Er
See also: Appendix:Variations of "er"
Translingual edit
Symbol edit
Er
German edit
Alternative forms edit
- er (for the pronoun; common spelling)
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
Er m
Pronoun edit
Er
- (archaic) you (form of address to a male person of lower social standing than the speaker)
- Was möchte Er von mir?
- What do you want from me?
- (literally, “What does he want from me?”)
- 1821, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre [Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years][1], volume 3:
- Der alte Herr empfing mich mit großer Gravität, besah mich von oben bis unten, als ob er meine Geschicklichkeit aus mir herausphysiognomieren wollte. "Versteht Er Sein Handwerk?" sagte er zu mir.
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Usage notes edit
This form of address sounds very archaic and is only used humorously or in some dialects (especially Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg), sometimes called Berliner Er. The common polite form of address is Sie.
Derived terms edit
Further reading edit
Tocharian B edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Old Uyghur Er (“man”). Compare Turkish Er, Kyrgyz Erjan, and many other Turkic names.
Proper noun edit
Er m
- a male given name
Further reading edit
- Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), “Er”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 98
Turkish edit
Proper noun edit
Er
- a male given name