herre

See also: herré, herre-, and hərrə

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Saxon hērro; cognate with German Herr, Old High German hēriro, hērro (which see for more); ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”), thence “grey-haired” > “old” > "noble, venerable”. Compare Old English hār (whence English hoar), Old Norse hárr.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /hɛrə/, [ˈhaɐ̯ɐ]

Noun

herre c (singular definite herren, plural indefinite herrer)

(formal) gentleman (an adult male)
(formal) mister (a formal address of an adult male)
in the indefinite and with a name always in the short form hr.
(historical) lord (a male person that rules in an area)
master (the owner of an animal or, historically, a human slave)

Declension

Declension of *herre*
common gender	singular		plural
common gender	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	herre	herren	herrer	herrerne
genitive	herres	herrens	herrers	herrernes

Derived terms

Adverb

herre

(informal) very
- 2013, Katinka Maya Vår, Valget træffes, Katinkamaya forlag, →ISBN:
  ”Godt nok er han herre lækker, men chefens søn plejer trods alt ikke at have så voldsom en effekt på pigerne.”
  ”He may be really hot, but despite this, the boss' son does not usually have such violent an effect on the girls.”

Synonyms

mega
super

Derived terms

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English heorr, heorra, from Proto-Germanic *herzô (“hinge; door-hinge”).

Alternative forms

har, harre, her, horre
heorre (Early Middle English)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhɛr(ə)/, /ˈhar(ə)/

Noun

herre (plural herris or herren)

hinge (device a door pivots on)
Synonyms: gemow, henge, hengel
(rare) bar (of a door)
(rare, figuratively) extreme point; extremity

Descendants

English: har, harr, harre
Scots: harr, herre, har
Yola: harr, har

Noun

herre (plural herres or herren)

lord, chief, master

Descendants

English: her, here
Scots: her, here, heir

References

“herre, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Noun

herre

alternative form of her (“hair”)

Etymology 4

Noun

herre

alternative form of here (“army”)

Etymology 5

Pronoun

herre

alternative form of hire (“her”)

Etymology 6

Adverb

herre

alternative form of her (“here”)

Etymology 7

Determiner

herre

alternative form of here (“her”)

Etymology 8

Alternative forms

her, here

Adjective

herre

comparative degree of heigh (“high”)

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German hēriro, hērro (“grey, grey-haired”), the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈheːrːə/, /ˈhɛrːə/

Noun

hērre or hërre m

master, lord

Declension

Declension of hērre (weak masculine)

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	dër	hērre	die	hērren
genitive	eines	dës	hērren	dër	hērren
dative	eime	dëm	hērren	dën	hērren
accusative	einen	dën	hērren	die	hērren

Declension of hërre (weak masculine)

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	dër	hërre	die	hërren
genitive	eines	dës	hërren	dër	hërren
dative	eime	dëm	hërren	dën	hërren
accusative	einen	dën	hërren	die	hërren

Descendants

German: Herr

References

Benecke, Georg Friedrich; Müller, Wilhelm; Zarncke, Friedrich (1863), “hêrre”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse herri, herra, from Old Saxon hērro, from Old High German hēriro, hērro, the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”) (German hehr), by analogy with Latin senior (“elder”).^[1] The Old High German word originally meant "grey, grey-haired", and descends from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”), making it cognate with Old English hār (English hoar), Old Norse hárr.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhêɾe/

Noun

herre m (definite singular herren, indefinite plural herrer, definite plural herrene)

gentleman, man
Han kler seg som en virkelig herre.
He dresses like a real gentleman.

Mine damer og herrer!
Ladies and gentlemen.
master, lord, ruler
Knut den mektige var herre over Norge på 1000-tallet.
Cnut the Great was ruler of Norway in the 11th century.

Derived terms

References

“herre” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

^ Falk, Hjalmar; Torp, Alf (1903–06), Etymologisk ordbog over det norske og det danske sprog [Etymological Dictionary of the Norwegian and Danish Languages], page 286

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse herra, herri, from Old Saxon hērro, from Old High German hēriro, hērro, the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”) (German hehr), by analogy with Latin senior (“elder”).^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /²hær.rə/

Noun

herre m (definite singular herren, indefinite plural herrar, definite plural herrane)

gentleman, man
Mine damer og herrar!
Ladies and gentlemen!
master, lord, ruler

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hérna.

