wer
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English wer, were, from Old English wer (“man”), from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós (“man, freeman”). Cognate with Middle High German wër (“man”), Swedish värbror (“brother-in-law”), Norwegian verfader (“father-in-law”), Latin vir (“man, husband”), Old Irish fer, Middle Welsh gwr. The original meaning of “man” is now preserved only in compounds like werewolf, were wolf (“man-wolf”) and wergeld, were gild (“man gold (payment)”).
Noun
wer (plural wers)
- (obsolete or historical) A man; a male; a husband
- 1862, E. William Robertson, Scotland Under Her Early Kings, page 137:
- […] the character of a horseman was inseparable connected with the knight—the military attendant of the baron, who was himself nothing more than the Wer, or Man, of the king—even the armiger, […]
- 1864, Thomas Oswald Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England [...] from Brit. mus. ms. Cotton. Vitellius C. III, page 205:
- Further is this wort of two kinds, wer and wife, or male and female. The wer, or male, hath white blossoms, and the wife, or female, hath red or brown; either is beneficial and wonderlike, and they have on them wondrous virtue.
- 1862, E. William Robertson, Scotland Under Her Early Kings, page 137:
- (obsolete or historical) A fine for slaying a man; wergeld.
- 1876, Essays in Anglo-Saxon Law, page 144:
- Under the system of money compensation, the kindred of the slain must demand payment of the wer, or prosecute the feud. They had the right to the wer when paid, and must by oath release the slayer and his kindred from the feud.
- 1895, Frederick Pollock, Frederic William Maitland, “Inheritance”, in The History of English Law before the Time of Edward I, volume II, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: At the University Press; Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, & Company, →OCLC, § 1 (Antiquities), page 239:
- It was so in the England of Alfred's day; the maternal kinsfolk paid a third of the wer. The Leges Henrici, which about such a matter will not be inventing new rules, tell us that the paternal kinsfolk pay and receive two-thirds, the maternal kinsfolk one-third of the wer; and this is borne out by other evidence.
- 1876, Essays in Anglo-Saxon Law, page 144:
Related terms
Anagrams
Ambonese Malay
Etymology
Noun
wer
- weather
- Wer ni mau ujang.
- The weather will be rainy now.
References
- D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998) Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia[1], Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa
Cornish
Adjective
wer
- Soft mutation of gwer.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German wer, from Old High German wer, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ. Related to wo.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
wer
- (interrogative) who (what person or people)
- Wer hat das gesagt? ― Who said that?
- (interrogative, colloquial) what, which (one) (see usage notes)
- (relative) whoever, he who, someone who, the person who, anyone who (whatever person or persons)
- Wer eine Frage hat, kann sich jetzt melden.
- Whoever has a question, put up their hands now.
- (indefinite, colloquial) somebody, someone; anybody, anyone (an unspecified person)
Usage notes
- (what): In colloquial German, wer and its forms may be used in reference to things. This is often done when asking about a noun whose gender one knows to be masculine or feminine. For example: Kannst du mir mal den Dings rübergeben? – Wen? (“Could you pass me the thingamabob?” – “Pass what?”) In this case, the interrogative mirrors the grammatical gender of the noun one asks about.
- (someone): The colloquial wer meaning “someone” cannot usually be the first word in a main clause, because it could be misinterpreted as an interrogative in this position. The only exception is when it is followed by a nominalized adjective:
- Wer Neues ist in die Mannschaft gekommen. – Someone new joined the team.
Declension
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Further reading
- “wer” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- Friedrich Kluge (1883) “wer”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891
Hunsrik
Etymology
From Middle High German and Old High German wer, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
wer
- (interrogative) who
- Wer kommd dart?
- Who goes there?
- Wer sihst-du?
- Who do you see?
See also
Further reading
Kuri
Noun
wer
References
- Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 123
Meriam
Noun
wer
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English wer, from Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós; compare Old Norse verr, Latin vir, Old Prussian wijrs, Sanskrit वीर (vīra).
Pronunciation
Noun
wer (plural wers)
Synonyms
Related terms
Antonyms
- wif (with respect to gender)
Descendants
Etymology 2
From Old English wǣre.
Verb
wer
- Alternative form of were
Etymology 3
From Late Old English werre, wyrre (“war”).
Noun
wer
- Alternative form of werre (“war”)
Ndom
Noun
wer
References
- Oceanic linguistics, volumes 20 à 21, University Press of Hawaii, page 129, 1981
Northern Kurdish
Adverb
wer
Old English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *weraz. Germanic cognates include Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old High German wer, Old Norse verr, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂 (wair). The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin vir, Sanskrit वीर (vīrá), Old Irish fer, Lithuanian výras.
Noun
wer m
- man
- male
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
- Ǣġþer is mann ġe wer ġe wīf.
- A person is either a male or a female.
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
- husband
- (poetic) hero, warrior
- (in compounds) civil
Declension
Synonyms
- (man): beorn (poetic), guma (poetic), hæleþ, mann (rare or non-literary), mæċġ, rinc (poetic), seċġ (poetic)
Antonyms
- wif (with respect to sex)
Derived terms
Descendants
Etymology 2
From werian.
Noun
wer m (nominative plural weras)
Descendants
Old High German
Alternative forms
- ƿer — Manuscript form
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Noun
wer m
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Proto-Germanic *warją.
Noun
wer n
Descendants
Etymology 3
From Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hwaz. Cognate with Old Norse hverr.
Pronoun
wer
- (interrogative) who
- Wer was er?
- Who was he?
- Hildebrandslied, ll. 7-9
- hıltıbrant gımahalta herıbranteſ ſunu her uuaſ heroro man
feraheſ frotoro • her fragen gıſtuont
fohem uuortum • ƿer ſin fater ƿarı […]- Hildebrand spoke, Heribrand's son—he was a hoarier man, wiser of life;—he posed his question with few words, who his [Hadubrand's] father might be […]
Descendants
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Noun
wer m
Declension
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | wer | weros |
accusative | wer | weros |
genitive | weres | werō |
dative | were | werum |
instrumental | — | — |
Derived terms
Descendants
Selaru
Noun
wer
References
- Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary
Tocharian B
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
wer ?
Yola
Noun
wer
- Alternative form of were (“wear”)
References
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 77
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