Bergfried

See also: bergfried

German

Etymology

From Middle High German bercvrit, bervrit, bervride. Further etymology unknown. A common folk etymology is the derivation from bergen (“to protect”) and Frieden (“peace”). Cognate with English belfry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɛʁkˌfʁiːt/
• Hyphenation: Berg‧fried

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Bergfried m (strong, genitive Bergfriedes or Bergfrieds, plural Bergfriede)

1. (historical, architecture) keep, donjon, bergfried (main defensive tower of a castle or fortress, located within the castle walls, often free-standing)

Declension

Declension of Bergfried [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Bergfried	die	Bergfriede
genitive	eines	des	Bergfriedes, Bergfrieds	der	Bergfriede
dative	einem	dem	Bergfried, Bergfriede1	den	Bergfrieden
accusative	einen	den	Bergfried	die	Bergfriede

¹Now rare, see notes.

Descendants

• → English: bergfried

Further reading

• Bergfried on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de
• “Bergfried” in Duden online
• “Bergfried” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache