Jump to content

care

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Appendix:Variations of "care"

English

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r-
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *ǵoh₂réh₂
Proto-Germanic *karō
Proto-West Germanic *karu
Old English caru
Middle English care
English care

    From Middle English care, from Old English caru, ċearu (“care, concern, anxiety, sorrow, grief, trouble”), from Proto-West Germanic *karu, from Proto-Germanic *karō (“care, sorrow, cry”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeh₂r- (“shout, call”). Cognate with Old Saxon cara, kara (“concern, action”), Middle High German kar (“sorrow, lamentation”), Icelandic kör (“sickbed”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐌰 (kara, “concern, care”). Related also to Dutch karig (“scanty”), German karg (“sparse, meagre, barren”), Latin garriō, Ancient Greek γῆρυς (gêrus). See also chary.

    Noun

    [edit]

    care (countable and uncountable, plural cares)

    1. Close attention; concern; responsibility.
      Care should be taken when holding babies.
      • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
        I thank thee for thy care and honest pains.
      • 1925, Walter Anthony and Tom Reed (titles), Rupert Julian (director), The Phantom of the Opera, silent movie:
        ‘Have a care, Buquet—ghosts like not to be seen or talked about!’
    2. (countable, uncountable) Worry.
      I don’t have a care in the world.
      • 1956, Irving Berlin, “Cheek to Cheek”:
        Yes, heaven, I’m in heaven / And the cares that hung around me through the week / Seem to vanish like a gambler’s lucky streak
    3. (uncountable) Maintenance, upkeep.
      dental care
    4. (uncountable) The treatment of those in need (especially as a profession).
      • 2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly‎[1], volume 189, number 2, archived from the original on 13 October 2026, page 10:
        The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.
    5. (uncountable, UK) The state of being cared for by others.
      in care
    6. The object of watchful attention or anxiety.
    7. (obsolete) Grief, sorrow. [13th–19th c.]
    Derived terms
    [edit]
    [edit]
    Translations
    [edit]
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

      From Middle English caren, carien, from Old English carian (“to sorrow, grieve, be troubled, be anxious, to care for, heed”), from Proto-West Germanic *karōn (“to care”), from Proto-Germanic *karōną (“to care”).

      Cognate with Old Saxon karōn (“to lament”), Middle High German karen, karn (“to complain, lament, grieve, mourn”), archaic German karen (“to groan, gasp”), Alemannic German karen, kären (“to groan, gasp”), Swedish kära (“to fall in love”), Icelandic kæra (“to care, like”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐍉𐌽 (karōn, “to be concerned”).

      Verb

      [edit]

      care (third-person singular simple present cares, present participle caring, simple past and past participle cared)

      2. (transitive, intransitive) To be concerned (about), to have an interest (in); to feel concern (about).
        She doesn’t care what you think.
        I don’t care, I’m still going.
        • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
          […] What cares these roarers [i.e. thunder] for the name of king? […]
        • 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax, London; Melbourne, Vic.: William Heinemann, →OCLC:
          And no use for anyone to tell Charles that this was because the Family was in mourning for Mr Granville Darracott […]: Charles might only have been second footman at Darracott Place for a couple of months when that disaster occurred, but no one could gammon him into thinking that my lord cared a spangle for his heir.
        • 2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club:
          This newfound infatuation renders Bart uncharacteristically vulnerable. He suddenly has something to care about beyond causing trouble and makes a dramatic transformation from hell-raiser to gentleman about town.
        • 2019, Aries, “Amy's Grave”, in Welcome Home‎[2]:
          No longer mind if I go / You pray enough, I might fall / Down, down, down, down, down / Why should I care what happens to me? / Why should I care what happens to me?
      3. (intransitive, polite, formal, chiefly in the negative) To want, to desire; to like; to be inclined towards or interested in.
        Would you care for another slice of cake?
        Would you care to dance?
        I don’t care to hear your opinion.
      4. (intransitive, informal, by extension) To be affected by, to treat as relevant for a subsequent course of action.
        • 2013, Addy Osmani, Developing Backbone.js Applications, page 175:
          An event aggregator facilitates a fire-and-forget model of communication. The object triggering the event doesn’t care if there are any subscribers. It just fires the event and moves on.
      5. (intransitive) (with for) To look after or look out for.
        Young children can learn to care for a pet.
        He cared for his mother while she was sick.
      6. (intransitive, Appalachia) To mind; to object.
        • 2006, Grace Toney Edwards, JoAnn Aust Asbury, Ricky L. Cox, A Handbook to Appalachia: An Introduction to the Region, Univ. of Tennessee Press, →ISBN, page 108:
          After introducing herself, the therapist then asked the patient if it would be all right to do the exercises which the doctor had ordered for her. The patient would response, "Well, I don't care to." For several days, the therapist immediately left the room and officially recorded that the patient had "refused" therapy. […] It was not until months later that this therapist […] discovered that she should have been interpreting "I don't care to" as "I don't mind" doing those exercises now.
      Usage notes
      [edit]
      • The sense “to want” is most commonly found as an interrogative or negative sentence, and may take a for clause (would you care for some tea?) or (as a catenative verb) takes a to infinitive (would you care to go with me?). See Appendix:English catenative verbs.
      • In the sense “to be concerned about”, care may idiomatically take a figurative amount as a direct object, as in the fixed phrase care a fig (equivalent to give a fig), or care one whit.
      Conjugation
      [edit]
      Conjugation of care
      infinitive (to) care
      present tense past tense
      1st-person singular care cared
      2nd-person singular care, carest† cared, caredst†
      3rd-person singular cares, careth† cared
      plural care
      subjunctive care cared
      imperative care —
      participles caring cared

      † Archaic or obsolete.

      Derived terms
      [edit]
      Translations
      [edit]
      The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
      Translations to be checked

      References

      [edit]
      1. ^ Stanley, Oma (1937), “I. Vowel Sounds in Stressed Syllables”, in The Speech of East Texas (American Speech: Reprints and Monographs; 2), New York: Columbia University Press, →DOI, →ISBN, § 6, page 16.

      Anagrams

      [edit]

      Czech

      [edit]

      Pronunciation

      [edit]

      Noun

      [edit]

      care m

      1. vocative singular of car

      French

      [edit]

      Pronunciation

      [edit]