erf

• airf

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)f

From Middle English erve, erfe, from Old English yrfe, ierfe (“heritage, bequest, inheritance, property, inherited property, property that passes to an heir, cattle, livestock”), from Proto-Germanic *arbiją (“heritage”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃erbʰ- (“to change ownership”) (from which also *h₃órbʰos (“orphan”)). Cognate with Dutch erf (“inheritance, patrimony, ground, courtyard”), German Erbe (“heritage, legacy, inheritance”), Danish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Swedish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌹 (arbi, “inheritance”), Latin orbus (“orphan”), Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “orphan”), Old English ierfa (“heir”). Related to orf.

erf (plural erfs)

1. (Northern England, Scotland, rare) Inheritance; patrimony.

   Son, you will have this farm to erf.

2. (by extension) Stock; cattle.

• erfkin

• The Dictionary of the Scots Language

From Dutch erf (“patrimony, ground”), related to English erf above.

erf (plural erfs or erven)

1. (US regional, Cape Colony, New York, South Africa) A small inherited house-and-garden lot in a village or settlement.

Abbreviation.

erf

1. (mathematics) error function

• REF, Ref, Ref., f***er, fer, ref

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛrf

From Middle Dutch erve, from Old Dutch ervi, from Proto-Germanic *arbiją.

erf n (plural erven, diminutive erfje n)

1. yard

See the etymology of the main entry.

erf

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

erf

1. Alternative form of erve