▪ I. † bir, v. impers. Obs.
Forms: pres. 1 byreð, 3 burþ, birþ, 4 birt, birs, beres, bers. pa. tense 1 byrede, 3–4 burd(e, bird(e, byrd.
[OE. byrian impers. (more usually ᵹebyrian), cogn. w. ON. byrja, OHG. purjan, MHG. buren, bürn to lift or hold up, MDu. bören, boren, Du. beuren to lift:—OTeut. *burjan; f. root ber- bear. Franck connects the primitive sense of ‘lift, raise’ with that of OE. ᵹebyrian (byrian), Ger. gebühren, by supposing the latter to have been orig. ‘to arise, come up (as an event), occur, happen, befall, fall to as an occurrence, whence {oqq}fall to as a share, right, duty, etc.{cqq}’]
To fall to, pertain, belong; to behove, be proper.
| c 950 Lindisf. G. Mark iv. 38 Ne to ðe byreð [Rushw. ᵹibyreð] þæt we sie dead? c 975 Rushw. G. Matt. xii. 4 Þa þe ne byrede him [Lindisf. neron ᵹelefed, Ags. G. nærun him alyfede] to etanne. a 1300 Cursor M. 17164 Birt þe thinc apon mi pine. c 1325 Metr. Hom. 2 On the bird be his mast thouht. Ibid. 10 Forthi bers us trow thaim. Ibid. 84 Wel birs us blis the derworthelye. c 1375 ? Barbour St. Martha 152 Me byrd be blyth þat sycht to se. |
▪ II. bir
obs. form of birr.