Forms: 1 warian, 3 ware-n, 3–6, 8–9 dial. war, 3–4 warr(e, 5 waar, 7–9 ’ware, 4– ware. [OE. warian = OFris. waria, OS. waron, OHG. be-warôn = BEWARE v. (MHG. waren), ON. vara (Sw. vara, Da. vare):—OTeut. *warōjan, f. *warō WARE sb.2 In ME. the native word coalesced with ware a. OF. (north-eastern) ware-r (= Central OF., mod. F. garer), of the same meaning, adopted from Teut. The interjectional imperative ware! used in hunting is prob. to be regarded as of Fr. origin.
In OE. the verb had, in addition to the senses illustrated below, certain other meanings (‘to guard, defend; to inhabit’) which did not survive into ME.].
† 1. intr. To give heed, take care, be on one’s guard. Const. of, with; to oneself; to and inf. To do to ware: to inform, notify (const. of or clause). Obs.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 2154. Ðe vii fulsum ȝeres faren, Iosep cuðe him bi-foren waren.
a. 1352. Minot, Poems, ii. 6. War ȝit with þe Skottes for þai er ful of gile.
c. 1380. Sir Ferumb., 1592. War now of me, ich þe diffie.
1382. Wyclif, Ecclus. xiii. 16. War to thee [Vulg. cave tibi], and tac heed bisili to thin heering.
1390. Gower, Conf., III. 123. Bot war whan thei togedre duellen.
1415. Hoccleve, To Sir J. Oldcastle, 88. Waar of the swerd of god for it is keene.
1594. Carew, Huarte’s Exam. Wits, xii. 188. And this wil fall out a plain matter when you are done to ware, that in this region, the sunne yeeldeth a feruent heat. Ibid., xv. 267. Of all these points were the eies and the eares naturally done to ware.
1598. Q. Eliz., Plutarch, ii. 123. That better the [= they] may ware the warnid to correct.
b. imper., as a warning cry, a call to animals, and in hunting. Obs. (? exc. dial.)
c. 1000[?]. Gloss, in Germania (1878), XI. 393. Caue wara.
a. 1200[?]. Willelm. Cantuar., Vita S. Thomæ, in Mat. Hist. Thos, Becket (Rolls), I. 128. Patria voce exclamavit … Huge de Morevile, ware, ware, ware, Lithulf heth his swerd adrage.
13[?]. Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 1158. Þe hindez were halden in, with hay & war.
c. 1400. Master of Game (MS. Digby 182), xxxiv. War, war, ha, ha, war.
c. 1460. Towneley Myst., ii. 25. Io furth, greyn-horne! and war oute, gryme! Ibid., 29. War! let me se how down will draw.
c. 1500. Hyckescorner, 456. Imagy. Ware make rome he shall haue a strype I trowe.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, VI. Prol. 168. War at Pluto, I sall hym hunt of sty.
1602. Dekker, Satirom., B 3. Flash. Ware there, roome for Sir Adam Prickeshaft.
1760. Miss Fielding, Ophelia, xxxiv. Ware, Hector! ware, Juno!
1825. J. Jennings, Observ. Dial. W. Eng., War, beware! take care!
1825. Brockett, N. C. Words, War, beware. ‘War below.’
c. with clause, introduced by that, lest, or a relative. Also without that. Obs. or arch.
a. 1000. Canons of Edgar, xxxviii. in Thorpe, II. 252. Wariʓe þæt hit na forealdiʓe.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., VII. xiii. (1495), 232. But ware the pacyent that he put hym not sodenly to grete heete.
a. 1400–50. Bk. Curtasye, 240, in Babees Bk. Þou that stondys so sure on sete, Ware lest þy hede falle to þy fete.
a. 1460. Play Sacrament, 596. Here master master ware how ye tugg.
1530. Palsgr., 701/2. Ware you shede nat your potage upon the table cloth.
1559. Morwyng, Evonymus, Pref. A ij. This sacred to God Pluto (theues) ware that ye touch not.
1616. B. Jonson, Devil an Ass, V. v. [V. iii.]. Ware what you do, M. Ambler.
1900. G. E. Evans, Lion’s Whelps, i. 8.
| Let the hunters ’ware who flout him, | |
| When he calls his whelps about him. |
† 2. refl. To guard oneself, be careful, take care. Const. with clause, fro, from, for (= from), of. Obs.
a. 1000. Cædmon’s Gen., 236. Forlætað þone ænne beam, wariað inc wið þone wæstm.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 17210. Warr þe þou namar thrald be.
13[?]. Guy Warw., 1867. Hennes forward war þe fro me, Þi dedliche fo ichil now be.
13[?]. E. E. Allit. P., B. 165. Bot war þe wel, if þou wylt, þy wedez ben clene.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. V. 225. War þe for wonhope, þat wol þe bi-traye. Ibid. (1377), B. XVIII. 273. Ac war hym of þe periles.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 312. Bot war thee wel that thou ne lieve Al that thou sest tofore thin yhe.
c. 1400. Cato’s Morals, 132, in Cursor M., App. iv. 1671. Mare mai þou be agast of anli man vn-wrast, and warte þe for him.
3. trans. To beware of, guard against; to avoid, shun, keep clear of. Chiefly in imper. = look out for! (cf. b). arch.
a. 900. Kentish Glosses, in Wr.-Wülcker, 65/40. Cauet [‘qui cauet laqueos’ Prov. xi. 15], warat.
1388. Pol. Poems (Rolls), I. 275. Ware ȝe the prophecye.
1400. in 26 Pol. Poems, i. 71. War wordes of dowble entendement.
c. 1440. Pallad. on Husb., I. 213. War arrogaunce in takyng thyng on honde.
c. 1520[?]. Skelton, Col. Cloute, 341. A man myght saye in mocke Ware the wethercocke Of the steple of Paules.
1588. Shaks., L. L. L., V. ii. 43. Ware pensals. How?
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, G 2. O, ware a naked man; Cithereaes Nunnes haue no power to resiste him.
1622. Mabbe, trans. Aleman’s Guzman d’Alf., I. 199. A roguish Boy … threw downe vpon me a great bucket of scalding water; and when hee saw it had fairely lighted vpon me, he leisurely vtters:… Ware water.
1624. Bp. Mountagu, New Gagg, To Rdr. 3. My desire is to ware heresie, to quit error.
1792. Holcroft, Road to Ruin, II. 28. Harry. When they do I’ll horsewhip them myself. Goldfinch. Yourself?—’Ware that! Wrong there!
1833. Gen. P. Thompson, Exerc. (1842), II. 480. To despise rhetoric, and eschew fine writing;… to ware flippancy and bad jokes.
1839. Mrs. Kirkland, New Home, xxxvii. 252. My prime and practical favourite among mottoes and maxims, is ‘’ware snakes!’
1861. Thackeray, Round. Papers, On two Round. Papers (1869), 164. We meet each other in public. Ware a fight!
1878. Browning, La Saisiaz, 44. Must … Every sweet warn ‘’Ware my bitter!’
b. In hunting and in cries to animals, as ware hawk (fig.: cf. HAWK sb.1 3), ware horse, etc. Now chiefly in ware wheat (= don’t ride over it), ware holes, ware wire.
Similarly, on the Trent, ware ager, a warning to boats to beware of the tidal wave.
a. 1529. Skelton (title), Ware the Hauke.
1590. Cockaine, Treat. Hunting, C 4 b. Take him vp in a line, and beating him, say, awe, ware that.
1606. Shaks., Tr. & Cr., V. vii. 12. The bull has the game: ware hornes ho?
1626. B. Jonson, Staple of N., V. v. [V. ii.]. See! the whole Couy is scatter’d, ’Ware, ’ware the Hawkes. I loue to see him flye.
1673. S’ too him Bayes, 31. But now ware hawk!
1677. N. Cox, Gentl. Recreat., I. (ed. 2), 80. The first Ceremony when the Huntsmen come in to the Death of a Deer, is to cry Ware Haunch, that the Hounds may not break into the Deer.
1705. Vanbrugh, Confederacy, V. i. 62. Mon. Your Goodness, Madam, is —— Flip. [Aside to Moneytrap.] War Horse, No fine Speeches, you’ll spoil all.
1793. Wolcot (P. Pindar), Pair of Odes to the Pope, i. 35. Ware Lark! the Sportsman to his Pointer cries; Designing him for Partridge—nobler Game.
1814. Sporting Mag., XLIV. 193. Ware chase! where such daring unpardonable crime has been committed. Ibid. (1828), N.S. XXI. 187. I never heard an harangue upon ‘ware wheat’ given in a more gentlemanlike way.
1823. Moor, Suffolk Words, 470. Warr, an abbreviation probably of beware—‘Warr, horse’—a caution to a hound in danger of being trodden on. ‘Warr, sheep’—warns him from agression.
1864. E. Mayhew, Illustr. Horse Managem., 527. However, walk down the gangway of the two-year old stalls in any trainer’s stable, and ‘’ware horse,’ ‘’ware heels,’ is frequently shouted out.
1908. R. Bagot, A. Cuthbert, v. 48. We have four or five miles to do yet—and a nice bit of open grass country before us—but ’ware holes!
† 4. To be apprehensive or careful for. Obs.
c. 1420. Wyntoun, Cron., VIII. v. 894. Gif þe Broys þe kynge sulde be Off Scotlande, war ȝoure ryalte, Ȝoure marchis, and ȝoure wallit townys.
† 5. To teach (a person) to beware. Obs.
1634. Heywood & Brome, Lancash. Witches, IV. H 4. Let me be honckt up for a show Ile ware them to mel or ma with a woman that [etc.].
