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Dear vs My - What's the difference?

dear | my |

As nouns the difference between dear and my

is that dear is a very kind, loving person while my is midge, blackfly, midget, gnat or my can be mu (greek letter).

As an adjective dear

is loved; lovable or dear can be severe(ly affected), sore.

As a verb dear

is (obsolete) to endear.

As an adverb dear

is (obsolete) dearly; at a high price.

dear

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) dere, from (etyl) .

Adjective

(er)
  • Loved; lovable.
  • *
  • *:So this was my future home, I thought!Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
  • Loving, affectionate, heartfelt
  • :
  • Precious to or greatly valued by someone.
  • :
  • High in price; expensive.
  • :
  • A formal way to start (possibly after my ) addressing somebody at the beginning of a letter, memo etc.
  • :
  • A formal way to start (often after my ) addressing somebody one likes or regards kindly.
  • :
  • *, chapter=7
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=“A very welcome, kind, useful present, that means to the parish. By the way, Hopkins, let this go no further. We don't want the tale running round that a rich person has arrived. Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing.
  • An ironic way to start (often after my ) addressing an inferior.
  • :
  • (lb) Noble.
  • Derived terms
    * dearly * dear me * dearness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A very kind, loving person.
  • My cousin is such a dear , always drawing me pictures.
  • A beloved person
  • Synonyms
    * (kind loving person) darling
    Derived terms
    * oh dear * the dear knows

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To endear.
  • (Shelton)

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (obsolete) dearly; at a high price
  • * Shakespeare
  • If thou attempt it, it will cost thee dear .

    Etymology 2

    (etyl) dere, from (etyl) . Cognate with the above

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Severe(ly affected), sore
  • Statistics

    *

    my

    English

    (wikipedia my)

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) my, apocopated form of min, myn, from (etyl) . More at (l).

    Determiner

  • Belonging to me.
  • Don't you know my name?
    I recognised him because he had attended my school.
    Derived terms
    (terms derived using my) * my arse * my ass * my bad * my eye * my fellow Americans * my foot * my God * my goodness * my gosh * my pleasure * my son * my way or the highway * my word

    Etymology 2

    An abbreviation of an oath such as my word'' or ''my lord

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (dated) Used to express surprise, shock or amazement.
  • My , what big teeth you have!
    Derived terms
    * my my