Wirt
English
Proper noun
Wirt
- A surname.
Derived terms
- Wirt County
Anagrams
- ITRW, writ
German
Etymology
From Middle High German wirt, wiert, wurt, wert, from Old High German wirt (“host”), from Proto-Germanic *werduz. Cognate with Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌳𐌿𐍃 (wairdus), Dutch waard,[1], Danish vært and Swedish värd. The sense “caretaker; someone responsible”, which is found in compounds, developed from the sense of “host; innkeeper” due to the latter's responsibilities for his guests. However, in many cases this use is based on a backformation from Wirtschaft (“economy”), particularly in academic titles like Betriebswirt, Volkswirt.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /vɪʁt/, [vɪʁt], [vɪɐ̯t]
Audio (file)
Noun
Wirt m (strong, genitive Wirtes or Wirts, plural Wirte, feminine Wirtin)
- pubkeeper; innkeeper
- (dated) host (someone who receives a guest)
- Synonym: Gastgeber
- (biology) host (organism infested with a parasite)
- (only in compounds) agent; caretaker; someone responsible or knowledgeable
Declension
Declension of Wirt [masculine, strong]
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | ein | der | Wirt | die | Wirte |
| genitive | eines | des | Wirtes, Wirts | der | Wirte |
| dative | einem | dem | Wirt, Wirte1 | den | Wirten |
| accusative | einen | den | Wirt | die | Wirte |
1Now uncommon, see notes.
Derived terms
- Betriebswirt
- Kneipenwirt
- Landwirt
- Pferdewirt
- Volkswirt
- Wirtschaft
Proper noun
Wirt m or f (proper noun, surname, masculine genitive Wirts or (with an article) Wirt, feminine genitive Wirt, plural Wirts)
- a surname
References
- Friedrich Kluge (1989), “Wirt”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN
Further reading
- “Wirt” in Duden online
- “Wirt” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache