er

See also: Appendix:Variations of "er"

Languages (54)

Afrikaans • Alemannic German • Bavarian • Breton • Cimbrian • Cornish • Crimean Tatar • Czech • Danish • Dutch • Faroese • Gagauz • German • Hunsrik • Icelandic • Indonesian • Italian • Jamtish • Japanese • Kembra • Latin • Latvian • Low German • Lower Sorbian • Malay • Mambae • Mandarin • Manx • Middle Dutch • Middle English • Middle High German • Mòcheno • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old Dutch • Old Frisian • Old High German • Old Norse • Old Prussian • Old Saxon • Old Tupi • Palauan • Pennsylvania German • Polabian • Polish • Salar • Saterland Frisian • Scots • Swedish • Turkish • Uzbek • Welsh • West Frisian

Page categories

English

Pronunciation

enPR: ûr, IPA^(key): /ɜː/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Rhymes: -ɜː(r)
Used in non-rhotic dialects. Compare uh.

Etymology 1

Mimetic (sound of hesitation)

Interjection

er

Said when hesitating in speech.
- 2012, Linda Miller, Desire and Destiny:
  If he—er—disappears—well, it seems to me that we'd both benefit.
- 2019 December 10, Yacht Club Games, "Story" (Mona), in Shovel Knight Showdown (version 4.1), Nintendo Switch:
  Liquid Samurai: 'FORMLESS AND INFINITE ARE WE, THE LIQUID SAMURAI. I SERVE MY QUEEN, AS WE HAVE FOR COUNTLESS--' / Mona: 'HEY, I DON'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT, BUT YOU SEEM LIKE YOU'RE MADE OF POWERFUL STUFF. CAN I, ER, STUDY YOU?'

hesitating in speech

Esperanto: nu (eo)

Verb

er (third-person singular simple present ers, present participle erring, simple past and past participle erred)

(informal) To utter the word "er" when hesitating in speech, found in the phrase um and er.
He ummed and erred his way through the presentation.

Etymology 2

Noun

er (plural ers)

The name of the Cyrillic script letter Р / р.

Anagrams

're, RE, Re, Ré, r.e., re, re-

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æːr/
Audio: (file)

Noun

er (plural erre or ers, diminutive erretjie)

The name of the Latin-script letter R/r.

Alemannic German

Etymology

From Old High German er, from Proto-Germanic *iz. Cognate with German er.

Pronoun

er m

(personal) he; it

Declension

Alemannic German personal pronouns

		nominative	accusative	dative	possessive m
1st person singular		ich, i	mich, mi	mir, mier, mer	min, miin
2nd person singular	familiar	du	dich, di	dir, dier, der	din, diin
2nd person singular	polite	Si		Ine, Ene, -ne	Ire
3rd person singular	m	er	in, en	im	sin, siin
	f	si		ire
	n	es, 's, -s		im	sin, siin
1st person plural		mir, mer	üs, öis, ois, eus		üse, öise, oise, euse
2nd person plural		ir, ier	öi, eu		öie, eure
3rd person plural		si		ine, ene, -ne	ire

Bavarian

Alternative forms

ea (phonetic spelling)
a (unstressed form)

Etymology

From Middle High German er, from Old High German er (“he”). Cognate with German er.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /eɐ̯/

Pronoun

er

he

Breton

Contraction

er

Contraction of e ur (“in a(n)”).
Contraction of e ar (“in the”).

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

èar (Sette Comuni)

Etymology

From Middle High German ër, from Old High German er, from Proto-West Germanic *iʀ (“he, it”), from Proto-Germanic *iz (“he, she, it, they”). Cognate with German er.

Pronoun

er

(Luserna) he, it

Inflection

Personal pronouns
	singular	plural
1st person	i	biar
2nd person	du	iar
3rd person	er, si, 'z	se

References

“er” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Cornish

Etymology 1

Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“in front”). See Welsh er.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɛr]

Preposition

er

for, by, on account of

Derived terms

er kov (“in memory of”)
erbynn (“by, against”)
mos er y bynn (“address”)

Etymology 2

From Old Cornish er, from Proto-Celtic *eriros (“eagle”) (compare Breton erer, Welsh eryr, Old Irish *irar), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃érō (“large bird”).

Pronunciation

(Revived Middle Cornish) IPA^(key): [ɛːr]
(Revived Late Cornish) IPA^(key): [eːr]

Noun

er m (plural eryon or eres)

eagle

Alternative forms

her

Etymology 3

From Middle Cornish er, borrowed from Middle English eir, from Anglo-Norman heir, from Latin hērēs.

Noun

er m (plural erys)

heir

Etymology 4

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “related to arlais? not in GM”)

Noun

er m (dual dewer, plural eryow)

(anatomy) temple

Etymology 5

From Proto-Celtic *sagro-. Cognate with Welsh haer.

Noun

er m

challenge, defiance, stubbornness, insistence, heresy

Etymology 6

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

er

Soft mutation of ger.

Crimean Tatar

Adjective

er

every

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈɛr]

Noun

er n (indeclinable)

The name of the Latin-script letter R/r.

Danish

Etymology

From Old Danish ær, Proto-Germanic *izum, *izud, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”). The infinitive of the verb (være) is from a different PIE root; the present tense is suppletive.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛr/, [ɛɐ̯], [ɛɒ̯̽], but often elided in spontaneous speech.

Verb

er

present of være

Dutch

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛr/, /ər/, /dər/

Etymology 1

Weak form of der, the unstressed form of daar ("there")

Adverb

er

there (unspecific to distance)
(with a preposition) it; him, her, them
Ik heb ermee gewerkt.
I have worked with it/them.

Je kunt er de bergen boven zien.
You can see the mountains above it/them.

Usage notes

Er is an unstressed variety of hier and daar, used when it is not needed to emphasize the specific location relative to the speaker.
With a preposition, er is used instead of hem, haar, het, ze to create a pronominal adverb. See also Category:Dutch pronominal adverbs.

Descendants

Petjo: d'r

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch iro, genitive of the personal pronoun (3rd person plural).

Adverb

er

(partitive pronoun) of them, of those (often not translated in English)
Mijn broer heeft drie kinderen en ik heb er twee.
My brother has three children and I have two. (literally: two of those)

Ik zie er geen meer.
I don't see any more (of them).

Synonyms

ervan

Derived terms

See Category:Dutch pronominal adverbs

Related terms

Anagrams

re

Faroese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /eːɹ/

Verb

er

third-person singular indicative present of vera
Hann er skipari.
He is a captain/skipper.

Hon er úr Føroyum.
She is from the Faroe Islands.

Tað er í ordan.
It's all right.

Gagauz

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Turkic *yẹr. Compare Turkish yer.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /eɾ/

Noun

er

German

Etymology

From Middle High German ër, from Old High German er, from Proto-West Germanic *iʀ, from Proto-Germanic *iz. In northern Middle High German and Old High German there also existed forms with initial h-, namely Middle High German her, Old High German her, from Proto-Germanic *hiz, whence Central Franconian hä and (from the accusative) Luxembourgish hien. Compare English he. The unusual spelling ih- in the forms ihm, ihn is not related to this. It was introduced in early modern German to distinguish these forms from im, in (when *iem, *ien could have been read as *jem, *jen).

Pronunciation

(standard) IPA^(key): /eːr/, [ʔeːɐ̯], [ʔɛɐ̯]

Audio: (file)
Audio: (file)
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -eːɐ̯
Homophone: Ehr

(colloquially in unstressed position) IPA^(key): /ɐ/

Pronoun

er

(personal) he.
Wo ist Klaus? Wo ist er? ― Where is Klaus? Where is he?

Dies ist mein Hund. Er heißt Waldi. ― This is my dog. His name is Waldi.
(personal) it (when the grammatical gender of the object/article/thing/animal etc., being referred to, is masculine (der)).
Dort steht ein Baum. Er ist über hundert Jahre alt. ― There stands a tree. It is more than 100 years old.
(personal) she (when the grammatical gender of the noun being referred to and designating a female person, is masculine (der)).
Im Frauengefängnis versuchte ein Häftling zu flüchten, aber er kam nicht weit. ― In the women’s prison, an inmate tried to escape, but she didn’t get very far.
(personal, archaic) Alternative spelling of Er (you (polite))
- (Can we date this quote?), Clemens Brentano, Geschichte vom braven Kasperl und dem schönen Annerl (edited). In: 1835, F. W. Gubitz (editor), Jahrbuch des Nützlichen und Unterhaltenden für 1835, p. 171:
  Da fuhr die Alte überraſcht auf und ſprach: Lieber Herr, gehe er doch nach Haus und bete er fein und lege er ſich ſchlafen.
  Then the old woman sprang up, surprised, and said: Dear gentleman, do go home and say your prayers and go to bed.
- 1837, Brothers Grimm, “Der junge Riese”, in Kinder- und Haus-Märchen, Band 2‎^[1], page 27:
  Da sprach er „Vater, ich sehe wohl, bei ihm werd ich nicht satt, will er mir einen Stab von Eisen verschaffen, der stark ist, und den ich vor meinen Knien nicht zerbrechen kann, so will ich wieder fort gehen.“ Da war der Bauer froh, und spannte seine zwei Pferde vor den Wagen, fuhr zum Schmied, und holte einen Stab so groß und dick, als ihn die zwei Pferde nur fahren konnten.
  Then he said: "Father, I can see that I shall not be able to eat my fill here. If you bring me a strong rod of iron that I cannot break, I shall go away again." Then the farmer was glad, and he harnessed his horses to the wagon, drove to the smithy, and fetched a rod so long and thick that his two horses could barely pull it.

Declension

German personal pronouns

	1st person	2nd person familiar¹	3rd person			1st person	2nd person familiar¹	3rd person	2nd person polite/formal
	singular					plural			singular and plural
	1st person	2nd person familiar¹	m	f	n	1st person	2nd person familiar¹	3rd person	2nd person polite/formal
nominative	ich	du -e²	er	sie -se²	es	wir	ihr	sie -se²	Sie Ihr³
genitive	meiner mein³	deiner dein³	seiner sein³	ihrer	seiner sein³	unser	euer	ihrer	Ihrer Euer³
dative	mir	dir	ihm	ihr	ihm	uns	euch	ihnen	Ihnen Euch³
accusative	mich	dich	ihn	sie -se²	es	uns	euch	sie -se²	Sie Euch³

¹These forms are sometimes capitalized, especially in letters. ²enclitic, colloquial ³archaic

In contemporary German, the genitive forms of personal pronouns are restricted to formal style and are infrequent even then. They may be used:
- for the genitive object still found in a handful of verbs: Ich erbarmte mich seiner. – "I had mercy on him". (Colloquially one would either use the dative case, or a prepositional object, or replace the verb with another.)
- with certain adjectives or prepositions that govern the genitive, such as statt ("instead of, in place of"): Ich kam statt seiner in die Mannschaft. – I joined the team in his place. (This sounds antiquated, for which reason an seiner Statt or an seiner Stelle is preferable.)
Older forms/spellings include:
- jm (dative; 16th century), jn (accusative; 16th century) – distinguished from im (“in the, into the”) and in (“in, into”)
- ihme (dative)

Derived terms

hatter (hat er; colloquial)

Hunsrik

Alternative forms

ëyer (Wiesemann spelling system)

Etymology

From Old High German er, from Proto-Germanic *iz. Displaced the northern Old High German forms with h-, e.g. hē, her (see he).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɛɐ/

Pronoun

er

he

Inflection

Hunsrik personal pronouns

	nominative		accusative		dative
	Proclitic	Enclitic	str.	unstr.	str.	unstr.
1st person singular	ich eich	-ich	mich meich		meer	mer m'r
2nd person singular (informal)	du dau/Dau	-du, -de -Dau, -De	dich deich/Deich		deer	der d'r/D'r
3rd person singular (m.)	er; där	-er	ihn	en	ihm	em
3rd person singular (f.)	sie; die	-se	sie / ihns	se	eer ehr	re
3rd person singular (n.)	es; das et, 't	's	es et	-et, -'t	ihm	em
1st person plural	meer	mer	uns uhs
2nd person plural	deer Ehr, Dehr	der	eich Auch
3rd person plural	sie; die	-se	sie	se	denne

Icelandic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛːr/

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Etymology 1

Old Norse er (“is”, 3rd person singular), analogical leveling of earlier es, from Proto-Germanic *isti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésti.

Use with the 1st person singular is also by analogy with other forms in er-; the Old Norse 1st person singular form was em.

Verb

er

first-person singular indicative present of vera
Ég er skemmtilegur.
I am fun (masculine)

Hver er ég?
Who am I?
third-person singular indicative present of vera
Veit einhver hvar pabbi minn er?
Does anybody know where my dad is?

Hver er hann?
Who is he?

Etymology 2

Old Norse er, from Proto-Germanic *iz (“he”), from Proto-Indo-European *ís (“he, that”).

Pronoun

er

(relative) which
Maður er sá, er Jón heitir.
There is a man who is named John.

Konan, er hann var að tala við.
The woman to whom he was talking.

Þetta er borgin, er hann kom frá.
This is the city from which he originated.

Bærinn, er hún ætlar til.
The town to which she's heading.
(archaic) in relations with a demonstrative pronoun (this, that, these) or personal pronoun (I, we, they), which represents the genitive of a relative pronoun.
Það er sú bók, er menn þekkja eigi höfund hennar.
There is a book whose author people don't know.

Conjunction

er

(with an "indexical"; ábendingarorð) of a place, of a time
- Judges 2:19
  En er dómarinn andaðist, breyttu þeir að nýju verr en feður þeirra, með því að elta aðra guði til þess að þjóna þeim og falla fram fyrir þeim. Þeir létu eigi af gjörðum sínum né þrjóskubreytni sinni.
  But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
Þar er ég kom.
There whence I came.

Þá er myndin var búin.
When the movie was finished.

Derived terms

þá er þegar

References

"er", in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch er.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛr/, [ɛr]

Noun

èr

The name of the Latin-script letter R/r.

Synonyms

ar (Standard Malay)

Italian

Alternative forms

'r (after vowels)

Article

er m sg

(Roman) Dialectal form of el, whence modern il

Jamtish

Verb

er

present indicative of vara

Japanese

Alternative forms

ler(ラー) (-rā)

Etymology

From English -er, forming novel pseudo-Anglicisms.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [a̠ː]

Suffix

er(アー) • (-ā)

(slang) Suffix used for people, especially fans.

Derived terms

Japanese terms suffixed with er

Japanese terms suffixed with ler

Related terms

ist(イスト) (-isuto)

Kembra

Noun

er

water

Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *hēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰḗr (“hedgehog”) (whence also Ancient Greek χήρ (khḗr, “hedgehog”)), a root noun from *ǵʰer- (“to be excited, be bristly”), whence also Ancient Greek χοῖρος (khoîros, “young pig”) and Albanian derr (“pig”) from *ǵʰór-yos.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /eːr/, [eːr]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /er/, [ɛr]

Noun

ēr m (genitive ēris); third declension

hedgehog

Usage notes

There is some uncertainty as to the exact forms of this word, especially regarding whether the lemma form of this was ēr or ēris, as the forms attested in literature could point to either option. Another form, irim (acc. sing.; found in Plautus, Capt. 184), seems to be a spelling variant.

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ēr	ērēs
Genitive	ēris	ērum
Dative	ērī	ēribus
Accusative	ērem	ērēs
Ablative	ēre	ēribus
Vocative	ēr	ērēs

Related terms

ēricius (“hedgehog; picket”)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /er/, [ɛr]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /er/, [ɛr]

Noun

er f (indeclinable)

The name of the letter R.

Usage notes

Multiple Latin names for the letter R, r have been suggested. The most common is er or a syllabic r, although there is some evidence which also supports, as names for the letter, rē, rrr, ər, rə, and even (in the fourth- or fifth-century first Antinoë papyrus, which gives Greek transliterations of the Latin names of the Roman alphabet’s letters) ιρρε (irrhe).

Coordinate terms

(Latin-script letter names) littera; ā, bē, cē, dē, ē, ef, gē, hā / *acca, ī, kā, el, em, en, ō, pē, kū, er, es, tē, ū, ix / īx / ex, ȳ / ī graeca / ȳpsīlon, zēta

References

"ēr", in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
ēr in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Arthur E. Gordon, The Letter Names of the Latin Alphabet (University of California Press, 1973; volume 9 of University of California Publications: Classical Studies), especially pages 30–31, 42–44, and 63

^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “ēr”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 193

Latvian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɛɾ]
Audio: (file)

Noun

er m (invariable)

The Latvian name of the Latin script letter R/r.

Low German

Pronoun

er

Alternative spelling of ehr

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛr/

Noun

er m inan

The name of the Latin-script letter r/R.

Malay

Etymology

Possibly borrowed from English er or is a pronunciation spelling of a in non-rhotic Malay accents.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ə]

Interjection

er

Used to express hesitation; er, uh.
Synonym: a

Er, kita tengah ke mana ni?
Er, where are we going?

Mambae

Noun

er

water

References

Mambai Language Manual: Ainaro Dialect (2001)

Mandarin

Romanization

er

Nonstandard spelling of ēr.
Nonstandard spelling of ér.
Nonstandard spelling of ěr.
Nonstandard spelling of èr.

Usage notes

Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Manx

Etymology

From a conflation of three Old Irish prepositions:

ar, air (“for”) (triggering lenition), from Proto-Celtic *ɸare (“in front of”), from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥h₂i. Cognates include Ancient Greek παρά (pará, “beside”) and English fore.
for (“on”) (triggering no mutation), from Proto-Celtic *uɸor (“over, on”) (compare Welsh ar, Breton war), from Proto-Indo-European *upér (compare Latin super, Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér), Old English ofer).
íar (“after”) (triggering eclipsis), from Proto-Celtic *eɸirom (“after, behind”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.

Cognates include Irish ar and Scottish Gaelic air.

Preposition

er

Inflection

	Singular				Plural
Person	1st	2nd	3rd m.	3rd f.	1st	2nd	3rd
Normal	orrym	ort	er	urree	orrin	erriu	orroo
Emphatic	orryms	orts	ersyn	urreeish	orrinyn	erriuish	orroosyn

Pronoun

er

third-person singular of er
on him/it

Derived terms

ersyn (emphatic)

Middle Dutch

Adverb

er

unstressed form of dāer

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English ǣr, from Proto-West Germanic *airi, from Proto-Germanic *airi.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛːr/

Adverb

er

Derived terms

erly

Descendants

English: ere
Scots: air
Yola: ear

References

“ēr, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2020-05-25.

Etymology 2

Determiner

er

Alternative form of hire (“her”, genitive)

Pronoun

er

Alternative form of hire (“hers”)

Etymology 3

Pronoun

er

Alternative form of hire (“her”, object)

Etymology 4

Noun

er

Alternative form of eere (“ear of grain”)

Etymology 5

Determiner

er

Alternative form of here (“their”)

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German er, from Proto-Germanic *iz (“he”).

Pronoun

ër

(personal) he

Inflection

Middle High German personal pronouns
Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Singular	First		ich	mīn	mir	mich
	Second		du, dū	dīn	dir	dich
	Third	Masculine	ër CG hë(r)	sīn	im(e)	in
		Feminine	siu	ir(e)	ir(e)	sie
		Neuter	ëȥ CG iȥ, it	es	im(e)	ëȥ CG iȥ, it
Plural	First		wir	unser	uns	uns, unsich
	Second		ir	iuwer	iu, iuch	iuch
	Third	Masculine	sie	ir(e)	in	sie
		Feminine	sie			sie
		Neuter	siu			siu
The distinction of the forms siu and sie as shown above is typical of earlier Upper German texts, but was never general. The forms sī and si existed additionally and all four were increasingly used without differentiation.

Descendants

Alemannic German:
Low Alemannic:
Alsatian: ar, er, ër

Badisch: er

High Alemannic: er, är
Bernese: är

Lucerne: aer

Northeastern: ar

Walser: är
Swabian: er, ear
Swabian Jura: ear
Bavarian: er
- Cimbrian: èar, er, ar
- Mòcheno: er
Central Franconian:
Moselle Franconian: er
- Hunsrik: er, ëyer (Wiesemann spelling system)
East Central German:
High Prussian: er

Silesian East Central German:
Lower Silesian East Central German: a

Upper Silesian East Central German: a

North Moravian: ar

Thuringian: er
Central Thuringian: er

West Thuringian: aa

Upper Saxon German: är
Meißnisch: är

Osterländisch: är

Erzgebirgisch: aorr

Lusatian: ar
German: er
Berlinerisch: er/ea
East Franconian: er, ea
Unterfränkisch: ar

Hohenlohisch: er
Rhine Franconian:
Upper Hessian: er

Lorraine Franconian: ér, éa

Palatine German: er
- Pennsylvania German: er
Yiddish: ער (er)

References

Benecke, Georg Friedrich, Müller, Wilhelm, Zarncke, Friedrich (1863) “ër”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel

Mòcheno

Etymology

From Middle High German ër, from Old High German er, from Proto-West Germanic *iʀ (“he, it”), from Proto-Germanic *iz (“he, she, it, they”). Cognate with German er.

Pronoun

er

he, it

Inflection

Personal pronouns
	singular	plural
1st person	i	biar
2nd person	du	ir
3rd person	er, si, s	sei

References

“er” in Cimbrian, Ladin, Mòcheno: Getting to know 3 peoples. 2015. Servizio minoranze linguistiche locali della Provincia autonoma di Trento, Trento, Italy.

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /eːɾ/, [æːɾ]

Verb

er

present of være (=to be)
Han er ikke hjem. ― He is not home.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /æː(r)/, /eː(r)/

Verb

er

is, are, am (present of to be) present of vera
Eg er framand. ― I am a stranger.
(auxiliary) be
Boka er skriven. ― The book is written

Bøkene er skrivne. ― The books are written.

References

“vera” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
“er på engelsk”, in DinOrdbok, Nynorsk-engelsk oversettelse, 2018 October 15 (last accessed)

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *airi, from Proto-Germanic *airiz.

Preposition

ēr

before, earlier than

Descendants

Middle Dutch: êer
- Dutch: eer
  - Afrikaans: eer
- Limburgish: ieër

Conjunction

ēr

ere, afore

Descendants

Middle Dutch: êer
- Dutch: eer
  - Afrikaans: eer
- Limburgish: ieër

Adverb

ēr

previously, in an earlier period, in a bygone time
earlier, before a certain time or period

Descendants

Middle Dutch: êer

Old Frisian

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *airi, from Proto-Germanic *airiz. Cognates include Old English ǣr, Old Saxon ēr and Old Dutch ēr.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈeːr/, [ˈɛːr]

Adverb

ēr

earlier, previously

Preposition

ēr (+ dative)

before (of time)

Descendants

Saterland Frisian: eer
West Frisian: ear't

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈeːr/, [ˈɛːr]

Noun

ēr f

Alternative form of ēre

References

Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009) An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

Old High German

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *airi, from Proto-Germanic *airiz, whence also Old English ær.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /eːr/

Adjective

ēr

early

Adverb

ēr

ere, before
formerly

Conjunction

ēr

before, until

Preposition

ēr (+ dative)

before

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *aiz, akin to Old English ār, Old Norse eir.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /eːr/

Noun

ēr n

ore
brass

Descendants

Middle High German: er
- Alemannic German: Eer
  - ⇒ Alemannic German: eerig
⇒ Old High German: ērīn
- Middle High German: ērīn
  - German: ehern

Etymology 3

From Proto-Germanic *iz (“he”), akin to Gothic 𐌹𐍃 (is, “he”), Latin is (“he”).

Alternative forms

her (northern)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /er/

Pronoun

er

he
- c. 825, Tatian, Diatessaron, translation, Chapter 13, verse 20.
  […] Bist thu wīzago? inti her antlingota nein […]
  […] Are you prophet? and he responded no […]

Inflection

Old High German personal pronouns
Number	Person	Gender	Nominative	Genitive	Dative	Accusative
Singular	First		ih (ihha, ihcha)	mīn	mir	mih
	Second		dū	dīn	dir	dih
	Third	Masculine	er (her)	(sīn)	imu, imo	inan, in
		Feminine	siu; sī, si	ira (iru, iro)	iru, iro	sia
		Neuter	iz	es, is	imu, imo	iz
Plural	First		wir	unsēr	uns	unsih
	Second		ir	iuwēr	iu	iuwih
	Third	Masculine	sie	iro	im, in	sie
		Feminine	sio	iro	im, in	sio
		Neuter	siu	iro	im, in	siu
Polite form	Second		ir	iuwēr	iu	iuwih

Descendants

Middle High German: ër (see there for further descendants)

References

Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer

Old Norse

Alternative forms

es, -'s

Etymology 1

From earlier es, from Proto-Germanic *iz (“he; 3rd person personal pronoun”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌹𐍃 (is), Old High German ēr (German er).

Pronoun

er

who, which, that
- verse 76 of the Hávamál (1996 translation by Carolyne Larrington)
  en orðstírr / deyr aldregi / hveim er sér góðan getr
  but the glory of reputation never dies, / for the man who can get himself a good one

Conjunction

er

where
when
En er hann dó, grét ǫll verǫldin
and when he died, the whole world cried.

Descendants

Icelandic: er
Faroese: er
Old Swedish: ær

Usage notes

The oldest Icelandic manuscripts from the 12th century still have the older form es, and many poems metrically require the contracted form -s (which is also sporadically present in later manuscripts like the late 13th century Codex Regius). In spite of this, most editors chose never to restore er to es, Finnur Jónsson and the editors of the Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages series being important exceptions.

Etymology 2

From earlier es, from Proto-Norse ᛁᛊᛏ (ist), from Proto-Germanic *isti, first/third-person singular indicative present of *wesaną. The final -s was replaced by -r due to analogy to the plural forms of the verb.

Verb

er

third-person singular indicative present of vera

Usage notes

See above; the same rules apply.

Descendants

Icelandic: er
Faroese: er
Norwegian:
- Norwegian Bokmål: er
- Norwegian Nynorsk: er
Jamtish: er
Elfdalian: ir
Old Swedish: ær
- Swedish: är
Danish: er
Old Gutnish: ier

References

"er", in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Old Prussian

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-/*h₂r̥-. Cognate with Lithuanian ar̃ (“also, if”), Latvian ar (“also”), Ancient Greek ἄρ (ár, “hence, as well as”).

Preposition

er + (optionally another preposition)

until, to, up to

Derived terms

ergi

Particle

er

as well as

References

Mažiulis, Vytautas (1988) “er”, in Prūsų kalbos etimologijos žodynas [Etymological dictionary of Old Prussian]‎^[3] (in Lithuanian), volume 1, Vilnius: Mokslas, pages 282-283

Old Saxon

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛːr/

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *airi, whence also Old English ær.

Adjective

ēr

early

Declension

Positive forms of ēr

Strong declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	ēr	ēre, ēra	ēr	ēra	ēr	ēr, ēra
accusative	ēran, ēren	ēra, ēre	ēra	ēra	ēr	ēr, ēra
genitive	ēres, ēras	ēraro, ēroro, ērero	ērara, ēraro	ēraro, ēroro, ērero	ēres, ēras	ēraro, ēroro, ērero
dative	ērumu, ērum, ērun, ērun, ēron, ēren, ēran	ērun, ēron, ērum	ēraro, ēraru, ērara	ērun, ēron	ērumu, ērum, ērun, ērun, ēron, ēren, ēran	ērun, ēron, ērum
Weak declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	ēro, ēra	ēron, ērun	ēra, ēre	ēron, ērun, ēran	ēra, ēre	ēron, ērun
accusative	ēron, ēran	ēron, ērun	ērun, ēron, ēran	ēron, ērun, ēran	ēra, ēre	ēron, ērun
genitive	ēren, ēran	ērono, ēreno	ērun, ēran, ēren	ērono	ēren, ēran	ērono, ēreno
dative	ēron, ēren, ēran	ēron, ērun	ērun, ēran	ēron, ērun	ēron, ēren, ēran	ēron, ērun

Adverb

ēr

before, ere
formerly

Conjunction

ēr

before

Preposition

ēr (+ dative)

before

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *aiz, whence also Old English ār.

Noun

ēr ?

copper, bronze
ore

Descendants

Middle Low German: ēr

Etymology 3

From Proto-Germanic *airuz. Cognate with Old English ār, Old Norse árr, Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌿𐍃 (airus).

Noun

ēr m

messenger, herald

Old Tupi

Etymology

Back-formation from era (“name”).^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ/
Rhymes: -ɛɾ
Hyphenation: er

Adjective

er (IIa class pluriform, R1 rer, R2 ser, noun form era)

named; having a name

Derived terms

seryba'e

References

^ Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2013) “era”, in Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil [Dictionary of Old Tupi: The Classical Indigenous Language of Brazil] (overall work in Portuguese), São Paulo: Global, →ISBN, page 109, column 1

Palauan

Preposition

er

Used to indicate a specific object noun phrase.
el mo er a medad ― in the future.

er a elecha el tutau ― this morning.

rakket er a tenis ― tennis racket.

References

er in Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary, at tekinged.com.
er in Palauan-English Dictionary, at trussel2.com.
er in Lewis S. Josephs, Edwin G. McManus, Masa-aki Emesiochel (1977) Palauan-English Dictionary, University Press of Hawaii, →ISBN, page 88.

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German er.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛɐ̯/

Pronoun

er

he

Declension

Pennsylvania German personal pronouns

	1st person	2nd person familiar	2nd person polite/formal	3rd person			1st person	2nd person	3rd person
	singular						plural
	1st person	2nd person familiar	2nd person polite/formal	m	f	n	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
nominative	ich	du de¹	dihr der¹ Sie	er	sie se¹	es	mir mer¹	dihr der¹	sie
dative	mir mer¹	dir der¹	eich Ihne Ne¹	ihm em¹	ihre re¹	ihm em¹	uns	eich	ihne ne¹
accusative	mich	dich	eich Sie	ihn en¹	sie se¹	es	uns	eich	sie

¹unstressed

Polabian

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Low German ere／eren／here.

Noun

er m ?

master, gentleman

Adverb

er

Alternative form of ar

References

^{The template Template:R:pox:SejDp does not use the parameter(s): 3=2
Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.}Polański, Kazimierz (1971) “er”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka Drzewian połabskich [Etymological Dictionary of the Polabian Drevani Language] (in Polish), number 2 (ďüzd – ľotü), Wrocław, Warszawa etc.: Ossolineum, page 145
Polański, Kazimierz, James Allen Sehnert (1967) “er”, in Polabian-English Dictionary, The Hague, Paris: Mouton & Co, page 60
Olesch, Reinhold (1962) “Herr”, in Thesaurus Linguae Dravaenopolabicae [Thesaurus of the Drevani language] (in German), volumes 1: A – O, Cologne, Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, →ISBN, page 237

Polish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɛr/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɛr
Syllabification: er

Noun

er f

genitive plural of era

Salar

Etymology 1

From Old Turkic erür.

Noun

er

is, are

Etymology 2

From Proto-Turkic *ēr. Cognate to Azerbaijani ər, Turkish er, Turkmen är.

Noun

er

man

Etymology 3

From Proto-Turkic *ẹ̄r. Cognate to Turkish er, Turkmen īr.

Adjective

er

(Dialectal, Mengda, Ejia) early

Adverb

er

morning
long time ago

Derived terms

ergi
ette
er-geş (“morning and evening”)

References

Tenishev, Edhem (1976) “eř, er”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow, page 326
马伟 [Ma Wei], 朝克 [Chao Ke] (2014) “er”, in 撒拉语366条会话读本 [Salar 366 Conversation Reader]‎^[4], 1^st edition, 社会科学文献出版社 [Social Science Literature Press], →ISBN, page 105
马伟 (Ma Wei), 朝克 (Chao Ke) (2016) “er, erğine”, in 濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages - Salar Language Studies], 青海 (Qinghai): 国家社会科学基金项目 (National Social Science Foundation Project), pages 108, 262
林莲云 [Lin Lianyun] (1985) “er”, in 撒拉语简志 [A Brief History of Salar]‎^[5], Beijing: 民族出版社: 琴書店, →OCLC, pages 33, 134
Ma, Chengjun, Han, Lianye, Ma, Weisheng (December 2010) “er”, in 米娜瓦尔艾比布拉 (Minavar Abibra), editor, 撒维汉词典 (Sāwéihàncídiǎn) [Salar-Uyghur-Chinese dictionary] (in Chinese), 1st edition, Beijing, →ISBN, page 103

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian -er, from Proto-West Germanic *iʀ. Cognates include West Frisian er and German er.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ər/

Pronoun

er

unstressed form of hie (“he”)

References

Marron C. Fort (2015) “er”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Scots

Etymology 1

Verb

er

(Southern Scots) Second-person simple present form of ti be
(Southern Scots) Plural simple present form of ti be
(Southern Scots) First-person singular simple present form of an obscure form of ti be
A'm er so!
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

Usage notes

Used emphatically. See ir.

Etymology 2

Noun

er (plural ers)

Shetland form of air (“beach”)

References

“er, n.⁴” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.

Swedish

Etymology

Contraction of earlier eder, from Old Swedish iþer, idher, from Old Norse iðʀ, from Proto-Germanic *izwiz, dative/accusative of *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /eːr/

Pronoun

er c (neuter possessive only ert, plural era)

you (plural, object)
Synonym: (formal, archaic) eder
(possessive) your, yours; (speaking to more than one person, about one object)
Synonyms: (informal) eran, (formal, archaic) eder
(reflexive pronoun) reflexive of ni; compare yourselves
Skulle ni vilja lära er jonglera?
Would you guys like to learn how to juggle?

Usage notes

See ni for a note on its use as a courteous 2nd person singular.
Even though er (2) and its archaic form eder is the possessive pronoun, it does have a genitive form ers and eders, which is only used in expressions like Ers Majestät (“Your Majesty”) and Ers Höghet (“Your Highness”).

Declension

Swedish personal pronouns

Number	Person	Type	Nominative	Oblique	Possessive
Number	Person	Type	Nominative	Oblique	common	neuter	plural
singular	first	—	jag	mig, mej³	min	mitt	mina
	second	—	du	dig, dej³	din	ditt	dina
	third	masculine (person)	han	honom, han², en⁵	hans
		feminine (person)	hon	henne, na⁵	hennes
		gender-neutral (person)¹	hen	hen, henom⁷	hens
		common (noun)	den	den	dess
		neuter (noun)	det	det	dess
		indefinite	man or en⁴	en	ens
		reflexive	—	sig, sej³	sin	sitt	sina
plural	first	—	vi	oss	vår, våran²	vårt, vårat²	våra
	second	—	ni	er	er, eran², ers⁶	ert, erat²	era
	second	archaic	I	eder	eder, eders⁶	edert	edra
	third	—	de, dom³	dem, dom³	deras
	third	reflexive	—	sig, sej³	sin	sitt	sina

¹Neologism. Usage has increased since 2010, and has gained widespread acceptance today.

²Informal

³Colloquial pronunciation spelling.

⁴Dialectal, also used lately as an alternative to man, to avoid association to the male gender.

⁵Informal, somewhat dialectal

⁶Formal address

⁷Discouraged by the Swedish Language Council

Anagrams

-re, re-

Turkish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛɾ/, [æɾ]
Rhymes: -æɾ

Etymology 1

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ایر, ار, from Proto-Turkic *ẹ̄r (“early”). Related to Old Turkic 𐰼 (er).

Adverb

er

(dialectal) early
Synonym: erken

Usage notes

Also found in widespread non-dialectal use in phrases such as er ya da geç ("sooner or later")

Etymology 2

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ار, from Proto-Turkic *ēr (“man”). Related to noun-forming suffix -er and Old Turkic 𐰼 (er).

Noun

er (definite accusative eri, plural erler)

brave
man, male
noble
conscript, private (soldier of the lowest rank of the army)
tribesman
warrior

Declension

Inflection

Nominative

er

Definite accusative

eri

Singular

Plural

Nominative

er

erler

Definite accusative

eri

erleri

Dative

ere

Locative

Ablative

Genitive

Possessive forms
Nominative
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	erim	erlerim
2nd singular	erin	erlerin
3rd singular	eri	erleri
1st plural	erimiz	erlerimiz
2nd plural	eriniz	erleriniz
3rd plural	erleri	erleri
Definite accusative
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	erimi	erlerimi
2nd singular	erini	erlerini
3rd singular	erini	erlerini
1st plural	erimizi	erlerimizi
2nd plural	erinizi	erlerinizi
3rd plural	erlerini	erlerini
Dative
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	erime	erlerime
2nd singular	erine	erlerine
3rd singular	erine	erlerine
1st plural	erimize	erlerimize
2nd plural	erinize	erlerinize
3rd plural	erlerine	erlerine
Locative
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	erimde	erlerimde
2nd singular	erinde	erlerinde
3rd singular	erinde	erlerinde
1st plural	erimizde	erlerimizde
2nd plural	erinizde	erlerinizde
3rd plural	erlerinde	erlerinde
Ablative
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	erimden	erlerimden
2nd singular	erinden	erlerinden
3rd singular	erinden	erlerinden
1st plural	erimizden	erlerimizden
2nd plural	erinizden	erlerinizden
3rd plural	erlerinden	erlerinden
Genitive
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	erimin	erlerimin
2nd singular	erinin	erlerinin
3rd singular	erinin	erlerinin
1st plural	erimizin	erlerimizin
2nd plural	erinizin	erlerinizin
3rd plural	erlerinin	erlerinin

