Gau

See also: gau, GAU, gấu, and gâu

English

Etymology

Two main origins:

• Borrowed from German Gau, a habitational surname.
• A variant of Gao, a surname of Chinese origin.

Proper noun

Gau (plural Gaus)

1. A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Gau is the 19703^rd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1367 individuals. Gau is most common among White (76.74%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (18.07%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Gau”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 21.

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡaʊ̯/
• Rhymes: -aʊ̯

Etymology 1

From Middle High German göu, gou, from Old High German gawi, gouwi, from Proto-West Germanic *gawi, from Proto-Germanic *gawją from earlier *gaawja (“riverlands, lakeside land”), from collective *ga- + *awjō (“land by a waterway”).

Cognates

Compare Low German Gohe, Dutch gouw, West Frisian gea, goa, Old English ġē, German Aue.

Noun

Gau m (strong, genitive Gaues or Gaus, plural Gaue)

1. (now chiefly in placenames) shire; district
2. (historical) an administrative unit of the Third Reich
3. (historical) nome of ancient Egypt

Declension

Declension of Gau [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Gau	die	Gaue
genitive	eines	des	Gaues, Gaus	der	Gaue
dative	einem	dem	Gau, Gaue1	den	Gauen
accusative	einen	den	Gau	die	Gaue

¹Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

• Gaugraf
• Gauleiter
• Reichsgau

Etymology 2

From the acronym GAU (“worst-case scenario”).

Noun

Gau m (strong, genitive Gaus or Gaues, plural Gaus or Gaue)

1. (informal) an accident, a calamity
   • Roland Kopp-Wichmann, Depression ist für das Herz genauso schädlich wie Rauchen:

     Außerdem neigen die Blutplättchen von depressiven Menschen eher dazu, sich zu Gerinnseln zusammenzuballen. Diese können irgendwann wichtige Adern verstopfen und einen Gau im Herzen oder Hirn auslösen.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of Gau [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Gau	die	Gaus, Gaue
genitive	eines	des	Gaus, Gaues	der	Gaus, Gaue
dative	einem	dem	Gau, Gaue1	den	Gaus, Gauen
accusative	einen	den	Gau	die	Gaus, Gaue

¹Now rare, see notes.

References

• “Gau” in Duden online
• “Gau” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache