silbar

Cimbrian

Etymology

From Middle High German silber, from Old High German silbar. Cognate with German Silber, English silver.

Noun

silbar n

1. (Luserna) silver

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Old High German

Alternative forms

• silabar

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *silubr. Cognate with Old English seolfor, Old Norse silfr.

Noun

silbar n

1. silver

Derived terms

• silabarling
• silabarsmid
• quecsilbar

Descendants

• Middle High German: silber
  • Bavarian: Süber, Suiber

    Cimbrian: silbar

    Mòcheno: silber

  • German: Silber
  • Kölsch: Seleve
  • Luxembourgish: Sëlwer
  • Pennsylvania German: Silwer
  • Vilamovian: zyłwer
  • Yiddish: זילבער (zilber)

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sweysd-der.?

Latin sībilus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.

Proto-Italic *-ājō

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin sībilō

Old Spanish silvar

Spanish silbar

Inherited from Old Spanish silvar, siblar, from Latin sībilāre, with syncope of short /i/ and metathesis of /l/. Doublet of chiflar, which came through a Vulgar Latin variant form. Cognate with English sibilate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /silˈbaɾ/ [silˈβ̞aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: sil‧bar

Verb

silbar (first-person singular present silbo, first-person singular preterite silbé, past participle silbado)

1. (intransitive) to whistle

Conjugation

    Conjugation of silbar (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

infinitive			silbar
gerund			silbando
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		silbado		silbada
		plural		silbados		silbadas
		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	silbo	silbastú silbásvos	silba	silbamos	silbáis	silban
	imperfect	silbaba	silbabas	silbaba	silbábamos	silbabais	silbaban
	preterite	silbé	silbaste	silbó	silbamos	silbasteis	silbaron
	future	silbaré	silbarás	silbará	silbaremos	silbaréis	silbarán
	conditional	silbaría	silbarías	silbaría	silbaríamos	silbaríais	silbarían
subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	silbe	silbestú silbésvos2	silbe	silbemos	silbéis	silben
	imperfect (ra)	silbara	silbaras	silbara	silbáramos	silbarais	silbaran
	imperfect (se)	silbase	silbases	silbase	silbásemos	silbaseis	silbasen
	future1	silbare	silbares	silbare	silbáremos	silbareis	silbaren
imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		silbatú silbávos	silbe	silbemos	silbad	silben
	negative		no silbes	no silbe	no silbemos	no silbéis	no silben

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

    Selected combined forms of silbar

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive silbar	dative	silbarme	silbarte	silbarle, silbarse	silbarnos	silbaros	silbarles, silbarse
	accusative	silbarme	silbarte	silbarlo, silbarla, silbarse	silbarnos	silbaros	silbarlos, silbarlas, silbarse
with gerund silbando	dative	silbándome	silbándote	silbándole, silbándose	silbándonos	silbándoos	silbándoles, silbándose
	accusative	silbándome	silbándote	silbándolo, silbándola, silbándose	silbándonos	silbándoos	silbándolos, silbándolas, silbándose
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative silba	dative	sílbame	sílbate	sílbale	sílbanos	not used	sílbales
	accusative	sílbame	sílbate	sílbalo, sílbala	sílbanos	not used	sílbalos, sílbalas
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative silbá	dative	silbame	silbate	silbale	silbanos	not used	silbales
	accusative	silbame	silbate	silbalo, silbala	silbanos	not used	silbalos, silbalas
with formal second-person singular imperative silbe	dative	sílbeme	not used	sílbele, sílbese	sílbenos	not used	sílbeles
	accusative	sílbeme	not used	sílbelo, sílbela, sílbese	sílbenos	not used	sílbelos, sílbelas
with first-person plural imperative silbemos	dative	not used	silbémoste	silbémosle	silbémonos	silbémoos	silbémosles
	accusative	not used	silbémoste	silbémoslo, silbémosla	silbémonos	silbémoos	silbémoslos, silbémoslas
with informal second-person plural imperative silbad	dative	silbadme	not used	silbadle	silbadnos	silbaos	silbadles
	accusative	silbadme	not used	silbadlo, silbadla	silbadnos	silbaos	silbadlos, silbadlas
with formal second-person plural imperative silben	dative	sílbenme	not used	sílbenle	sílbennos	not used	sílbenles, sílbense
	accusative	sílbenme	not used	sílbenlo, sílbenla	sílbennos	not used	sílbenlos, sílbenlas, sílbense

Related terms

• sibilante
• silbato
• silbido

Further reading

• “silbar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025