wer

See also: wër, wer-, and WER

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

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”).

Noun

wer (plural wers)

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

Anagrams

Cornish

Adjective

wer

  1. Soft mutation of gwer.

German

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis. Related to wo.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /veːɐ̯/, /vɛɐ̯/
  • Audio(file)
  • Homophone: Wehr
  • Rhymes: -eːɐ̯

Pronoun

wer

  1. (interrogative) who
    Wer hat das gesagt? – Who said that?
  2. (interrogative, colloquial) what (see usage notes)
  3. (relative) whoever, he who, someone who
    Wer eine Frage hat, kann sich jetzt melden.
    Whoever has a question, put up their hands now.
  4. (indefinite, colloquial) somebody, someone
    Da ist wer an der Tür. – There's somebody at the door.

Usage notes

  • (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

Synonyms

Hunsrik

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈvɛɐ̯/

Pronoun

wer

  1. (interrogative) who
    Wer kommd dart?
    Who goes there?
    Wer sihst-du?
    Who do you see?

See also

Further reading

Kurdish

Adverb

wer

  1. so

Kuri

Noun

wer

  1. water

Reference

Meriam

Noun

wer

  1. egg
  2. testicle
  3. star

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English wer, compare Old Norse verr

Noun

wer (plural wers)

  1. a man, a husband
  2. Alternative spelling of war

Verb

wer

  1. were

Ndom

Noun

wer

  1. water

Reference

  • Oceanic linguistics, volumes 20 à 21, University Press of Hawaii, page 129, 1981

Old English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wer/

Etymology 1

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, and Latvian virs (archaic, "man", modern usage = husband) and virietis (man)

Noun

wer m

  1. man
  2. husband
  3. (poetic) hero
Declension
Derived terms
Descendants
  • Middle English: wer

Etymology 2

From werian.

Noun

wer m (nominative plural weras)

  1. weir

Old High German

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.

Noun

wer m

  1. man
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *warją

Noun

wer n

  1. dam, weir

Descendants

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.

Noun

wer m

  1. man
  2. hero

Declension


Derived terms

Descendants

  • warwulf
  • werld

Selaru

Noun

wer

  1. water

References

  • Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary
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