Predicative forms
	Singular	Plural
1st singular	erim	erlerim
2nd singular	ersin	erlersin
3rd singular	er erdir	erler erlerdir
1st plural	eriz	erleriz
2nd plural	ersiniz	erlersiniz
3rd plural	erler	erlerdir

Derived terms

er bezi

Etymology 3

Verb

er

second-person singular imperative of ermek

Uzbek

Other scripts
Yangi Imlo
Cyrillic	эр‍
Latin	‍
Perso-Arabic (Afghanistan)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *ēr.

Noun

er (plural erlar)

man
Synonym: erkak
husband
Synonym: zavj

Antonym: xotin

Derived terms

er-xotin

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛr/

Etymology 1

From Middle Welsh yr, from Proto-Brythonic *er, from Proto-Celtic *ɸeri, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“in front”). Compare Cornish er (“for, by”), Ancient Greek περί (perí, “about, peri-”), Latin per (“through”).^[1]

Conjunction

er

although
- 2018 September 28, “Cymraeg y Wladfa a Chymraeg Cymru - beth yw'r gwahaniaethau?”, in BBC Cymru Fyw:
  Nid y Sbaeneg (er y byddai hynny'n syniad da hefyd) ond Cymraeg arbennig y Wladfa.
  Not Spanish (although that would also be a good idea) but the particular Welsh of Y Wladfa.
- 2019 June 13, Llinos Lee, “Y Barri: Mwy na dim ond 'Gavin & Stacey'”, in BBC Cymru Fyw:
  Ges i fy magu yn Y Barri, ac er mod i wedi symud i ffwrdd i'r brifysgol, …
  I was brought up in Barry, and although I moved away for university, …

Preposition

er (triggers soft mutation)

(literary) since
Synonym: ers
(archaic) in spite of, despite
Synonym: er gwaethaf
(archaic) in order to
Synonyms: er mwyn, i
(archaic) for the sake of
Synonym: er mwyn
(obsolete) because of
Synonyms: achos, o achos, oherwydd, oblegid
(obsolete) for, in exchange for
Synonym: am
(obsolete) resulting in
(obsolete) through
Synonyms: trwy, drwy

Usage notes

In very formal or literary language, er is used when a specific start time is mentioned.

Saif y castell yma er 1284.

The castle has stood here since 1284.

Y mae’r castell yn adfail er pan fu farw’r brenin olaf.

The castle has been a ruin since the last king died.

Ers is used when the beginning of the time period is not mentioned.

Mae’r castell yma ers canrifoedd.

The castle has been here for centuries.

In less formal registers, ers is used in all instances.

Derived terms

er mwyn (“for the sake of; in order to”)
er gwaethaf (“despite”)
ers (“since”)

Inflection

Personal forms (literary)

	Singular	Plural
First person	erof	erom
Second person	erot	eroch
Third person	erddo m erddi f	erddynt

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

er f (plural eriau)

The name of the Latin-script letter R/r.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
er	unchanged	unchanged	her
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

^ R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “er”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

West Frisian

Pronoun

er

clitic form of hy used before the object or after the verb.

[1] De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “ēr”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 193

[2] Eduardo de Almeida Navarro (2013) “era”, in Dicionário de tupi antigo: a língua indígena clássica do Brasil [Dictionary of Old Tupi: The Classical Indigenous Language of Brazil] (overall work in Portuguese), São Paulo: Global, →ISBN, page 109, column 1

[3] R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “er”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

[1]

[1]

[1]

		nominative		accusative		dative
		stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed	stressed	unstressed
1^st person singular		i	—	mi	—	mia (mir)	ma
2^nd person singular (informal)		du	—	di	—	dia (dir)	da
2^nd person singular (formal)		Sie	—	Eahna	—	Eahna	—
3^rd person singular	m	er	a	eahm	'n	eahm	'n
	n	es, des	's	des	's	eahm	'n
	f	se, de	's	se	's	ihr	—
1^st person plural		mia (mir)	ma	uns	—	uns	—
2^nd person plural		eß, ihr	—	enk, eich	—	enk, eich	—
3^rd person plural		se	's	eahna	—	eahna	—

	singular					plural
	1st	2nd	3rd m	3rd f	3rd n	1st	2nd	3rd
stressed	iek	du	hie	ju	dät	wie	jie	jo
unstressed	iek	du	er	ze	et	wie	jie	ze
objective	mie	die	him	hier	dät	uus	jou	hier

er

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Interjection

Verb

See also

Etymology 2

Noun

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

Noun

Alemannic German

Etymology

Pronoun

Declension

Bavarian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Pronoun

See also

Breton

Contraction

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronoun

Inflection

References

Cornish

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Preposition

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

Alternative forms

Etymology 3

Noun

Etymology 4

Noun

Etymology 5

Noun

Etymology 6

Noun

Crimean Tatar

Adjective

Czech

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Danish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Dutch

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Adverb

Usage notes

Descendants

Etymology 2

Adverb

Synonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Anagrams

Faroese

Pronunciation

Verb

Gagauz

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

German

Etymology