pair

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) enPR: pâr, IPA(key): /pɛə/ (General American, Canada) enPR: pâr, IPA(key): /pɛɹ/ (General Australian) IPA(key): /peː/ (New Zealand, without the cheer–chair merger) IPA(key): /ˈpeə/ (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger) IPA(key): /ˈpiə/ (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈpeɹ/ (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA(key): /ˈpɜː/ Homophones: pare, pear, pere; peer, pier (both cheer–chair merger); per, purr (both fair–fur merger) Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ) === Etymology 1 === From Middle English paire, from Old French paire, from Latin paria (“equals”), neuter plural of par (“pair”). Related to pār (“equal”, adjective). Compare Saterland Frisian Poor (“pair”), West Frisian pear (“pair”), Dutch paar (“pair”), German Paar (“pair”), Italian paio (“pair”) ==== Noun ==== pair (plural pairs or (archaic or dialectal) pair) Two alike or identical things taken together; often followed by of. One of the constituent items that make up a pair. Two people in a relationship, partnership or friendship. Used with binary nouns (often in the plural to indicate multiple instances, since such nouns are plural only, except in some technical contexts). A couple of working animals attached to work together, as by a yoke. (card games) A poker hand that contains two cards of identical rank, which cannot also count as a better hand. (cricket) A score of zero runs (a duck) in both innings of a two-innings match. Synonyms: pair of spectacles, spectacles (baseball, informal) A double play, two outs recorded in one play. (baseball, informal) A doubleheader, two games played on the same day between the same teams. (rowing) A boat for two sweep rowers. (slang) A pair of breasts. (slang) A pair of testicles. (Australia, politics) The exclusion of one member of a parliamentary party from a vote, if a member of the other party is absent for important personal reasons. Two members of opposite parties or opinion, as in a parliamentary body, who mutually agree not to vote on a given question, or on issues of a party nature during a specified time. (archaic) A number of things resembling one another, or belonging together; a set. (kinematics) In a mechanism, two elements, or bodies, which are so applied to each other as to mutually constrain relative motion; named in accordance with the motion it permits, as in turning pair, sliding pair, twisting pair. ===== Usage notes ===== The usual plural of pair is pairs. This is a recent innovation; the plural pair was formerly predominant and may be found in older texts like "A Key to Joyce's Arithmetic" (compare Middle English paire, plural paire). That is, a native English speaker, back in the early 19th century, would say 20 pair of shoes, as opposed to today's 20 pairs of shoes. In colloquial or dialectal speech, forms such as 20 pair may still be found; because of their relegation to informal speech, they are now sometimes proscribed. ===== Synonyms ===== (two objects in a group): duo, dyad, couple, brace, twosome, duplet; see also Thesaurus:duo (pair of breasts): See also Thesaurus:breasts ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Descendants ===== → Tokelauan: pea ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== pair (third-person singular simple present pairs, present participle pairing, simple past and past participle paired) (transitive) To group into one or more sets of two. (computing) to link two electronic devices wirelessly together, especially through a protocol such as Bluetooth. (transitive) To bring two (animals, notably dogs) together for mating. (intransitive) To come together for mating. (politics, slang) To engage (oneself) with another of opposite opinions not to vote on a particular question or class of questions. (intransitive) To suit; to fit, as a counterpart. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== parity ===== Translations ===== ==== See also ==== couple === Etymology 2 === From Middle English pairen, peiren, shortened form of apeiren, empeiren, from Old French empeirier, empoirier, from Late Latin peiōrō. ==== Verb ==== pair (third-person singular simple present pairs, present participle pairing, simple past and past participle paired) (obsolete, transitive) To impair, to make worse. (obsolete, intransitive) To become worse, to deteriorate. === Anagrams === PIRA, RIPA, Ripa, pari-, raip == Catalan == === Etymology === Unknown. Compare dialectal Italian padire. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [pəˈi] IPA(key): (Valencia) [paˈiɾ] IPA(key): (Northwestern) [paˈi] Rhymes: -i(ɾ) === Verb === pair (first-person singular present paeixo, first-person singular preterite paí, past participle paït) (ambitransitive) to digest Synonym: digerir (figurative, transitive) to handle, to cope with de mal pair ― hard to take ==== Conjugation ==== ==== Derived terms ==== païble païda païdor païment === Further reading === “pair”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007 “pair”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026 “pair” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “pair”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan) == Emilian == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈpajr/ === Noun === pair f pl plural of paira == French == === Etymology === Inherited from Latin pār (“equal”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /pɛʁ/ === Adjective === pair (feminine paire, masculine plural pairs, feminine plural paires) (arithmetic) even (divisible by two) Antonym: impair nombre pair ― even number (mathematical analysis) even Antonym: impair fonction paire ― even function ==== Related terms ==== parité === Noun === pair m (plural pairs) a peer, high nobleman/vassal (as in peer of the realm) ==== Derived terms ==== === Further reading === “pair”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 === Anagrams === pari, pria, ripa == Louisiana Creole == === Etymology === From French peur (“fear”), compare Haitian Creole pè. === Verb === pair to be afraid === References === Alcée Fortier, Louisiana Folktales == Middle English == === Noun === pair alternative form of paire == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from French pair. === Noun === pair m (plural pairi) peer (noble) ==== Declension ==== == Romansh == === Alternative forms === pér (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan) peir (Surmiran) === Etymology === From Latin pirum. === Noun === pair m (plural pairs) (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader) pear ==== Related terms ==== paira pairer == Welsh == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /pai̯r/ === Etymology 1 === From Middle Welsh peir, from Proto-Brythonic *pėr, from Proto-Celtic *kʷaryos. Cognate with Irish coire. ==== Noun ==== pair m (plural peiri or peirau) cauldron, boiler Synonyms: crochan, callor ===== Derived terms ===== peiran peiriaid === Etymology 2 === See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. ==== Verb ==== pair (literary) third-person singular present indicative/future of peri === Mutation === === References === R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “pair”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies