Tear
/tɪr/noun
A drop of salty liquid produced by the eye, usually from emotion or irritation.
Did you know?English tear is not related to the verb tear; it comes from Old English tēar, from Proto-Germanic *tahruz, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning “to flow” or “to trickle.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dʰewh₂- / *tewh₂-
“to flow, run, or trickle”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*tahruz
“tear, a drop of eye-fluid”
Old English
OE
tēar
“tear, a drop from the eye”
Middle English
ME
ter
“tear, eye-fluid”
Modern English
English
tear
“a drop of salty liquid from the eye”