*berô
Runic: ᛒᛖᚱᛟ Pronunciation: /ˈbe.rɔːː/noun · masculine · an-stem
Meanings
bear
Etymology
Conventionally from Proto-Indo-European *bʰérH-ō ~ *bʰr̥H-n-és, from the root *bʰerH- (‘brown’), as a tabooistic reference to the bear as "the brown one". (Ringe 2017) suggests instead *ǵʰwer- (‘wild animal’); however, as (Kroonen 2013) notes, this derivation depends on the sound change from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰw- > Proto-Germanic *b-, the validity of which is disputed. (Blažek 2017) alternatively suggests a derivation from *bʰerH- (‘to pierce, strike’), from which several IE terms for ‘beehive’ are derived, e.g. Proto-Slavic *bъrtь (‘hive of wild bees’).
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | berô | birniz |
| Acc. | bernų | bernunz |
| Gen. | birniz | bernǫ̂ |
| Dat. | birni | bernumaz |
| Inst. | bernē | bernumiz |
| Voc. | berô | birniz |
Descendants
-
*berō (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*bero (Old Dutch)
-
bēre (Middle Dutch)
- baer, Béër (Limburgish)
- beir (West Flemish)
-
bēre (Middle Dutch)
-
*bero (Old Dutch)
-
*berō (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*bero (Old Dutch)
-
bēre (Middle Dutch)
-
beer (Dutch)
- beer (Afrikaans)
-
beer (Dutch)
-
bēre (Middle Dutch)
-
*bero (Old Dutch)
-
*berō (Proto-West Germanic)
-
bera (Old English)
-
bere (Middle English)
- bear (English)
-
bere (Middle English)
-
bera (Old English)
-
*berō (Proto-West Germanic)
-
bera (Old English)
-
bere (Middle English)
-
beir (Middle Scots)
- bear, beir (Scots)
-
beir (Middle Scots)
-
bere (Middle English)
-
bera (Old English)
-
*berō (Proto-West Germanic)
-
*bera, *bara (Old Frisian)
- Boar, Boare (Saterland Frisian)
- bear (West Frisian)
-
*bera, *bara (Old Frisian)
-
*berō (Proto-West Germanic)
-
bero, pero (Old High German)
-
bër, bere, per (Middle High German)
- Bärr (Alemannic German)
- Bär (German)
- בער (ber) (Yiddish)
-
bër, bere, per (Middle High German)
-
bero, pero (Old High German)
-
*berō (Proto-West Germanic)
-
bero, pero (Old High German)
-
bër, bere, per (Middle High German)
- Bier (Luxembourgish)
-
bër, bere, per (Middle High German)
-
bero, pero (Old High German)
-
*berō (Proto-West Germanic)
-
bero (Old Saxon)
-
bar, bāre (Middle Low German)
- Baar, Boor (Low German)
- Boa (Plautdietsch)
-
bar, bāre (Middle Low German)
-
bero (Old Saxon)
- *beri (Old Norse)
- *𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰 (*baira) (Gothic)
- *bera (Vandalic)