\Sear\, Sere \Sere\ (s[=e]r), a.
[OE. seer, AS. se['a]r (assumed) fr. se['a]rian to wither;
akin to D. zoor dry, LG. soor, OHG. sor[=e]n to to wither,
Gr. a"y`ein to parch, to dry, Skr. [,c]ush (for sush) to dry,
to wither, Zend hush to dry. [root]152. Cf. {Austere},
{Sorrel}, a.] Dry; withered; no longer green; -- applied to
leaves. --Milton.
      I have lived long enough; my way of life Is fall'n into
      the sear, the yellow leaf.               --Shak.

\Sear\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Seared}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Searing}.] [OE. seeren, AS. se['a]rian. See {Sear}, a.]
1. To wither; to dry up. --Shak.
2. To burn (the surface of) to dryness and hardness; to
   cauterize; to expose to a degree of heat such as changes
   the color or the hardness and texture of the surface; to
   scorch; to make callous; as, to sear the skin or flesh.
   Also used figuratively.
         I'm seared with burning steel.        --Rowe.
         It was in vain that the amiable divine tried to give
         salutary pain to that seared conscience. --Macaulay.
         The discipline of war, being a discipline in
         destruction of life, is a discipline in callousness.
         Whatever sympathies exist are seared. --H. Spencer.
Note: Sear is allied to scorch in signification; but it is
      applied primarily to animal flesh, and has special
      reference to the effect of heat in marking the surface
      hard. Scorch is applied to flesh, cloth, or any other
      substance, and has no reference to the effect of
      hardness.
{To sear}, to close by searing. ``Cherish veins of good
   humor, and sear up those of ill.'' --Sir W. Temple.

\Sear\, n. [F. serre a grasp, pressing, fr. L. sera. See
{Serry}.]
The catch in a gunlock by which the hammer is held cocked or
half cocked.
{Sear spring}, the spring which causes the sear to catch in
   the notches by which the hammer is held.