Sc. and dial. Forms: 1 wár (waar, uaar, uar), 6 wayr, vare, 6–7 wair, 7 war, waar, weir, 8 wear, 8–9 waur(e, 5– ware; see also Eng. Dial. Dict. and ORE5. [OE. wár, corresp. to NFris. wier neut. sea-weed, pond-weed, whence prob. Du. wier neut. (first found in Kilian, referred to the ‘Holland’ dialect), repr. OTeut. *wairo-m, f. *wai-: wī- to bind: see WIRE sb.] Seaweed; esp. large drift seaweed used as manure. In Scots Law, the right of gathering seaweed on the shore. Also SEAWARE.
c. 725. Corpus Gloss., A 434. Alga, waar.
1491. Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot., 429. Insulam et rupem de Inchgarde … cum mettagiis, ancoragiis, le wrak et ware.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, VII. x. 104. Skelleis and fomy cragis thai assay, Routand and rarand, and may nocht empayr, Bot geif thai shed fra his sydis the wayr.
1528. in Trans. Roy. Hist. Soc., VI. 374. With fre ingress and regress to the wayr and fra the wayr.
1544. in Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1545, 727/1. Cum privilegio lucrandi lie wair marium pro terris stercorandis.
1574. R. Scot, Hop Garden (1578), 2. If you shall feel a Clod (being dissolued with water) to be very clammy or cleauing like Ware to your fyngers in kneading it, the same to be profitable lande.
1643. Orkney Trial, in Dalyell, Darker Superst. Scotl. (1834), 492–3. Ye sall … be fain to eat grass vnder the stanes and wair vnder the bankis!
1659. Somner, Dict., Waar, Alga marina,… called … of the Thanet-men Wore or woore.
1721. in W. Macfarlane, Geogr. Collect. (S.H.S.), I. 45. The sea being tossed with an East and North Wind, yeelds a great quantity of salt water weeds, which the Countrey [sic] call Ware, it fattens the ground and makes it yeild plentifully.
1727. E. Laurence, Duty of Steward, 206. Wear, a Sea-weed growing chiefly on such Rocks as are cover’d only at High-water, is good to be laid on Tillage for one Crop, the drying and burning of which makes Kilp, used in making Glass.
1812. Sir J. Sinclair, Syst. Husb. Scot., I. 187. The ware, however, in that part of the frith, is of a weaker sort.
b. attrib. and Comb., as ware-barley, -bear (BEAR sb.2), -goose, -hack, -strand.
1806. Forsyth, Beauties Scot., IV. 522. Distillers prefer the *ware-barley … on account of its fairer colour and thinner husk.
1793. Stat. Acc. Scot., VI. 17, note. When bear or big is manured with sea ware, the crop is very abundant, but the grain is very small, and is known by the name of *Ware-bear.
1852. Macgillivray, Brit. Birds, IV. 629. Bernicla Brenta. The Black-faced Bernicle-goose…. *Ware Goose.
1585–6. Durham Wills (Surtees), II. 131. iiij pycke forkes,… iij *ware hackes.
1909. J. Gunn, Orkney Bk., 230. Each *ware-strand, or beach where drift-weed comes to land, is set apart for a certain number of tenants on the estate to which it belongs.
