wer
English
editEtymology 1
editFrom Middle English wer, were, from Old English wer (“man”), from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós (“man, freeman”). Cognate with Middle High German wër (“man”), Swedish värbror (“brother-in-law”), Norwegian verfader (“father-in-law”), Latin vir (“man, husband”), Old Irish fer, Middle Welsh gwr. The original meaning of “man” is now preserved only in compounds like werewolf, were wolf (“man-wolf”) and wergeld, were gild (“man gold (payment)”).
Alternative forms
editNoun
editwer (plural wers)
- (obsolete or historical) A man; a male; a husband
- 1862, E. William Robertson, Scotland Under Her Early Kings, page 137:
- […] the character of a horseman was inseparable connected with the knight—the military attendant of the baron, who was himself nothing more than the Wer, or Man, of the king—even the armiger, […]
- 1864, Thomas Oswald Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England [...] from Brit. mus. ms. Cotton. Vitellius C. III, page 205:
- Further is this wort of two kinds, wer and wife, or male and female. The wer, or male, hath white blossoms, and the wife, or female, hath red or brown; either is beneficial and wonderlike, and they have on them wondrous virtue.
- (obsolete or historical) A fine for slaying a man; wergeld.
- 1876, Essays in Anglo-Saxon Law, page 144:
- Under the system of money compensation, the kindred of the slain must demand payment of the wer, or prosecute the feud. They had the right to the wer when paid, and must by oath release the slayer and his kindred from the feud.
- 1895, Frederick Pollock, Frederic William Maitland, “Inheritance”, in The History of English Law before the Time of Edward I, volume II, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: At the University Press; Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, & Company, →OCLC, § 1 (Antiquities), page 239:
- It was so in the England of Alfred's day; the maternal kinsfolk paid a third of the wer. The Leges Henrici, which about such a matter will not be inventing new rules, tell us that the paternal kinsfolk pay and receive two-thirds, the maternal kinsfolk one-third of the wer; and this is borne out by other evidence.
Related terms
editEtymology 2
editVerb
editwer
- Eye dialect spelling of were.
Anagrams
editAmbonese Malay
editEtymology
editNoun
editwer
- weather
- Wer ni mau ujang.
- The weather will be rainy now.
References
edit- D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998) Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia[1], Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa
Cornish
editAdjective
editwer
- Soft mutation of gwer.
German
editEtymology
editFrom Middle High German wër, from Old High German wer, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ. Related to wo.
Pronunciation
editPronoun
editwer
- (interrogative) who (what person or people)
- Wer hat das gesagt? ― Who said that?
- (interrogative, colloquial) what, which (one) (see usage notes)
- (relative) whoever, he who, someone who, the person who, anyone who (whatever person or persons)
- Wer eine Frage hat, kann sich jetzt melden.
- Whoever has a question, put up their hands now.
- Wer im Glashaus sitzt, soll nicht mit Steinen werfen. (proverb)
- People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
- (indefinite, colloquial) somebody, someone; anybody, anyone (an unspecified person)
Usage notes
edit- (what): In colloquial German, wer and its forms may be used in reference to things. This is often done when asking about a noun whose gender one knows to be masculine or feminine. For example: Kannst du mir mal den Dings rübergeben? – Wen? (“Could you pass me the thingamabob?” – “Pass what?”) In this case, the interrogative mirrors the grammatical gender of the noun one asks about.
- (someone): The colloquial wer meaning “someone” cannot usually be the first word in a main clause, because it could be misinterpreted as an interrogative in this position. The only exception is when it is followed by a nominalized adjective:
- Wer Neues ist in die Mannschaft gekommen. – Someone new joined the team.
Declension
editDeclension of wer | |
---|---|
nominative | wer |
genitive | wessen or (dated) wes |
dative | wem |
accusative | wen |
Coordinate terms
editDerived terms
editFurther reading
edit- “wer” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- Friedrich Kluge (1883) “wer”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891
Hunsrik
editEtymology
editFrom Middle High German and Old High German wer, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ.
Pronunciation
editPronoun
editwer
- (interrogative) who
- Wer kommd dart?
- Who goes there?
- Wer sihst-du?
- Who do you see?
See also
editFurther reading
editKuri
editNoun
editwer
References
edit- Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 123
Meriam
editNoun
editwer
Middle English
editEtymology 1
editFrom Old English wer, from Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós; compare Old Norse verr, Latin vir, Old Prussian wijrs, Sanskrit वीर (vīra).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editwer (plural wers)
Synonyms
editAntonyms
edit- wif (with respect to gender)
Related terms
editDescendants
editEtymology 2
editVerb
editwer
- Alternative form of were
Etymology 3
editNoun
editwer
- Alternative form of werre (“war”)
Etymology 4
editAdjective
editwer
- Alternative form of werre (“worse”)
Adverb
editwer
- Alternative form of werre (“worse”)
Noun
editwer
- Alternative form of werre (“worse”)
Etymology 5
editNoun
editwer
- Alternative form of wyr (“wire”)
Middle High German
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Old High German wer.
Pronoun
editwër
Declension
editDeclension of wër | |
---|---|
nominative | wër |
genitive | wës |
dative | wëm, wëme |
accusative | wën |
Related terms
edit- waz (“what”)
Descendants
editNdom
editNoun
editwer
References
edit- Oceanic linguistics, volumes 20 à 21, University Press of Hawaii, page 129, 1981
Northern Kurdish
editAdverb
editwer
Old English
editAlternative forms
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
editFrom Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz.
Germanic cognates include Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old High German wer, Old Norse verr, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂 (wair). The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin vir, Sanskrit वीर (vīrà), Old Irish fer, Lithuanian výras.
Noun
editwer m
- man
- 10th century, The Wanderer:
- forþon ne mæġ wearþan wīs · wer, ǣr hē āge
wintra dǣl in woruldrīċe. · Wita sċeal ġeþyldiġ.- thus a man cannot become wise, before he would own
a part of years in world-kingdom. A wise man must be patient.
- thus a man cannot become wise, before he would own
- male
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
- Ǣġþer is mann ġe wer ġe wīf.
- A person is either a male or a female.
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
- husband
- (poetic) hero, warrior
- (in compounds) civil
Declension
editSynonyms
edit- (man): beorn (poetic), guma (poetic), hæleþ, mann (rare or non-literary), mæċġ, rinc (poetic), seċġ (poetic)
Antonyms
edit- wif (with respect to sex)
Derived terms
editDescendants
editEtymology 2
editFrom werian.
Noun
editwer m (nominative plural weras)
Descendants
editOld High German
editAlternative forms
edit- ƿer — Manuscript form
Etymology 1
editFrom Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Noun
editwer m
Derived terms
editEtymology 2
editFrom Proto-Germanic *warją, likely related to the verb *warjaną (“to defend”), as in a fortification against water.
Noun
editwer n
Descendants
editEtymology 3
editFrom Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz. Cognate with Old Norse hverr.
Pronoun
editwer
- (interrogative) who
- Wer war er?
- Who was he?
- Hildebrandslied, ll. 7-9
- hıltıbrant gımahalta herıbranteſ ſunu her uuaſ heroro man
feraheſ frotoro • her fragen gıſtuont
fohem uuortum • ƿer ſin fater ƿarı […]- Hildebrand spoke, Heribrand's son—he was a hoarier man, wiser of life;—he posed his question with few words, who his [Hadubrand's] father might be […]
Declension
editDeclension of wer | |
---|---|
nominative | wer |
genitive | wes |
dative | wemu, wemo |
accusative | wenan, wen |
instrumental | — |
Related terms
edit- waz (“what”)
Descendants
editOld Saxon
editEtymology
editFrom Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Noun
editwer m
Declension
editsingular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | wer | weros |
accusative | wer | weros |
genitive | weres | werō |
dative | were | werum |
instrumental | — | — |
Derived terms
editDescendants
editPennsylvania German
editPronunciation
editPronoun
editwer
Selaru
editNoun
editwer
References
edit- Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary
Tocharian B
editEtymology
edit(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
editwer ?
Yola
editNoun
editwer
- Alternative form of were (“wearing”)
References
edit- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 77
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- English terms derived from Old English
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- Hunsrik terms derived from Middle High German
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- Middle High German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
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- Middle High German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
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