From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Dear \Dear\ (d[=e]r), a. [Compar. {Dearer} (d[=e]r"[~e]r);
superl. {Dearest} (d[=e]r"[e^]st).] [OE. dere, deore, AS.
de['o]re; akin to OS. diuri, D. duur, OHG. tiuri, G. theuer,
teuer, Icel. d[=y]rr, Dan. & Sw. dyr. Cf. {Darling},
{Dearth}.]
1. Bearing a high price; high-priced; costly; expensive.
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The cheapest of us is ten groats too dear. --Shak.
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2. Marked by scarcity or dearth, and exorbitance of price;
as, a dear year.
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3. Highly valued; greatly beloved; cherished; precious. "Hear
me, dear lady." --Shak.
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Neither count I my life dear unto myself. --Acts xx.
24.
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And the last joy was dearer than the rest. --Pope.
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Dear as remember'd kisses after death. --Tennyson.
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4. Hence, close to the heart; heartfelt; present in mind;
engaging the attention.
(a) Of agreeable things and interests.
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[I'll] leave you to attend him: some dear cause
Will in concealment wrap me up awhile. --Shak.
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His dearest wish was to escape from the bustle
and glitter of Whitehall. --Macaulay.
(b) Of disagreeable things and antipathies.
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In our dear peril. --Shak.
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Would I had met my dearest foe in heaven
Or ever I had seen that day. --Shak.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
dearest
n 1: a beloved person; used as terms of endearment [syn:
{beloved}, {dear}, {dearest}, {honey}, {love}]
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