erf
Translingual edit
Symbol edit
erf
English edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle English erve, erfe, from Old English yrfe, ierfe (“heritage, bequest, inheritance, property, inherited property, property that passes to an heir, cattle, livestock”), from Proto-West Germanic *arbī, from Proto-Germanic *arbiją (“heritage”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃erbʰ- (“to change ownership”) (whence also *h₃órbʰos (“orphan”)).
Cognate with Dutch erf (“inheritance, patrimony, ground, courtyard”), German Erbe (“heritage, legacy, inheritance”), Danish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Swedish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌹 (arbi, “inheritance”), Latin orbus (“orphan”), Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “orphan”), Old English ierfa (“heir”). Related to orf and odal and athel.
Noun edit
erf (plural erfs)
- (Northern England, Scotland, rare) Inheritance; patrimony.
- Son, you will have this farm to erf.
- (by extension) Stock; cattle.
Derived terms edit
References edit
Etymology 2 edit
Borrowed from obsolete Dutch erf (“hereditament, plot of land”). Doublet of erf above.
Noun edit
- (US regional, Cape Colony, New York, South Africa) A small inherited house-and-garden lot in a village or settlement.
Derived terms edit
Anagrams edit
Dutch edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle Dutch erve, from Old Dutch ervi, from Proto-West Germanic *arbī, from Proto-Germanic *arbiją.
Noun edit
erf n (plural erven, diminutive erfje n)
- yard (open area adjoining and belonging to a house)
- (figurative) heritage, patrimony
- Synonym: erfdeel
- (obsolete, law) hereditament, especially a plot of land
- Antonym: kateel
- (obsolete) inheritance
- Synonyms: erfenis, nalatenschap
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
Etymology 2 edit
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb edit
erf
- inflection of erven:
Middle English edit
Noun edit
erf
- Alternative form of erve