before 900; Middle English speren, spiren, Old English spyrian to make tracks, trace, ask about; cognate with German spüren, Old Norse spyrja to ask; akin to spoor
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An’ a’ the time we could no speer a thing.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
I had seen them speer at the fellow, and put out their twa fingers when they saw him, to guard against the evil eye.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
"Am na I their mither, have na I a right to speer?"
From Ringan Gilhaize or The Covenanters by Galt, John
When ye gae hame to my sister, She'll speer for her brother John:— Ye'll say, ye left him in Kirkland fair,45 The green grass growin aboon.
From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II (of 8) by Various
"Ay," said Tom, "we'll speer them when we catch up to them."
From The Road to Paris by Stephens, Robert Neilson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
