Er
See also: Appendix:Variations of "er"
Translingual
Symbol
Er
- (chemistry) Symbol for erbium.
German
Alternative forms
- er (for the pronoun; common spelling)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /eːɐ̯/
Audio (file)
Noun
Er m
- a person or animal of male gender, a male
- Synonym: Männchen
- Antonym: Sie f
Pronoun
Er
- (archaic) you (form of address to a male person of lower social standing than the speaker)
- Was möchte Er von mir?
- What do you want from me?
- (literally, “What does he want from me?”)
- 1821, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre [Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years], volume 3:
- Der alte Herr empfing mich mit großer Gravität, besah mich von oben bis unten, als ob er meine Geschicklichkeit aus mir herausphysiognomieren wollte. "Versteht Er Sein Handwerk?" sagte er zu mir.
- (please add an English translation of this quote)
Usage notes
This form of address sounds very archaic and is only used humorously or in some dialects (especially Berlin, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg), sometimes called Berliner Er. The common polite form of address is Sie.
Derived terms
- erzen
Further reading
- “Er” in Duden online
- “Er” in Duden online
- “Er” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Tocharian B
Etymology
Borrowed from Old Uyghur Er (“man”). Compare Turkish Er, Kyrgyz Erjan, and many other Turkic names.
Proper noun
Er m
- a male given name
Further reading
- Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), “Er”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 98
Turkish
Proper noun
Er
- a male given name