wer

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See also: wër and 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)

  1. (obsolete) A man.
  2. (obsolete) Wergeld.

Related terms[edit]

Anagrams[edit]


Cornish[edit]

Adjective[edit]

wer

  1. 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

  1. (interrogative) who (what person or people)
    Wer hat das gesagt?Who said that?
  2. (interrogative, colloquial) what, which (one) (see usage notes)
  3. (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.
  4. (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

  1. (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

  1. so

Kuri[edit]

Noun[edit]

wer

  1. water

References[edit]


Meriam[edit]

Noun[edit]

wer

  1. egg
  2. testicle
  3. star

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)

  1. a man, a husband
Related terms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

  • wif (with respect to gender)
Descendants[edit]
  • English: wer, were

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old English wǣre.

Verb[edit]

wer

  1. Alternative form of were

Etymology 3[edit]

From Late Old English werre, wyrre (war).

Noun[edit]

wer

  1. Alternative form of werre (war)

Ndom[edit]

Noun[edit]

wer

  1. water

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

  1. man
    werwulfwerewolf (literally, “man-wolf”)
  2. husband
  3. (poetic) hero, warrior
  4. wergild (legal monetary equivalent of a man's life, to be paid in restitution for killing a man)
    werborga pledge to satisfy a wergild
  5. (in compounds) civil
    werrēafcivil dress, civil clothing
    werþēodpeople, folk, nation
Declension[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

  • wif (with respect to gender)
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
  • Middle English: wer

Etymology 2[edit]

From werian.

Noun[edit]

wer m (nominative plural weras)

  1. weir

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

  1. man
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Proto-Germanic *warją

Noun[edit]

wer n

  1. dam, weir

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

  1. man
  2. hero

Declension[edit]


Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]


Selaru[edit]

Noun[edit]

wer

  1. water

References[edit]

  • Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary

Tocharian B[edit]

Noun[edit]

wer

  1. hatred, enmity