Etymology: From Middle English tear, teer, teere, ter, tere, tyar, tyear, tyer, tær (“tear”), from Old English teagor, tēar, tæher, from Proto-West Germanic *tahr, from Proto-Germanic *tahrą (“tear”), from Proto-Indo-European *dáḱru- (“tear”). Cognates Cognate with German Zähre (“tear”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk tåre (“tear”), Faroese and Icelandic tár (“tear”), Swedish tår (“tear”), Gothic 𐍄𐌰𐌲𐍂 (tagr, “teardrop”); also Cornish dager (“tear; drop”), Irish deoir (“tear”), Manx jeir (“tear”), Scottish Gaelic deur (“tear; drop”), Welsh deigryn (“tear”), Latin dacrima, dacruma, lachryma, lacrima, lacruma, lacryma (“tear”), Greek δάκρυ (dákry, “tear”), Armenian արտոսր (artosr, “tear”).

A drop of clear, salty liquid produced from the eyes by crying or irritation.
“Big tears streamed from Lisa's eyes, rolling down her cheeks.”
“Ryan wiped the tear from the paper he was crying on.”
Something in the form of a transparent drop of fluid matter; also, a solid, transparent, tear-shaped drop, as of some balsams or resins.
“Let Araby extol her happy coast, / Her fragrant flowers, her trees with precious tears.”
A partially vitrified bit of clay in glass.
That which causes or accompanies tears; a lament; a dirge.
“Without meed of some melodious tear. Begin then, Sisters of the sacred well [...]”

verb

To produce tears.
“Her eyes began to tear in the harsh wind.”