Word.ws English Dictionary

bearward

Syllables: bear·wardUK/ˈbɛəwɔːd/US/ˈbɛəɹˌwɔɹd/

bearward noun: someone who handles and keeps bears (and sometimes other animals such as apes and bulls), especially for use in public entertainments such as baiting or dancing displays; a bearherd.

Noun

bearward (plural bearwards)

  1. (UK, historical) Someone who handles and keeps bears (and sometimes other animals such as apes and bulls), especially for use in public entertainments such as baiting or dancing displays; a bearherd.
    • But now how many men are there proude of that that is not theyrs at al? Is there no man proude of keping another mannes gate? […] [W]hat a brag-kyng maketh a beareward wͭ [with] his ſyluer buttened bawdrike, for pride of another mannes bere?1534 (date written), Thomas More, “A Treatice vpon the Passion of Chryste (Vnfinished) […]. The Fyrst Poynt, the Fall of Aungelles.”, in Marye Basset [i.e., Mary Basset], transl., edited by Wyllyam...
    • The former prohibition against bearwards is omitted iii this Act, probably because it had proved futile for the purpose intended, as a writer in "Notes and Queries," speaking of this period, says:– "I was never a witness of a bear-bait, but I well remember a poor brute who was kept alive for this...1887, Charles James Ribton-Turner, A History of Vagrants and Vagrancy, and Beggars and Begging
    Synonyms:
    bearleader, bear warden

Synonyms of bearward

Forms of bearward

pluralbearwards
alternative formbear-ward
alternative formberrord

Origin of bearward

From Middle English bereward (“someone who handles and keeps bears, bear keeper”), from ber, bere (“bear”) + ward, warde (“care, keeping”). By surface analysis, bear + ward.

Questions about bearward

What does bearward mean?
Bearward means someone who handles and keeps bears (and sometimes other animals such as apes and bulls), especially for use in public entertainments such as baiting or dancing displays; a bearherd.
What part of speech is bearward?
Bearward is a noun.
How do you pronounce bearward?
Bearward is pronounced /ˈbɛəwɔːd/ (UK).
What is the plural of bearward?
The plural of bearward is bearwards.

Words near bearward in the dictionary

  1. beartrap
  2. beartrap gate
  3. beartrap gates
  4. beartraps
  5. Bearville
  6. bearward
  7. bearwards
  8. Bearwish
  9. Bearwood
  10. bearwort
  11. beary

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: bearward (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “bearward.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bearward. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.