Weiher

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

German Weiherbor.

English Weiher

Borrowed from German Weiher.

Proper noun

Weiher (plural Weihers)

1. A surname from German.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Weiher is the 41164^th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 529 individuals. Weiher is most common among White (96.03%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Weiher”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 3, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN.

Central Franconian

Etymology

From Middle High German wīher, from Old High German wīwāri, from Proto-West Germanic *wīwārī (“pond”). The diphthongisation in Ripuarian is regular because (after the loss intervocalic -w-) the -ī- was in hiatus, where Ripuarian does diphthongise. The diphthong would regularly be /ei̯/ rather than /ɛi̯/, but this distinction has only survived stem-finally.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋɛi̯ʌ/, (Moselle Franconian also) /ˈʋʌi̯ʌ/

Noun

Weiher m (plural Weihere, diminutive Weiherche)

1. (most dialects) pond

German

Etymology

From Middle High German wī(h)er, from earlier wīwære, from Old High German wīwāri, from Proto-West Germanic *wīwārī (“pond”), from Latin vīvārium. Doublet of Vivarium.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvaɪ̯ər/, [ˈvaɪ̯.ɐ], [ˈʋaɪ̯.ɐ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Noun

Weiher m (strong, genitive Weihers, plural Weiher)

1. pond

   Synonyms: Teich, (shallow) Tümpel, (regional) Woog

Usage notes

• The distinction between this word and Teich was originally purely regional: Weiher was western and southern, Teich northern and eastern. Today both words are used alongside for natural ponds, while Teich is strongly preferred for man-made ones (but compare e.g. the Aachener Weiher in Cologne).

Declension

Declension of Weiher [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Weiher	die	Weiher
genitive	eines	des	Weihers	der	Weiher
dative	einem	dem	Weiher	den	Weihern
accusative	einen	den	Weiher	die	Weiher

Further reading

• “Weiher” in Duden online