Talk:dear

Different in Indian English?

Indian men speaking English seem to call each other "dear", without any romantic connotation. I've noticed this in comments on YouTube, and comments posted on sites about programming, etc. Equinox ◑ 13:47, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

Tea room convo

• Wiktionary:Tea_room/2017/March#dear

--Barytonesis (talk) 11:40, 27 June 2017 (UTC)

RFV discussion: September 2021

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dear

Rfv-sense: to endear. The quote is somewhere in Thomas Shleton's translation of Don Quixote, which I annoyingly couldn't track down Roger the Rodger (talk) 19:48, 14 September 2021 (UTC)

The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia has this quote:^[1]

Nor should a Sonne his Sire loue for reward,

But for he is his Sire, in nature dear’d.

                      Davies, Microcosmos, p. 64.

 --Lambiam 20:47, 14 September 2021 (UTC)

cited Kiwima (talk) 06:41, 15 September 2021 (UTC)

RFV-passed Kiwima (talk) 20:14, 25 September 2021 (UTC)

Usage notes for "dear" as a form of address?...

I think it might make sense to note the prevalence (or lack thereof) of "dear" being used as an address in various parts of the world. In my experience, in American English, aside from the start of a formal letter, it's used pretty rarely these days. It's sometimes used between people who are close with each other, but this usage is somewhat dated, I would say. A grandma might address her grandkids with "dear," or an older couple might address each other that way, but it'd be rather unusual for young people - even a younger couple - to be addressing each other like that, aside from perhaps in a playful/ironic sort of way. I believe this is generally the case these days in the UK and Aus and NZ as well, though there may be some regional variation, and people in these countries often use "dear" as an adjective to mean expensive, but that's an entirely separate usage.

I believe though that in India and some of the former British colonies in Africa, it's still much more common to address someone as "dear." In fact it's often a telltale sign that someone's a scammer (often lying about where they're from) when they frequently use "dear." -2003:CA:870F:16CC:4DF:16B3:8E3F:E331 15:17, 22 April 2024 (UTC)

See my comments at top of this page regarding Indian use. Equinox ◑ 15:38, 22 April 2024 (UTC)