Faroese edit

Etymology edit

From Old Norse ær, from Proto-Germanic *awiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

ær f (genitive singular ær, plural ær)

  1. ewe
    ofta eigur svørt ær hvítt lamb.
    Black ewes often give birth to white lambs.

Declension edit

Declension of ær
f20 singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative ær ærin ær ærnar
accusative ær ærina ær ærnar
dative ær ærini óm ónum
genitive ær ærinnar áa áanna

Derived terms edit

Icelandic edit

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Old Norse ær, from Proto-Germanic *awiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis.

Noun edit

ær f (genitive singular ær, nominative plural ær)

  1. ewe
Declension edit

Etymology 2 edit

From Old Norse ǿrr, from Proto-Germanic *wōrijaz. Cognate to Old English wērig (modern weary).

Adjective edit

ær (comparative ærari, superlative ærastur)

  1. mad
Inflection edit

References edit

Norwegian Bokmål edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Old Norse æðr (eider).

Noun edit

ær f or m (definite singular æra or æren, indefinite plural ærer, definite plural ærene)

  1. eider
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit

Etymology 2 edit

Verb edit

ær

  1. imperative of ære

Norwegian Nynorsk edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Old Norse æðr.

Noun edit

ær f (definite singular æra, indefinite plural ærer, definite plural ærene)

  1. eider
Usage notes edit
  • The compound ærfugl is more commonly used.

Etymology 2 edit

Verb edit

ær

  1. imperative of æra

Etymology 3 edit

Noun edit

ær n (definite singular æret, indefinite plural ær, definite plural æra)

  1. (pre-2012) alternative form of arr

Etymology 4 edit

From Old Norse yðr.

Alternative forms edit

Pronoun edit

ær (possessive ærs)

  1. (obsolete or dialectal) objective case of i

References edit

Old English edit

Etymology edit

From Proto-Germanic *airiz, originally a comparative form (=‘earlier’).

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

ǣr (comparative ǣrra, superlative ǣrest)

  1. early, previous, former

Declension edit

Preposition edit

ǣr

  1. before, (in negative sentences) until
    Hēo becōm ānre niht ǣr mē.
    She arrived one day before me.
    Earge sweltaþ manigum sīðum ǣr heora dēaðum.
    Cowards die many times before their deaths.

Conjunction edit

ǣr

  1. before, (in negative sentences) until
    Ne telle man nānne mann ġesǣliġne ǣr hē biþ dēad.
    No one should be considered lucky until he is dead.
    Ǣr þon þe hē hit cwæþ, nyste hē nā hwæt hē cweðan wolde.
    Until he said it, he did not know what he was going to say.
  2. rather than (in preference to)

Adverb edit

ær

  1. previously
  2. already
    • c. 992, Ælfric, "For Palm Sunday"
      Þam folce wearð cūð þæt se Hælend arærde lytle ær Lazarum of deaðe, seðe læg stincende feower niht on byrgene: þa comon þa togeanes Criste þe geleaffulle wæron, mid þam wurðmynte, swa we ǣr cwædon.
      It was known to the people that Christ a little before had raised Lazarus from death, who had lain stinking four nights in the grave: then those, who were believing, came to meet Christ with the honours which we have already mentioned.

Descendants edit

  • Middle English: er
    • English: ere
    • Scots: air
    • Yola: ear

Derived terms edit

Old Norse edit

Etymology edit

From Proto-Germanic *awiz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ówis.

Noun edit

ær f (genitive ær, plural ær)

  1. ewe

Declension edit

Descendants edit

Old Swedish edit

Verb edit

ær

  1. inflection of vara:
    1. first-person singular indicative present
    2. third-person singular indicative present