paar

See also: Paar, påår, and Påår

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pɑːɾ]

Etymology 1

From Dutch paar

Noun

paar (plural pare)

1. pair

Etymology 2

From Dutch paren

Verb

paar (present paar, present participle parende, past participle gepaar)

1. to pair, to couple

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paːr/
• Rhymes: -aːr

• audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch paer, from Latin par.

Noun

paar n (plural paren, diminutive paartje n)

1. pair, couple
2. a few, a couple, some

   Hier hebben ze een paar van die batterijen.

   They have some of those batteries here.

Derived terms

• paarvorming

Descendants

• Negerhollands: paer, paar
  • → Virgin Islands Creole: pa (dated, possibly from Spanish)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

paar

1. first-person singular present indicative of paren
2. imperative of paren

Anagrams

• raap

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German

Etymology

From Paar (“pair, couple”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paːr/, [paːɐ̯], [paː], [paːʁ]

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːɐ̯, -aː

Determiner

paar (invariable)

1. some; few; a few

Usage notes

• This determiner can be preceded by a definite article and some other determiners: Die paar Tage sind ja schnell vorbei. (“These few days will be over soon.”) Otherwise, in standard German, paar always takes the undeclined numeral ein in front of it: Nach ein paar Tagen ist das vorbei. (“After a few days it will be over.”) In colloquial German the numeral may be left out.
• Although literally meaning “pair, couple”, the word does not commonly refer to two items, but rather to sets from three upward. The upper limit is dependent both on absolute number and percentage: 10 out of 20 may be ein paar, as may 50 out of 1,000; whereas 50 out of 100 are unlikely to be so identified.

Derived terms

• paarmal

Related terms

• Paar

Further reading

• “paar” in Duden online
• “paar” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

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Latvian

Verb

paar

1. 2nd person singular present indicative form of paart
2. 3rd person singular present indicative form of paart
3. 3rd person plural present indicative form of paart
4. 2nd person singular imperative form of paart
5. (with the particle lai) 3rd person singular imperative form of paart
6. (with the particle lai) 3rd person plural imperative form of paart