herr

See also: Herr

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *skarna, from Proto-Indo-European *sker- (“to cut”). Related to harr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɛr/

Noun

herr f (indefinite plural herra, definite singular herri, definite plural herrat)

1. dwarf, small creature

Related terms

• harr
• harrje
• harlë

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Danish

Etymology

Formed from herre (“gentleman, master”) by the same mechanism as grev, kong, fru. Note that Danish usually doesn't allow double consonants in non-intervocalic contexts.

Particle

herr

1. (dated) mister (title)
   • 1942, Carlo Andersen, Politiet beder os efterlyse, Lindhardt og Ringhof, →ISBN:

     »Det var et ganske besynderligt Indkøb, Herr Jensen,« indrømmede Wengel, i et krampagtigt Forsøg paa at oparbejde den fornødne Interesse.

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

   • 1921, Ingeniøren: ugeblad udgivet af Dansk Ingeniørforening

     Vi undlader dog ikke at bemærke, at vi, forinden Prøven blev afholdt, paa alle Maader søgte at overbevise Herr Jensen om, at en sammenlignende Prøve foretaget paa den Maade vilde være spildt Ulejlighed.

Usage notes

Today, appears almost exclusively in the abbreviated form hr..

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Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Norse ᚺᚨᚱᛃᚨ (harja) (accusative), from Proto-Germanic *harjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“war”).

Noun

herr m (genitive herjar)

1. crowd, multitude; host (as in a host of men)
2. army, host, troops (on land or sea)
3. (in the plural) men, warriors

Declension

  Declension of herr (strong ja-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	herr	herrinn	herjar	herjarnir
accusative	her	herinn	herja	herjana
dative	her	herinum	herjum	herjunum
genitive	herjar	herjarins	herja	herjanna

Derived terms

• einherjar (“dead warriors in Valhalla”)
• landherr (“land-host”)
• Víðarr (“wide-army, name of a god”)

Related terms

• Herjann

Descendants

• Icelandic: her
• Faroese: herur
• Norwegian Nynorsk: her
• Westrobothnian: her
• Old Swedish: hær
  • Swedish: här
• Danish: hær
  • Norwegian Bokmål: hær
    • → Norwegian Nynorsk: hær

References

“herr”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

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Swedish

Etymology

See herre (“lord, master, gentleman”)

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɛr/, [hærː]

Noun

herr c

1. (dated, formal) Mister, Sir (used in address and titles); a form of herre

   1904, Selma Lagerlöf, The Treasure‎^[1], archived from the original on 18 December 2019, page 6:

   I Solberga prästgård satt prästen, herr Arne, och åt aftonvard i kretsen av allt sitt husfolk.

   At Solberga parsonage, the priest, herr Arne, sat at supper surrounded by all his household.

   Note: After the you-reform of the 1960's and 70's usage of the first name is seen as more proper, except under the most formal circumstances (e.g. military or royalty).

See also

• fru
• fröken