bewehren

See also: Bewehren

German

Etymology

From Middle High German bewern, from Old High German biwerren, biwerien, from Proto-West Germanic *biwarjan. By surface analysis, be- +‎ wehren. Cognate with Dutch beweren.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bəˈveːʁən/, [bəˈveː.ʁən], [-ˈveː.ɐn], [-ˈveːɐ̯n], [-ˈvɛɐ̯n]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -eːʀən
  • Homophone: bewähren (some speakers)

Verb

bewehren (weak, third-person singular present bewehrt, past tense bewehrte, past participle bewehrt, auxiliary haben)

  1. (military, archaic, but still figurative in higher register) to arm, protect, fortify
    Der Floh ist zur Blutaufnahme mit einem Saugrüssel bewehrt.
    A flea is armed with a proboscis in order to ingest blood.
  2. (engineering) to armor, reinforce (building materials like concrete in order to increase their solidity)
    Synonym: armieren
    bewehrter Betonreinforced concrete
  3. (obsolete, except in mit Strafe bewehren) to forbid, hinder, ward off

Conjugation

Derived terms

Further reading