wahrschauen

German

Etymology

15th century, from Middle Low German wārschûwen (“to warn, make aware”). Cognate with Dutch waarschuwen. The first element is Proto-Indo-European *wer-, whence also wahrnehmen (“to perceive”), gewahr (“aware”), warnen (“to warn”). The second element is cognate with German scheuen (“to shun, shy away”), from Proto-West Germanic *skiuhijan. Not related with wahr (“true”), nor with schauen (“to look”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvaːrˌʃaʊ̯.ən/, [ˈvaː(ɐ̯)ˌʃaʊ̯.n̩]

Verb

wahrschauen (weak, third-person singular present wahrschaut, past tense wahrschaute, past participle gewahrschaut, auxiliary haben)

1. (nautical, otherwise archaic) to warn, to make aware of danger