Sau

See also: Appendix:Variations of "sau"

Bavarian

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū. Cognate with German Sau.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɑɔ̯/

Noun

Sau f (plural Sai)

1. pig, sow
2. (card games) ace

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

• Sou (chiefly Moselle Franconian)

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zou̯/

Noun

Sau f (plural Säu or Sei, diminutive Säuche or Seiche)

1. (Ripuarian, western Moselle Franconian) sow (female pig)
2. (eastern Moselle Franconian) pig (of any gender)

   Synonyms: Ferke, Schwein

Usage notes

• The inflected forms with -äu- are Ripuarian, those with -ei- are Moselle Franconian.

German

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zaʊ̯/, [zaʊ̯] (Germany)

  • Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

    (file)

• IPA^(key): /saʊ̯/, [saɔ̯] (Austria, Southern Germany, Switzerland)
• Rhymes: -aʊ̯

Noun

Sau f (genitive Sau, plural Säue or Sauen)

1. sow (female pig)

   Hypernym: Schwein

2. (archaic or dialectal) pig (of either gender)
3. (figurative) a dislikable or unethical person

Usage notes

• Both plurals are roughly equally common in the concrete sense “female pig”, though Sauen is usually preferred in farmers’ and hunters’ parlance. In the figurative sense, only Säue is used.

Declension

Declension of Sau [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Sau	die	Säue, Sauen
genitive	einer	der	Sau	der	Säue, Sauen
dative	einer	der	Sau	den	Säuen, Sauen
accusative	eine	die	Sau	die	Säue, Sauen

Derived terms

• sau-
• Saustall
• Sauwetter
• unter aller Sau

Further reading

• “Sau” in Duden online
• “Sau”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)

Hunsrik

Alternative forms

• sau (Wiesemann spelling)

Etymology

From Central Franconian Sau, from Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū, from Proto-Germanic *sūz, from Proto-Indo-European *suH-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaʊ̯/
• Rhymes: -aʊ̯
• Syllabification: Sau

Noun

Sau f (plural Sei)

1. sow (female pig)

   Die Sau hod nein Witzje. ― The sow has nine piglets.

   • 2022 November, Naye Testamënt Tswaayxproochich [Bilingual New Testament], Barueri: Sociedade Bíblica do Brasil, →ISBN, 1Pheeter 2:22:

     Was mit tëne layt paseyert is pewayst tas tii xpriche woer sin: “Te hunt keet tsurik an sayne aychne khots” un “Ti kewex sau keet noch mool in te pratx wënsle.”

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

• Boll, Piter Kehoma (2021), “Sau”, in Dicionário Hunsriqueano Riograndense–Português, 3rd edition (overall work in Portuguese), Ivoti: Riograndenser Hunsrickisch, page 138, column 1

Italian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Proper noun

Sau m or f by sense

1. a surname from Sardinian

Further reading

• Stefano Ravara (2015–2026), Mappa dei Cognomi‎^[2]

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū. Cognate with German Sau, English sow, Icelandic sýr, Swedish so.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zæːʊ̯/

Noun

Sau f (plural Sai)

1. sow (female pig)

Pennsylvania German

Orthographic variants

German-based	Sau
English-based	sou

'n Sau.

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū. Cognates include German Sau and English sow.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaʊ̯/
• Rhymes: -aʊ̯
• Hyphenation: Sau

Noun

Sau f (plural Sei)

1. pig, hog
2. filthy person
3. (card games) ace

Derived terms

• Grundsau

References

• J. C. Lins (1895), “Sow”, in Common Sense Pennsylvania German Dictionary, 3rd edition, Reading, Pennsylvania, United States: published by James C. Lins, page 145
• Abraham Reasor Horne (1910), Horne’s Pennsylvania German Manual, 3rd edition, Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States: published by T. K. Horne, Pennsylvania German Dictionary, page 287
• Marcus Bachman Lambert (1924), “sau”, in A Dictionary of the Non-English Words of the Pennsylvania-German Dialect‎^[3], Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States: Lancaster Press inc., page 130
• Marcus Bachman Lambert (2016), “Sau”, in Pennsylvania Dutch Dictionary (in Pennsylvania German), PDEC