transmit sonorous impulses to the brain.
3. the sense of hearing; the perception of sounds; the power of discriminating between different tones; as, a nice ear for music; -- in the singular only. songs not all ungrateful to thine ear.
4. that which resembles in shape or position the ear of an animal; any prominence or projection on an object, -- usually one for support or attachment; a lug; a handle; as, the ears of a tub, a skillet, or dish. the ears of a boat are outside kneepieces near the bow. see:
illust. of bell.
5. (arch.) (a) same as acroterium. (b) same as crossette.
6. privilege of being kindly heard; favor; attention. dionysius would give no ear to his suit. friends, romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.
7. The organ of hearing; the external ear.
8. The sense of hearing; the perception of sounds; the power of discriminating between different tones; as, a nice ear for music; in the singular only.
9. That which resembles in shape or position the ear of an animal; any prominence or projection on an object, usually one for support or attachment; a lug; a handle; as, the ears of a tub, a skillet, or dish.
10. The ears of a boat are outside kneepieces near the bow.
11. See Illust. of Bell.
12. Same as Acroterium.
13. Same as Crossette.
14. Privilege of being kindly heard; favor; attention.
15. To take in with the ears; to hear.
16. The spike or head of any cereal , containing the kernels.
17. To put forth ears in growing; to form ears, as grain; as, this corn ears well.
18. To plow or till; to cultivate. the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium good hearing; "he had a keen ear"; "a good ear for pitch" attention to what is said; "he tried to get her ear" fruiting spike of a cereal plant especially corn.
19. 1. Your ears are the two parts of your body, one on each side of your head, with which you hear sounds. He whispered something in her ear I'm having my ears pierced.
20. If you have an ear for music or language, you are able to hear its sounds accurately and to interpret them or reproduce them well. Moby certainly has a fine ear for a tune An ear for foreign languages is advantageous.
21. Ear is often used to refer to people's willingness to listen to what someone is saying. What would cause the masses to give him a far more sympathetic ear? They had shut their eyes and ears to everything.
22. The ears of a cereal plant such as wheat or barley are the parts at the top of the stem, which contain the seeds or grains.
23. If someone says that they are all ears, they mean that they are ready and eager to listen.
24. If a request falls on deaf ears or if the person to whom the request is made turns a deaf ear to it, they take no notice of it. I hope that our appeals will not fall on deaf ears He has turned a resolutely deaf ear to American demands for action.
25. If you keep or have your ear to the ground, you make sure that you find out about the things that people are doing or saying. Jobs in manufacturing are relatively scarce but I keep my ear to the ground.
26. If you lend an ear to someone or their problems, you listen to them carefully and sympathetically. They are always willing to lend an ear and offer what advice they can.
27. If you say that something goes in one ear and out the other, you mean that someone pays no attention to it, or forgets about it immediately. That rubbish goes in one ear and out the other.
28. If someone says that you will be out on your ear, they mean that you will be forced to leave a job, an organization or a place suddenly. We never objected. We'd have been out on our ears looking for another job if we had.
29. If you play by ear or play a piece of music by ear, you play music by relying on your memory rather than by reading printed music. Neil played, by ear, the music he'd heard his older sister practicing.
30. If you play it by ear, you decide what to say or do in a situation by responding to events rather than by following a plan which you have decided on in advance.
31. If you are up to your ears in something, it is taking up all of your time, attention, or resources. He was desperate. He was in debt up to his ears.
32. music to your ears: see:
music wet behind the ears: see wet. To form or grow ears. Organ of hearing and balance. The outer ear directs sound vibrations through the auditory canal to the eardrum, which is stretched across the end of the auditory canal and which transmits sound vibrations to the middle ear. There a chain of three tiny bones conducts the vibrations to the inner ear. Fluid inside the cochlea of the inner ear stimulates sensory hairs; these in turn initiate the nerve impulses that travel along the auditory nerve to the brain. The inner ear is also an organ of balance: the sensation of dizziness that is felt after spinning is caused when fluid inside the inner ear's semicircular canals continues to move and stimulate sensory hairs after the body has come to rest. The eustachian tube connects the middle ear with the nasal passages; that connection allows the common cold to spread from the nasal passages to the middle ear, especially in infants and small children. The most common cause of hearing loss is otosclerosis, a surgically correctable disease in which one of the bones of the middle ear loses its capacity to vibrate. See also deafness, otitis. inner ear labyrinth of the ear Jenkins' Ear War of lamb's ear lamb's ears.
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