Ore

//oɹ// name, noun, prep

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A suburban area, formerly a village, in Hastings borough, East Sussex, England (OS grid ref TQ8311).
  2. 2
    Abbreviation of Oregon. abbreviation, alt-of
  3. 3
    A river in Suffolk, England, in two sections; a non-tidal section that joins the River Alde, and a tidal section, a renaming of the Alde parallel to the coast south of Aldeburgh, passing Orford before entering the North Sea.
  4. 4
    A tributary of the River Leven, Fife council area, Scotland.
Noun
  1. 1
    Rock or other material that contains valuable or utilitarian materials; primarily a rock containing metals or gems for which it is typically mined and processed. countable, uncountable

    "They general­ly occur in the earth in what are called veins, and are seldom found in the pure metallic state, but generally in combination with some other substance, in which state they are call­ed ores."

  2. 2
    A unit of currency used in England around the 10th to 12th centuries.

    "In the time of Æthelred the Unready when the pound contained 240 pence, the ore was reckoned at 16 pence, but in earlier times there was probably much variation."

  3. 3
    Seaweed, especially that which is washed up ashore. archaic, dialectal, uncountable
  4. 4
    A type of fine wool, especially of the type historically produced in the market town of Leominster, Herefordshire. historical, uncountable

    "But then the ore of Lempſter / By Got is never a Sempſter; / That when he is ſpun, ore did, / Yet match him with hir thrid"

  5. 5
    Alternative form of öre. alt-of, alternative
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    a monetary subunit in Denmark and Norway and Sweden; 100 ore equal 1 krona wordnet
  2. 7
    a mineral that contains metal that is valuable enough to be mined wordnet
Preposition
  1. 1
    Obsolete form of over. alt-of, obsolete

    "When I behold the violet paſt prime, / And ſable curls or ſiluer'd ore with white: […]"

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English or, oor, blend of Old English ōra (“ore, unwrought metal”) and ār (“brass, copper, bronze”), the first a derivate of ear (“earth”), the second from Proto-West Germanic *aiʀ, from Proto-Germanic *aiz, from Proto-Indo-European *áyos, h₂éyos. Compare Old Norse eir (“brass, copper”), German ehern (“of metal, of iron”), Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌶 (aiz, “ore”); also Dutch oer (“ferrous hardpan; bog iron ore”). Compare Latin aes (“bronze, copper”), Avestan 𐬀𐬌𐬌𐬀𐬵 (aiiah), Sanskrit अयस् (áyas, “copper, iron”).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin ora.

Etymology 3

A southern variant of ware (“seaweed”).

Etymology 4

Possibly originating as a figurative use of Etymology 1, with Leominster's "ore" representing the wealth of the town.

Etymology 5

* From Old English ora (“edge, stream bank, brink”) * For the river, a back-formation from Orford, Suffolk.

Next best steps

Mini challenge

Want a quick game? Try Word Finder.