Yeere

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An obsolete spelling of the word year, meaning a period of twelve months or the time the Earth takes to orbit the sun
2. An archaic form of year, used in older English texts for a span of twelve months or one revolution of the earth around the sun
3. A early modern spelling of year denoting the interval of about 365 days in which the seasons complete one full cycle

Etymology: Old English "gēar" meant what "year" means today, and "yeere" is an older spelling of that same word. Early printed English often wrote the long vowel of this word as a double "e," so the spelling reflects how the word was pronounced at the time rather than a different word. The word is inherited from a Proto-Germanic form, "*jēran," and it is a true cognate of German "Jahr" and Gothic "jēr." The initial "j" in German corresponds to the "y" in English, which is why the two words look different on the page even though they share a root.