Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Were \Were\, v. t. & i.
   To wear. See 3d {Wear}. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Were \Were\, n.
   A weir. See {Weir}. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Sir P. Sidney.

Were \Were\, v. t. [AS. werian.]
   To guard; to protect. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Were \Were\ (w[~e]r; 277). [AS. w[=ae]re (thou) wast, w[=ae]ron
   (we, you, they) were, w[=ae]re imp. subj. See {Was}.]
   The imperfect indicative plural, and imperfect subjunctive
   singular and plural, of the verb be. See {Be}.

Were \Were\ (w[=e]r), n. [AS. wer; akin to OS. & OHG. wer, Goth.
   wa['i]r, L. vir, Skr. v[=i]ra. Cf. {Weregild}, and
   {Werewolf}.]
   1. A man. [Obs.]

   2. A fine for slaying a man; the money value set upon a man's
      life; weregild. [Obs.]

            Every man was valued at a certain sum, which was
            called his were.                      --Bosworth.

Source : WordNet®

were
     See {be}

be
     v 1: have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective
          or a predicate noun); "John is rich"; "This is not a
          good answer"
     2: be identical to; be someone or something; "The president of
        the company is John Smith"; "This is my house"
     3: occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere; "Where is
        my umbrella?" "The toolshed is in the back"; "What is
        behind this behavior?"
     4: have an existence, be extant; "Is there a God?" [syn: {exist}]
     5: happen, occur, take place; "I lost my wallet; this was
        during the visit to my parents' house"; "There were two
        hundred people at his funeral"; "There was a lot of noise
        in the kitchen"
     6: be identical or equivalent to; "One dollar equals 1,000
        rubles these days!" [syn: {equal}] [ant: {differ}]
     7: form or compose; "This money is my only income"; "The stone
        wall was the backdrop for the performance"; "These
        constitute my entire belonging"; "The children made up the
        chorus"; "This sum represents my entire income for a
        year"; "These few men comprise his entire army" [syn: {constitute},
         {represent}, {make up}, {comprise}]
     8: work in a specific place, with a specific subject, or in a
        specific function; "He is a herpetologist"; "She is our
        resident philosopher" [syn: {follow}]
     9: represent, as of a character on stage; "Derek Jacobi was
        Hamlet" [syn: {embody}, {personify}]
     10: spend or use time; "I may be an hour"
     11: have life, be alive; "Our great leader is no more"; "My
         grandfather lived until the end of war" [syn: {live}]
     12: to remain unmolested, undisturbed, or uninterrupted -- used
         only in infinitive form; "let her be"
     13: be priced at; "These shoes cost $100" [syn: {cost}]
     [also: {were}, {was}, {is}, {been}, {are}, {am}]