Bears to Hoops
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Tap any rung for its meaning.
The T is a stepping stone — borrowed at rung 1 to keep beats a real word, then given back at the summit. There may be several par routes — the census above shows which ones climbers actually took.
A large, heavy wild mammal with thick fur.
Old English 'bera,' from a Germanic root shared by German 'Bär' and Dutch 'beer.' Interestingly, the Germanic peoples may have used this indirect name to avoid saying the animal's true name, which was considered taboo. The Russian word 'medved' shows a similar avoidance strategy.
Full entry on Wiktionary ↗A circular ring of wood, metal, or plastic.
From Old English 'hop', meaning a circular band, with close relatives in Dutch 'hoep'. Its deeper origins are uncertain. The word is famously associated with barrel-making and the children's toy of rolling a hoop along the ground.
Full entry on Wiktionary ↗Definitions give each word’s most common meaning — the full entries live at Wiktionary.