erf
English
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)f
Etymology 1
From Middle English erve, erfe, from Old English yrfe, ierfe (“heritage, bequest, inheritance, property, inherited property, property that passes to an heir, cattle, livestock”), from Proto-Germanic *arbiją (“heritage”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃erbʰ- (“to change ownership”) (whence also *h₃órbʰos (“orphan”)). Cognate with Dutch erf (“inheritance, patrimony, ground, courtyard”), German Erbe (“heritage, legacy, inheritance”), Danish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Swedish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌹 (arbi, “inheritance”), Latin orbus (“orphan”), Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “orphan”), Old English ierfa (“heir”). Related to orf.
Noun
erf (plural erfs)
- (Northern England, Scotland, rare) Inheritance; patrimony.
- Son, you will have this farm to erf.
- (by extension) Stock; cattle.
Derived terms
References
Etymology 2
Borrowed from obsolete Dutch erf (“hereditament, plot of land”). Doublet of erf above.
Noun
- (US regional, Cape Colony, New York, South Africa) A small inherited house-and-garden lot in a village or settlement.
Etymology 3
Noun
erf
Anagrams
Dutch
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch erve, from Old Dutch ervi, from Proto-Germanic *arbiją.
Noun
erf n (plural erven, diminutive erfje n)
- yard (open area adjoining and belonging to a house)
- (figurative) heritage, patrimony
- (obsolete, law) hereditament, especially a plot of land
- Antonym: kateel
- (obsolete) inheritance
Derived terms
Descendants
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
erf
- (deprecated template usage) first-person singular present indicative of erven
- (deprecated template usage) imperative of erven
Middle English
Noun
erf
- Alternative form of erve
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)f
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- Northern England English
- Scottish English
- English terms with rare senses
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms borrowed from Dutch
- English terms derived from Dutch
- English doublets
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- American English
- Regional English
- New York English
- South African English
- English nouns with unknown or uncertain plurals
- en:Mathematics
- English abbreviations
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɛrf
- Dutch terms inherited from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms derived from Old Dutch
- Dutch terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch neuter nouns
- Dutch terms with obsolete senses
- nl:Law
- Dutch non-lemma forms
- Dutch verb forms
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns