gerwe

gerwe

Old Prussian

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂ōws (“crane”), from *gerh₂- (“to cry hoarsely”).

Noun

gerwe

1. crane (bird)
   • Elbing German-Prussian Vocabulary

     Kranch   Gerwe

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Sudovian

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic [Term?], from Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂ōws. Compare Lithuanian gérvė, Latvian dzẽrve, Old Prussian gerwe, all meaning "crane".[1][2]

It seems "stork" and "crane" are switched, possibly due to the similarities between the birds, or a copying error. Compare ſterkaſ, garſ.

Noun

gerwe

1. (zoology) stork
   • “Pagan dialects from Narew” line 207, (copied by V. Zinov, 1983):

     bośiań [bocian] — gerwe

     bośiań [bocian] — stork

References

1. Zigmas Zinkevičius (1985), “Lenkų-jotvingių žodynėlis? [A Polish-Yotvingian dictionary?]”, in Baltistica (in Lithuanian), volume 21, issue 1, page 73: “gerwe ‘gandras, l. bośiań’ 207.”
2. “gérvė” in Hock et al., Altlitauisches etymologisches Wörterbuch 2.0 (online, 2020–): “nar. gerwe sf. ‘Storch’”.