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”).
Cornish
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
- (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 (some unspecified person)
- Da ist wer an der Tür. – There's somebody at the door.
- (indefinite, colloquial) anybody, anyone (any one out of an indefinite number of persons)
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.
Hunsrik
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈvɛɐ̯/
See also
Kurdish
Kuri
References
- Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 123
Middle English
Etymology 1
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
- IPA(key): /wɛr/
Etymology 2
From Old English wǣre.
Etymology 3
From Late Old English werre, wyrre (“war”).
Ndom
References
- Oceanic linguistics, volumes 20 à 21, University Press of Hawaii, page 129, 1981
Old English
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 vīrs (“husband; man”) and vīrietis (“man”).
Declension
Etymology 2
From werian.
Old High German
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Etymology 2
From Proto-Germanic *warją
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Declension
Descendants
- warwulf
- werld