# ear

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɪə̯/ · frequency rank #3,425

## Definitions
1. The organ of hearing, consisting of the pinna or auricle, auditory canal, eardrum, malleus, incus, stapes and cochlea.
2. The external part of the organ of hearing, the auricle.
3. A police informant.
4. The sense of hearing; the perception of sounds; skill or good taste in listening to music.
5. The privilege of being kindly heard; favour; attention.
6. That which resembles in shape or position the ear of an animal; a prominence or projection on an object, usually for support or attachment; a lug; a handle; a foot-rest or step of a spade or a similar digging tool.
7. An acroterium.
8. A crossette.
9. A space to the left or right of a publication's front-page title, used for advertising, weather, etc.
10. A curled ridge in the crust of a loaf of bread where the dough was slashed before going into the oven and expands during baking.
11. The outer panels or flaps (protrusions) of a diaper upon which the fasteners are located, which are fastened around the wearer's waist.
12. A path whose endpoints may coincide but in which otherwise there are no repetitions of vertices or edges.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-
Proto-Indo-European *-s
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws
Proto-Germanic *ausô
Proto-West Germanic *auʀā
Old English ēare
Middle English ere
English ear
From Middle English ere, eare, from Old English ēare (“ear”), from Proto-West Germanic *auʀā, from the voiced Verner alternant of Proto-Germanic *ausô (“ear”) (compare Scots ere, er, eir, West Frisian ear, Dutch oor, German Ohr, Swedish öra, Danish øre), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws (compare Old Irish áu, Latin auris, Lithuanian ausi̇̀s, Russian у́хо (úxo), Albanian vesh, Ancient Greek οὖς (oûs), and Old Armenian ունկն (unkn).

## Easily confused with
- **ex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ex)
- **ed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ed)
- **et** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-et)
- **EU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-eu)
- **em** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-em)
- **el** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-el)
- **en** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-en)
- **eh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-eh)
- **er** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-er)
- **EP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ep)
- **ES** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-es)
- **EV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ev)
- **ee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ee)
- **ew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ew)
- **ey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ey)
- **ef** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ef)
- **ez** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ez)
- **Ek** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ek)
- **EI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-ei)
- **eo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ear-vs-eo)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ear