Vetter

See also: vetter

English

Etymology

Borrowed from German Vetter.

Proper noun

Vetter (plural Vetters)

1. A surname from German.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Vetter is the 4142^nd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 8552 individuals. Vetter is most common among White (95.49%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Vetter”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• trevet

German

Etymology

From Middle High German veter, vetere, from Old High German fetiro (“father's brother”), fatureo, from Proto-West Germanic *faderjō or *fadurjō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛtər/, [ˈfɛtɐ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: fetter

Noun

Vetter m (mixed, genitive Vetters, plural Vettern, diminutive Vetterchen n, feminine Cousine or Kusine or Vetterin or Base)

1. (dated or regional, except in compounds) male cousin

   Synonym: Cousin

2. (obsolete) paternal uncle
   • 1819, Brüder Grimm, “Hans heirathet”, in Kinder- und Haus-Märchen, volume 1:

     Es war einmal ein junger Bauer, der hieß Hans, dem wollte sein Vetter gern eine reiche Frau werben.

     Once upon a time there was a peasant named Hans whose uncle wanted to find him a rich wife.

Declension

Declension of Vetter [masculine, mixed]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Vetter	die	Vettern
genitive	eines	des	Vetters	der	Vettern
dative	einem	dem	Vetter	den	Vettern
accusative	einen	den	Vetter	die	Vettern

Derived terms

• Namensvetter
• vetterlich
• Vetternehe
• Vetternwirtschaft

Further reading

• “Vetter” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “Vetter” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Vetter” in Duden online
• “Vetter” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon