Bearings are the direction or position of something, especially in navigation, or the way someone carries themselves. In engineering, bearings are small metal parts that reduce friction between moving pieces.
“Bearings” comes from the verb “bear,” meaning to carry or support, plus the ending “-ing” to show a state or result. It developed specialized meanings in navigation and mechanics over time.
When you say “I lost my bearings,” you’re literally saying “I lost my sense of how I’m being carried through space.” The same root idea of support shows up inside machines, where bearings quietly carry spinning parts all day long.
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