er German · revision 34786

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=8th century, Old High German|origins=ine-pro *eis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /eːr/, [ʔeːɐ̯], [ʔɛɐ̯]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Colloquial: /ɐ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''er'''^(Wiktionary)

+ The spelling ''ih-'' in ''ihm'' and ''ihn'' was introduced in Early New High German to keep them apart from ''im'' and ''in''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|ër]], [[inh|goh|ër]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*iʀ]], [[inh|gem-pro|*iz]].^(Kluge 2011|252)^(Wiktionary)^(EWA|2, 1092) The same pronoun is [[got|𐌹𐍃|tr=is]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Orel 2003) Kluge derives the Germanic form, which he writes [[m|gem-pro|*eiz]], from [[ine-pro|*eis]], which matches [[sga|é]] and the relic form [[la|eis]]; without the -s it corresponds to [[sa|अयम्|tr=ayám]].^(Kluge 2011|252) Before Old High German the diphthong must have been contracted and then shortened.^(Kluge 2011|252) [[m|la|is]] and [[lt|jìs]] are related.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ The pronoun was built on a stem meaning “the”, extended with a particle -i into an anaphoric pronoun, which is why stems with e and with i stand side by side in the Indo-European languages.^(Kluge 2011|252)^(Pfeifer 1993) The e of the masculine and the neuter comes from i, which is kept in [[ihm]], [[ihn]] and [[ihr]].^(Paul 2002) The feminine and plural [[sie]] come from another stem.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ In the north the pronoun had an initial h-: Franconian [[m|goh|hër]], like [[osx|hē]], [[ang|hē]] and [[en|he]].^(EWA|2, 1092)^(Wiktionary) According to Pfeifer and the revised Grimm, the unstressed form was weakened in these languages and then propped up with the h- of a demonstrative stem, the one in [[heute]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(DWB2|8, 1570)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''er'' is one of the commonest words of the earliest texts: Isidor writes ''ir'', Otfrid ''er'', and the Franconian ''Hildebrandslied'', Tatian and the ''Ludwigslied'' have ''her''.^(EWA|2, 1092)^(Köbler AHD) It meant “he” and stood for any masculine noun.^(Köbler AHD)^(DWB2|8, 1570)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 17th century ''Er'' became a form of polite address, at first referring back to a title such as ''der Herr''.^(Paul 2002)^(Kluge 2011|252) Pfeifer ascribes it to French and Italian courtesy.^(Pfeifer 1993) It was at first more respectful than the older ''Ihr'', but lost value when the plural ''Sie'' came into use in the 18th century, and until the middle of that century it was used to people of lower rank.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993) Lessing's ''Minna von Barnhelm'' and Büchner's ''Woyzeck'' still show it.^(Paul 2002)

+

+ As a noun, ''ein Er'' means a male, especially of animals.^(Paul 2002)^(Duden GWDS 1999) In the north of the German-speaking area Low German ''he'', ''hei'' stands against High German ''er''.^(DWB2|8, 1570)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 8th century – Old High German ''er'' appears in the earliest texts.^(Köbler AHD)^(EWA|2, 1092)

+ * 1060–1080 – Middle High German ''er'' is used in the Early Middle High German ''Genesis''.^(Köbler MHD)

+ * 17th century – ''Er'' comes into use as a form of polite address.^(Paul 2002)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * 18th century – ''Sie'' replaces ''Er'' as the polite address, and ''Er'' is left for people of lower rank.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Paul 2002)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # He; it; the third person singular masculine, standing for a masculine noun that names a person, animal or thing: ''hier ist dein Hut, er lag auf dem Schrank'' “here is your hat, it was on the cupboard”.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(colloquial)'' It, of a computer or other machine treated as a person.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(obsolete, capitalised)'' You: a form of address to an [[m|en|inferior]], or to a person of higher rank addressed by a title.^(Duden GWDS 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Er]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[es]]

+ * [[ihm]]

+ * [[ihn]]

+ * [[ihr]]

+ * [[en|he]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Early New High German ''er'' was also a short form of [[Herr]] before names and titles, as in Luther's ''lieber er doctor'' “dear Mister Doctor”.^(DWB|3, 692)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}