være

From Old Danish wæræ, waræ, from Old Norse vera, vesa, from Proto-Germanic *wesaną (“to be, remain”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”), *h₂wes- (“to dwell, live, reside”).

• IPA^(key): /vɛːrə/, [ˈʋɛːɐ]

være (imperative vær, infinitive være, present tense er, past tense var, perfect tense har været)

1. to be

   lade være ― to leave alone, to leave be

   være til ― to exist, to be, to live

   være ved ― to admit, to disclose, to divulge

• “være” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “være,2” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog

From Old Norse vera

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋæːɾə/

være (imperative vær, present tense er, simple past var, past participle vært, present participle værende)

1. to be

From Old Norse viðra

være (imperative vær, present tense værer, simple past and past participle væra or været, present participle værende)

1. (archaic) to sense or feel

   Jeg værer fiendtlighet mellom Ola og Per.

   I can sense hostility between Ola and Per.

• vera, vere (Nynorsk)

• “være” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

være (present tense er, past tense var, past participle vore, passive infinitive værast, present participle værande, imperative vær)

1. (non-standard since 1938) Alternative form of vera