Alternative forms

herne

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈhær.rə/

Determiner

herre

this
Synonym: denne

Coordinate term: derre

References

^ Falk, Hjalmar; Torp, Alf (1903–06), Etymologisk ordbog over det norske og det danske sprog [Etymological Dictionary of the Norwegian and Danish Languages], page 286

“herre” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish hærre, hærra, from Old Norse herri, herra, from Old Saxon hērro, from Old High German hēriro, hērro, the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”), by analogy with Latin senior (“elder”). Hēr originally meant "grey-haired, old", and descends from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”), making it cognate with Old English hār (English hoar), and Old Norse hárr.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /²hɛrːɛ/
Audio: (file)

Noun

herre c

a man, a gentleman, a sir (a respected man)
Coordinate term: dam (“lady”)

Mina damer och herrar!
[My] ladies and gentlemen!

Vi talade med en äldre herre.
We spoke to an older gentleman.
- 1970, “I fjol så gick jag med herrarna i hagen [Last Year I Went With the Men in the Pasture]”, in Skillingtryck [Broadside ballads]‎^[1], performed by Hootenanny Singers:
  I fjol så gick jag med herrarna i hagen. Ja, ja, med herrarna i hagen. Ja, med herrarna i hagen. I år har jag något som sparkar i magen. Aj, aj, som sparkar i magen. Aj, som sparkar i magen.
  Last year I went with the men in the pasture. Yes, yes, with the men in the pasture. Yes, with the men in the pasture. This year I have something that kicks in my belly. Ow, ow, that kicks in my belly. Ow, that kicks in my belly.
- 1974, Björn Afzelius, “En kungens man [A man of the king]”‎^[2]:
  Då möter hon en herre, på en häst med yvig man. Han säger: "Jag är kungens man, så jag tar vad jag vill ha. Och du är alltför vacker, för att inte ha nån [någon] man. Följ med mig in i skogen [så] ska jag visa vad jag kan."
  Then she meets a man, on a horse with a bushy mane. He says: "I am a man of the king, so I take what I want. And you are much too beautiful, to not have a man. Come with me into the forest and I will show you what I can do."
(informal, in "herrarnas" (the men's)) the men's room, the men's (short for herrarnas toalett)
Synonym: herrtoaletten

Coordinate term: damernas

gå till herrarnas
go to the men's room [as a location]

gå på herrarnas
go to [and use] the men's room

inne på herrarnas
in the men's room [as a location]
See the usage notes for inuti. See also the usage examples for toalett.
a lord, a master (a man who has authority over something or someone)
Ja, min herre och mästare. Säg vad jag ska göra så gör jag det, ty du är herre över mig.
Yes, my lord and master. Tell me what to do and I will do it, for you are master over me.

Människan vill göra sig till herre över naturkrafterna.
Man wants to make himself master of the forces of nature.
- 2000, 1973 års bibelkommission, “Matteusevangeliet [Matthew] 6:24”, in Bibel 2000‎^[3], © Svenska Bibelsällskapet, accessed at Bible.com, archived from the original on 2 October 2025:
  Ingen kan tjäna två herrar.
  No one can serve two masters.
(often capitalized: Herre) Lord

Usage notes

See also this sense of dam (“lady”), which relates to herre.

Declension

Declension of **herre**
		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	herre	herres
singular	definite	herren	herrens
plural	indefinite	herrar	herrars
plural	definite	herrarna	herrarnas

Derived terms

References

herre in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker
herre in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

Danish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Adverb

Synonyms

Derived terms

Middle English

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

Descendants

References

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Noun

Descendants

References

Etymology 3

Noun

Etymology 4

Noun

Etymology 5

Pronoun

Etymology 6

Adverb

Etymology 7

Determiner

Etymology 8

Alternative forms

Adjective

Middle High German

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Descendants

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Determiner

References

Swedish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Declension

Derived terms

See also

References

Further reading