The English adjective dear is etymologically related to German teuer, which can mean both “dear” and “expensive”, although the former meaning (“mein teurer Freund”) is not very customary nowadays. It’s the same for carus in Latin and cher in French.
In the Beatles song “When I’m Sixty-Four”, there’s the line
I was quite surprised to hear that since I had never heard dear used in that meaning before. I looked it up in a dictionary, which included this usage but noted it as British. Is this customary in Britain, or anywhere else?
45 y/o from Midwest; I recognize it. That is, I wouldn’t use it but I know that it also carries that meaning. If someone said, “He paid dearly for his mistake,” it might not have anything to do with money, for instance.
But then, I was raised by parents who grew up during the Depression. I remember being teased for using words others didn’t.
33-year-old Midwesterner here. I’ve been familiar with the usage of “dear” to mean expensive for decades, and have used it in writing, but I’ll admit that it’s not a usage that occurs naturally in conversation.
…but I’d sooner use it in conversation than “spendy.”
Thirty-something Brit - always used it - not just in English … I use and hear “cher” for both meanings here in France and I’m pretty sure that my friends in Northern Italy do the same with “caro” (altho’, again from memory I think expensive is always carO whereas dear to me depends on the gender of the person you’re referring to caro/cara.).
Even though I come from Scotsmen who used it when I was growing up .most Michiganders would think it an anachronism. They would think you were old for using it. The Beetles used it in song though.
Many older folk I know use the word dear as expensive all the time. I often thought it was an older persons thing. I use it sometimes but I think thats probably something Ive picked up from the older folks!
My lovely and talented mother uses it frequently. She’s from Ballarat, in Australia. I still use it now, but the place I currently live is awash in anachronistic usages, so I doubt anyone notices this sort of phrasing.
You’ll occasionally hear a young woman called ‘maid’ here. As in “thank you, maid”.
Hey thanks everyone. I hadn’t expected that many reactions!
It seems to me, judging from your replies, that it’s in the passive vocabulary of English-speakers worldwide, while your mileage for active vocab may vary: Common in some regions, less common but recognisable in others.
As said, I find it interesting that the same word evolved in the other direction in German, teuer in the meaning o"beloved" being quite archaic nowadays.