different between wer vs wem
wer
English
Alternative forms
- were
Etymology
From Middle English wer, were, 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”), Old Irish fer, Middle Welsh gwr. The original meaning of “man” is now preserved only in compounds like werewolf, were wolf (“man-wolf”) and wergeld, were gild (“man gold (payment)”).
Noun
wer (plural wers)
- (obsolete or historical) A man; a male; a husband
- 1862, E. William Robertson, Scotland Under Her Early Kings, page 137:
- […] the character of a horseman was inseparable connected with the knight—the military attendant of the baron, who was himself nothing more than the Wer, or Man, of the king—even the armiger, […]
- 1864, Thomas Oswald Cockayne, Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England [...] from Brit. mus. ms. Cotton. Vitellius C. III, page 205:
- Further is this wort of two kinds, wer and wife, or male and female. The wer, or male, hath white blossoms, and the wife, or female, hath red or brown; either is beneficial and wonderlike, and they have on them wondrous virtue.
- 1862, E. William Robertson, Scotland Under Her Early Kings, page 137:
- (obsolete or historical) A fine for slaying a man; wergeld.
- 1876, Essays in Anglo-Saxon Law, page 144:
- Under the system of money compensation, the kindred of the slain must demand payment of the wer, or prosecute the feud. They had the right to the wer when paid, and must by oath release the slayer and his kindred from the feud.
- 1876, Essays in Anglo-Saxon Law, page 144:
Related terms
Anagrams
- ERW, Rew, erw, rew
Cornish
Adjective
wer
- Soft mutation of gwer.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German wer, from Old High German wer, from Proto-West Germanic *hwa?. Related to wo.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ve?r/, [ve???], [v???], [?-]
- Homophone: Wehr
- Rhymes: -e???
Pronoun
wer
- (interrogative) who (what person or people)
- (interrogative, colloquial) what, which (one) (see usage notes)
- (relative) whoever, he who, someone who, the person who, anyone who (whatever person or persons)
- (indefinite, colloquial) somebody, someone; anybody, anyone (an unspecified person)
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.
Declension
- N: wer
- G: wessen (now poetic wes)
- D: wem
- A: wen
Synonyms
- (indefinite, colloquial): jemand, einer
Coordinate terms
- was
Derived terms
Further reading
- “wer” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- Friedrich Kluge (1883) , “wer”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891
Hunsrik
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *k?is.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?v???/
Pronoun
wer
- (interrogative) who
See also
- wem
Further reading
- Online Hunsrik Dictionary
Kuri
Noun
wer
- water
References
- Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 123
Meriam
Noun
wer
- egg
- testicle
- star
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 ??? (v?ra).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /w?r/
Noun
wer (plural wers)
- a man, a husband
Synonyms
- husbonde, mon
Related terms
- werwolf
- world
Antonyms
- wif (with respect to gender)
Descendants
- English: wer, were
Etymology 2
From Old English w?re.
Verb
wer
- Alternative form of were
Etymology 3
From Late Old English werre, wyrre (“war”).
Noun
wer
- Alternative form of werre (“war”)
Ndom
Noun
wer
- water
References
- Oceanic linguistics, volumes 20 à 21, University Press of Hawaii, page 129, 1981
Northern Kurdish
Adverb
wer
- so
Old English
Alternative forms
- wær
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 ???????????????? (wair). The Proto-Indo-European root is also the source of Latin vir, Sanskrit ??? (v?rá), Old Irish fer, Welsh g?r), Lithuanian výras.
Noun
wer m
- man
- husband
- (poetic) hero, warrior
- (in compounds) civil
Declension
Synonyms
- (man): beorn (poetic), guma (poetic), hæleþ, mann (rare or non-literary), mæ??, rinc (poetic), se?? (poetic)
Antonyms
- wif (with respect to gender)
Derived terms
Descendants
- Middle English: wer
- English: wer, were
Etymology 2
From werian.
Noun
wer m (nominative plural weras)
- weir
Old High German
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Noun
wer m
- man
Derived terms
- weralt
- werwulf
Etymology 2
From Proto-Germanic *warj?
Noun
wer n
- dam, weir
Descendants
- German: Wehr
- Italian: gora
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *wer, from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognate with Old English wer and Old Norse verr.
Noun
wer m
- man
- hero
Declension
Derived terms
- werold
- werwulf
Descendants
- warwulf
- werld
Selaru
Noun
wer
- water
References
- Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary
Tocharian B
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
wer ?
- hatred, enmity
wer From the web:
- what were the nuremberg trials
- what were the articles of confederation
- what were the fourteen points
- what were the pentagon papers
- what were the stimulus check amounts
- what were the causes of the great depression
- what were hoovervilles
- what were the freedom rides
wem
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /w?m/
Etymology
From Middle English wem, wemme, from Old English wamm (“stain, spot, scar, disgrace, defect, defilement, sin, evil, crime, injury, loss, hurt, misfortune”), from Proto-Germanic *wammaz (“stain, spot”), from Proto-Indo-European *wemh?- (“to spew, vomit”). Cognate with Icelandic vamm (“loss, damage”), Latin vom? (“vomit”, verb) (English vomit), Ancient Greek ???? (emé?, “I spew”) (English emesis), Lithuanian vemti (“to vomit”), Sanskrit ???? (vamati, “to vomit”)
Alternative forms
- weam, weem
- wame, wan (Scotland)
Noun
wem (plural wems)
- (Britain dialectal) A spot, stain, or mark; (by extension) a (moral) blemish or fault.
- 1822, sir Walter Scott (bart [novels, collected]), Historical romances of the author of Waverley, page 513:
- "It is even so," he added, as he gazed on the Sub-Prior with astonishment; "neither wem nor wound — not so much as a rent in his frock!"
- 1822, sir Walter Scott (bart [novels, collected]), Historical romances of the author of Waverley, page 513:
Derived terms
- wemless
- wemmy
Anagrams
- MWE, Mew, mew
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ve?m/
Pronoun
wem
- (interrogative) dative of wer, (to) whom (indirect object).
Further reading
- “wem” in Duden online
wem From the web:
- what women want
- what women want cast
- what women want in a man
- what women want soundtrack
- what women want imdb
- what women find attractive in men
- what women want parents guide
- what women want trailer