Etymology
1. O.E.
caru, cearu "sorrow, anxiety, grief," also "serious mental attention," from P.Gmc.
*karo, from PIE base
*gar- "cry out, scream." Sense of "charge, oversight, protection" is c.1400. The verb is O.E.
carian, cearian "to feel concern or interest," from P.Gmc.
*karojanan. Phrase
couldn't care less is from 1946;
could care less in the same sense (with an understood negative) is 1966.
Careful "circumspect" was in O.E.;
careless "inattentive" is from 1579;
carefree is from 1795.
Caretaker is first attested 1858.
Care package was originally
CARE package, supplies sent out by Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere, a post-World War II organization.
2. From Middle English caren, carien, from Old English carian (“to sorrow, grieve, be troubled, be anxious, to care for, heed”), from Proto-West Germanic *karōn (“to care”), from Proto-Germanic *karōną (“to care”).
3. Cognate with Old Saxon karōn (“to lament”), Middle High German karen, karn (“to complain, lament, grieve, mourn”), archaic German karen (“to groan, gasp”), Alemannic German karen, kären (“to groan, gasp”), Swedish kära (“to fall in love”), Icelandic kæra (“to care, like”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍂𐍉𐌽 (karōn, “to be concerned”). See: Middle English '
caren', Old English '
carian', Proto-Germanic '
*karōną', Middle High German '
karen', German, old spelling '
karen', Swedish '
kära', Icelandic '
kæra'.
Verbs referencing "care"
Manx
kiare, Danish
kære.