hver

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse hverr (“who, each”), from Proto-Germanic *hwarjaz (“which”), *hwarjazuh (“each”), cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk kven (“who”), kvar (“each”), Swedish vars (“whose”), varje (“each”) Gothic 𐍈𐌰𐍂𐌾𐌹𐍃 (ƕarjis, “which”), 𐍈𐌰𐍂𐌾𐌹𐌶𐌿𐌷 (ƕarjizuh, “each”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛːˀr/, [ˈʋɛˀɐ̯], [ˈʋɛɐ̯ˀ], [ʋɛɐ̯]
• Homophones: vejr, vær, værd

Pronoun

hver (neuter hvert)

1. (determiner) every, each
2. (pronoun) everyone

Derived terms

• enhver
• hverdag
• i hvert fald
• hver sin

References

• “hver” in Den Danske Ordbog

Icelandic

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hverr (from Proto-Germanic *hwarjaz) and *hver (from Proto-Germanic *hwaz), which were conflated in late Old Norse. Most of the inflected forms of *hwaz have since become obsolete, and what remains in form is essentially the descendant of *hwarjaz, but with an extra form for the neuter nominative and accusative singular: hvað from Old Norse hvat.

Alternative forms

• hvur, hvör

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʰvɛːr/, /kʰvʏːr/, /xʷɛːr/, /kʰvœːr/

Pronoun

hver (feminine hver, neuter hvert or hvað)

1. (interrogative) who, what

   Hver er ég?

   Who am I?

   Hver stal kökunni úr krúsinni í gær?

   Who stole the cookie from the jar last night?

2. (interrogative) which (referring to one or several of more than two things or persons; may be qualified by a noun phrase in genitive or a noun phrase with the preposition af (“of”))

   Hver þeirra finnst þér bestur, hvíti, græni eða appelsínuguli bíllinn?

   Which of these do you like best, the white, the green, or the orange car?

3. (interrogative, neuter singular) what, which part (referring to part of a mass or group of things or people considered collectively; may be qualified by a noun phrase with the preposition af (“of”))

   Við verðum að ákveða hvað af landinu við viljum vernda fyrir snjóflóð.

   We have to decide which part of the land we want to protect from avalanches.

4. (relative) whichever (of more than two things or persons; followed by a relative clause; may be qualified by a noun phrase in genitive or a noun phrase with the preposition af (“of”))

   Hver sem ég talaði við í dag var í góðu skapi.

   Whoever I talked to today was in a good mood.

5. (relative, neuter singular) whatever (followed by a relative clause; may be qualified by a noun phrase with the preposition af (“of”))

   Hvað sem ég reyndi, það tókst ekki.

   Whatever I tried, it didn't work.

6. (relative, chiefly archaic) who, which, that (used in the forming of relative clauses)
7. (indefinite) each, every

   Besta rúgbrauðið kemur frá Hveragerði. Það veit hver íslendingur.

   The best ‘rye bread’ is from Hveragerði. Every Icelander knows that.

   • Article 1, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Icelandic, English)

     Hver maður er borinn frjáls og jafn öðrum að virðingu og réttindum. Menn eru gæddir vitsmunum og samvizku, og ber þeim að breyta bróðurlega hverjum við annan.

     All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Usage notes

The neuter form hvað is used with senses 1, 3, and 5, hvert with the others. Compare also hvor, hvort (“which (of two)”).

Declension

    declension

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	hver	hver	hvert / hvað
accusative	hvern	hverja	hvert / hvað
dative	hverjum	hverri	hverju
genitive	hvers	hverrar	hvers
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	hverjir	hverjar	hver
accusative	hverja	hverjar	hver
dative	hverjum	hverjum	hverjum
genitive	hverra	hverra	hverra

Derived terms

• hvers konar? (how? what kind of?)
• hvers vegna? (why?)
• hver sem er (whoever)
• annar hver (every other one)
• hver af öðrum/hver eftir annan (one after the other)
• eins og hver annar (like everybody else)
• af hverju
• sinn er siður í landi hverju
• ber er hver að baki, nema sér bróður eigi
• leika við hvern sinn fingur
• hæla á hvert reipi

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hverr, from Proto-Germanic *hweraz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kʰvɛːr/
• IPA^(key): /xʷɛːr/

  Rhymes: -ɛːr

Noun

hver m (genitive singular hvers, nominative plural hverir or hverar)

1. a hot spring

Declension

Previously also declined according to the first declension, with plural hverar:

Synonyms

• (hot spring): laug, heit laug

Derived terms

• goshver

See also

• lind
• heitur pottur
• pottur

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Danish hver.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋæːr/
• Homophone: vær
• Rhymes: -æːr

Determiner

hver (neuter form hvert)

1. each

   Hvert barn fikk et stykke sjokolade.

   Each child got a piece of chocolate.

2. every

   Vi drar dit hver uke.

   We go there every week.

Derived terms

• annenhver
• hverdag

See also

• kvar (Nynorsk)

References

• “hver” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Old Norse

Noun

hver

1. accusative singular of hverr

Pronoun

hver

1. inflection of hverr:
   1. feminine nominative singular
   2. neuter nominative/accusative plural