noun
- the edible fruit, typically rounded but elongated and growing smaller toward the stem, of a tree, Pyrus communis, of the rose family.
- the tree itself.
noun
- a widely cultivated rosaceous tree, Pyrus communis, having white flowers and edible fruits
- the sweet gritty-textured juicy fruit of this tree, which has a globular base and tapers towards the apex
- the wood of this tree, used for making furniture
- go pear-shaped informal to go wrongthe plan started to go pear-shaped
n.Old English pere, peru “pear,” common West Germanic (cf. Middle Dutch, Middle Low German pere, Old High German pira, bira, Dutch peer), from Vulgar Latin *pera, variant of Latin pira, plural (taken for fem. singular) of pirum “pear,” a loan word from an unknown source. It likely shares an origin with Greek apion “pear,” apios “pear tree.”