Schwester
See also: schwester and Schwëster
Central Franconian
Alternative forms
- Sester, Söster (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle High German swëster, from Old High German swester, from Proto-Germanic *swestēr, from Proto-Indo-European *swésōr.
The native form, at least in western dialects, is Söster with swe- → sü- (compare Dutch zuster). The modern form is based on German Schwester.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʃʋɛstʌ/
Noun
Schwester f (plural Schwestere, diminutive Schwesterche)
- sister
- Meng Schwester es net ens e Johr aaler wie ich.
- My sister is less than a year older than me.
- nun
- nurse
German
Alternative forms
- Schw. (abbreviation)
Etymology
From Middle High German swëster, from Old High German swester, from Proto-Germanic *swestēr.
Compare Low German swester, Dutch zuster, English sister, Danish søster, Swedish syster.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʃvɛstɐ/, [ˈʃʋɛstɐ]
audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɛstɐ
Noun
Schwester f (genitive Schwester, plural Schwestern, diminutive Schwesterchen n or Schwesterlein n)
- sister
- Meine Schwester kommt morgen.
- My sister is coming tomorrow.
- (chiefly colloquial, short for Krankenschwester) nurse; by extension used to refer to any medical staff that is not a doctor (usually, but not necessarily, confined to female staff)
- nurse; used as a title of address for nurses
- (Christianity) sister; nun; used particularly, but not only, as a title of address
Declension
Declension of Schwester [feminine]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | eine | die | Schwester | die | Schwestern |
| genitive | einer | der | Schwester | der | Schwestern |
| dative | einer | der | Schwester | den | Schwestern |
| accusative | eine | die | Schwester | die | Schwestern |
Derived terms
- Kinderschwester
- Krankenschwester
- Ordensschwester
- schwesterlich
Descendants
- → Silesian: šwestera
Further reading
- “Schwester” in Duden online
- “Schwester” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “Schwester” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- Friedrich Kluge (1883), “Schwester”, in , John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891