wer
English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From 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 edit
Noun edit
wer (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 edit
Etymology 2 edit
Verb edit
wer
- Eye dialect spelling of were.
Anagrams edit
Ambonese Malay edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
wer
- 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 edit
Adjective edit
wer
- Soft mutation of gwer.
German edit
Etymology edit
From Middle High German wër, from Old High German wer, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ. Related to wo.
Pronunciation edit
Pronoun edit
wer
- (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 edit
Declension of wer | |
---|---|
nominative | wer |
genitive | wessen or (dated) wes |
dative | wem |
accusative | wen |
Coordinate terms edit
Derived terms edit
Further 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 edit
Etymology edit
From Middle High German and Old High German wer, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ.
Pronunciation edit
Pronoun edit
wer
- (interrogative) who
- Wer kommd dart?
- Who goes there?
- Wer sihst-du?
- Who do you see?
See also edit
Further reading edit
Kuri edit
Noun edit
wer
References edit
- Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 123
Meriam edit
Noun edit
wer
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From 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 edit
Noun edit
wer (plural wers)
Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit
- wif (with respect to gender)
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
Etymology 2 edit
From Old English wǣre.
Verb edit
wer
- Alternative form of were
Etymology 3 edit
From Late Old English werre, wyrre (“war”).
Noun edit
wer
- Alternative form of werre (“war”)
Middle High German edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Old High German wer.
Pronoun edit
wër
Declension edit
Declension of wër | |
---|---|
nominative | wër |
genitive | wës |
dative | wëm, wëme |
accusative | wën |
Related terms edit
- waz (“what”)
Descendants edit
Ndom edit
Noun edit
wer
References edit
- Oceanic linguistics, volumes 20 à 21, University Press of Hawaii, page 129, 1981
Northern Kurdish edit
Adverb edit
wer
Old English edit
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From 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 edit
wer m
- man
- 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 edit
Synonyms 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 edit
Descendants edit
Etymology 2 edit
From werian.
Noun edit
wer m (nominative plural weras)
Descendants edit
Old High German edit
Alternative forms edit
- ƿer — Manuscript form
Etymology 1 edit
From Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Noun edit
wer m
Derived terms edit
Etymology 2 edit
From Proto-Germanic *warją, likely related to the verb *warjaną (“to defend”), as in a fortification against water.
Noun edit
wer n
Descendants edit
Etymology 3 edit
From Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz. Cognate with Old Norse hverr.
Pronoun edit
wer
- (interrogative) who
- Wer was 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 edit
Declension of wer | |
---|---|
nominative | wer |
genitive | wes |
dative | wemu, wemo |
accusative | wenan, wen |
instrumental | — |
Related terms edit
- waz (“what”)
Descendants edit
Old Saxon edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Noun edit
wer m
Declension edit
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | wer | weros |
accusative | wer | weros |
genitive | weres | werō |
dative | were | werum |
instrumental | — | — |
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
Selaru edit
Noun edit
wer
References edit
- Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary
Tocharian B edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun edit
wer ?
Yola edit
Noun edit
wer
- 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