wer
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English wer, from Old English wer (“a male being, man, husband, hero”), from Proto-Germanic *weraz (“man”), from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós (“man, freeman”). Cognate with Middle High German wër (“man”), Swedish värbror (“brother-in-law”), Norwegian verfader (“father-in-law”), Latin vir (“man, husband”), Old Irish fer, Middle Welsh gwr.
Noun[edit]
wer (plural wers)
- (obsolete) A man.
- (obsolete) Wergeld.
- 1895, Frederick Pollock; Frederic William Maitland, “Inheritance”, in The History of English Law before the Time of Edward I, volume II, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: At the University Press; Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, & Company, OCLC 78010698, § 1 (Antiquities), page 239:
- It was so in the England of Alfred's day; the maternal kinsfolk paid a third of the wer. The Leges Henrici, which about such a matter will not be inventing new rules, tell us that the paternal kinsfolk pay and receive two-thirds, the maternal kinsfolk one-third of the wer; and this is borne out by other evidence.
Related terms[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Cornish[edit]
Adjective[edit]
wer
- Soft mutation of gwer.
German[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis. Related to wo.
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
wer
- (interrogative) who (what person or people)
- Wer hat das gesagt? – Who said that?
- (interrogative, colloquial) what, which (one) (see usage notes)
- (relative) whoever, he who, someone who, the person who, anyone who (whatever person or persons)
- Wer eine Frage hat, kann sich jetzt melden.
- Whoever has a question, put up their hands now.
- (indefinite, colloquial) somebody, someone; anybody, anyone (an unspecified person)
- Da ist wer an der Tür. – There's somebody at the door.
Usage notes[edit]
- (what): In colloquial German, wer and its forms may be used in reference to things. This is often done when asking about a noun whose gender one knows to be masculine or feminine. For example: Kannst du mir mal den Dings rübergeben? – Wen? (“Could you pass me the thingamabob?” – “Pass what?”) In this case, the interrogative mirrors the gender of the noun one asks about.
- (someone): The colloquial wer meaning “someone” cannot usually be the first word in a main clause, because it could be misinterpreted as an interrogative in this position. The only exception is when it is followed by a nominalized adjective:
- Wer Neues ist in die Mannschaft gekommen. – Someone new joined the team.
Inflection[edit]
Synonyms[edit]
Coordinate terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Hunsrik[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis.
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
wer
- (interrogative) who
- Wer kommd dart?
- Who goes there?
- Wer sihst-du?
- Who do you see?
See also[edit]
Further reading[edit]
Kurdish[edit]
Adverb[edit]
wer
Kuri[edit]
Noun[edit]
wer
References[edit]
- Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 123
Meriam[edit]
Noun[edit]
wer
Middle English[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Old English wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós; compare Old Norse verr, Latin vir, Old Prussian wijrs, Sanskrit वीर (vīra).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
wer (plural wers)
Related terms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
- wif (with respect to gender)
Descendants[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
From Old English wǣre.
Verb[edit]
wer
- Alternative form of were
Etymology 3[edit]
From Late Old English werre, wyrre (“war”).
Noun[edit]
wer
- Alternative form of werre (“war”)
Ndom[edit]
Noun[edit]
wer
References[edit]
- Oceanic linguistics, volumes 20 à 21, University Press of Hawaii, page 129, 1981
Old English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós (“freeman”). Germanic cognates include Old Frisian, Old Saxon, Old High German wer, Old Norse verr, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂 (wair). The Proto-Indo-European root is also the source of Latin vir, Sanskrit वीर (vīrá), Old Irish fer, Welsh gŵr), Lithuanian výras.
Noun[edit]
wer m
- man
- husband
- (poetic) hero, warrior
- wergild (legal monetary equivalent of a man's life, to be paid in restitution for killing a man)
- (in compounds) civil
Declension[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
- wif (with respect to gender)
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
From werian.
Noun[edit]
wer m (nominative plural weras)
Old High German[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Noun[edit]
wer m
Derived terms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
From Proto-Germanic *warją
Noun[edit]
wer n
Descendants[edit]
Old Saxon[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Noun[edit]
wer m
Declension[edit]
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | wer | weros |
accusative | wer | weros |
genitive | weres | werō |
dative | were | werum |
instrumental | — | — |
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
Selaru[edit]
Noun[edit]
wer
References[edit]
- Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary
Tocharian B[edit]
Noun[edit]
wer
- 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 inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with quotations
- Cornish non-lemma forms
- Cornish mutated adjectives
- Cornish soft-mutation forms
- German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German terms with homophones
- German lemmas
- German pronouns
- German interrogative pronouns
- German relative pronouns
- German colloquialisms
- German terms with usage examples
- Hunsrik terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Hunsrik terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Hunsrik terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Hunsrik terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Hunsrik terms with IPA pronunciation
- Hunsrik lemmas
- Hunsrik pronouns
- Hunsrik terms with usage examples
- Kurdish lemmas
- Kurdish adverbs
- Kuri lemmas
- Kuri nouns
- Meriam lemmas
- Meriam nouns
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English non-lemma forms
- Middle English verb forms
- enm:Male
- enm:Marriage
- enm:People
- Ndom lemmas
- Ndom nouns
- Old English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Old English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old English lemmas
- Old English nouns
- Old English terms with usage examples
- Old English poetic terms
- Old English a-stem nouns
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old High German terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Old High German terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old High German lemmas
- Old High German nouns
- Old Saxon terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Saxon terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Saxon terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Old Saxon lemmas
- Old Saxon nouns
- Old Saxon a-stem nouns
- Selaru lemmas
- Selaru nouns
- Tocharian B lemmas
- Tocharian B nouns