Ähre

German

Getreideähren — corn ears (from left to right: barley, wheat, rye) (1)

Die Ähre eines Grashalmes. — The head of a grass stalk. (2)

Etymology

From Old High German ahir, from Proto-Germanic *ahaz. Cognate with Dutch aar, English ear, West Frisian ier. Ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”).

Further Indo-European cognates: Latin aciēs (“edge”) and acus (“needle”), Ancient Greek ἄκρος (ákros), Russian острый (ostryj), Lithuanian ass (“sharp”), Tocharian B āk (“ear, awn”).

More at Ecke and hören.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛːʁə/ (standard; used naturally in western Germany and Switzerland)
• IPA^(key): /ˈeːʁə/ (overall more common; particularly northern and eastern regions)
• Rhymes: -ɛːʀə

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Ähre f (genitive Ähre, plural Ähren, diminutive Ährchen n)

1. (botany, countable) the ear (of corn)

   Synonym: Getreideähre

2. (botany, countable) the head, ear (of grass seed)

   Synonym: Grasähre

3. (botany, countable) the spike (of a flower)

   Synonym: Blütenähre

Declension

Declension of Ähre [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Ähre	die	Ähren
genitive	einer	der	Ähre	der	Ähren
dative	einer	der	Ähre	den	Ähren
accusative	eine	die	Ähre	die	Ähren

Hypernyms

• Pflanze f
• Getreide n

Hyponyms

• Korn n

Derived terms

• Ährenfeld n
• Ährenkranz m
• Ährenspindel f
• Scheinähre f

 

Further reading

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