etymology note

[cimorene]

I tweeted the other day that I estimate 97% of people misspell "pore" in the phrase "poring over" (several people agreed with the estimate) and then I got curious about the etymology so I looked it up and found out something cool!

Etymology 2
From Middle English poren, pouren, puren (“to gaze intently, look closely”), from Old English *purian, suggested by Old English spyrian (“to investigate, examine”). Akin to Middle Dutch poren (“to pore, look”), Dutch porren (“to poke, prod, stir, encourage, endeavour, attempt”), Low German purren (“to poke, stir”), Danish purre (“to poke, stir, rouse”), dialectal Swedish pora, pura, påra (“to work slowly and gradually, work deliberately”), Old English spor (“track, trace, vestige”). Compare also Middle English puren, piren (“to look, peer”). See peer.

Verb
pore (third-person singular simple present pores, present participle poring, simple past and past participle pored)

to study meticulously; to go over again and again.
to meditate or reflect in a steady way.
Derived terms
pore over

So not only is it related to "to peer" (don't know why I didn't realize that already), but also to noun and verb spoor and Swedish spår (track or trace).

This dialectical Swedish pora/pura/påra at least means the same as our regional pynja, a word of which we're fond because it sounds like what it means and perfectly describes the temperamental tendencies of the little nerds in waxjism's family including her, but I can't find any further etymology information for any of those terms so that might be a coincidence. But the meaning is still cute anyway.