herre
Danish
Etymology
Borrowed from Old Saxon hērro, cognate with German Herr, Old High German hēriro, hērro. The comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”), by analogy with Latin senior (“elder”). The word originally meant "grey, grey-haired" and descends from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”), making it cognate with Old English hār (English hoar), Old Norse hárr.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hɛrə/, [ˈhaɐ̯ɐ]
Noun
herre c (singular definite herren, plural indefinite herrer)
- (formal) gentleman (an adult male)
- (formal) mister (a formal address of an adult male)
- in the indefinite and with a name always in the short form hr.
- (historical) lord (a male person that rules in an area)
- master (the owner of an animal or, historically, a human slave)
Declension
| common gender |
singular | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | herre | herren | herrer | herrerne |
| genitive | herres | herrens | herrers | herrernes |
Derived terms
- bordherre
- borgherre
- bygherre
- feltherre
- herrebekendtskab
- herrecykel
- herredømme
- herreekvipering
- herrefodbold
- herrefolk
- herrefrisør
- herrefrokost
- herregud
- herregård
- herrehold
- herrehåndbold
- herrejakke
- herrekamp
- herreklip
- herreklipning
- herremagasin
- herremand
- herremode
- herrens
- herreside
- herresko
- herreskrædder
- herrestrømpe
- herresæde
- herretoilet
- herretur
- herretøj
- herreur
- herreværrelse
- herskab
- herske
- husherre
- kammerherre
- koloniherre
- krigsherre
- nådigherre
- rådsherre
- sejrherre
- slotsherre
- tempelherre
- vorherre
Adverb
herre
- (informal) very
- 2013, Katinka Maya Vår, Valget træffes, Katinkamaya forlag, →ISBN:
- ”Godt nok er han herre lækker, men chefens søn plejer trods alt ikke at have så voldsom en effekt på pigerne.”
- ”He may be really hot, but despite this, the boss' son does not usually have such violent an effect on the girls.”
Synonyms
Derived terms
- herredum
- herredyr
- herreflot
- herregod
- herrenice
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English heorr, heorra, from Proto-Germanic *herzô (“hinge; door-hinge”).
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈhɛr(ə)/, /ˈhar(ə)/
Noun
herre (plural herris or herren)
- hinge (device a door pivots on)
- (rare) bar (of a door)
- (rare, figuratively) extreme point; extremity
Descendants
References
- “herre, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
From Old English hearra and Middle Dutch hēre, both from Old High German hērro, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“gray”). Doublet of hor (“hoar”).
Alternative forms
- herra, hærre, harre
- here, heri (Late Middle English)
Noun
herre (plural herres or herren)
Descendants
References
- “herre, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 3
Noun
herre
- alternative form of her (“hair”)
Etymology 4
Noun
herre
- alternative form of here (“army”)
Etymology 5
Pronoun
herre
- alternative form of hire (“her”)
Etymology 6
Adverb
herre
- alternative form of her (“here”)
Etymology 7
Determiner
herre
- alternative form of here (“her”)
Etymology 8
Alternative forms
Adjective
herre
- comparative degree of heigh (“high”)
Middle High German
Etymology
Inherited from Old High German hēriro, hērro (“grey, grey-haired”), the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”).
Noun
hērre or hërre m
Declension
Descendants
- German: Herr
References
- Benecke, Georg Friedrich, Müller, Wilhelm, Zarncke, Friedrich (1863) “hêrre”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Old Norse herri, herra, from Old Saxon hērro, from Old High German hēriro, hērro, the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”) (German hehr), by analogy with Latin senior (“elder”).[1] The Old High German word originally meant "grey, grey-haired", and descends from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”), making it cognate with Old English hār (English hoar), Old Norse hárr.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈhêɾe/
Noun
herre m (definite singular herren, indefinite plural herrer, definite plural herrene)
- gentleman, man
- Han kler seg som en virkelig herre.
- He dresses like a real gentleman.
- Mine damer og herrer!
- Ladies and gentlemen.
- master, lord, ruler
- Knut den mektige var herre over Norge på 1000-tallet.
- Cnut the Great was ruler of Norway in the 11th century.
Derived terms
- herr
- Herre
- herreavdeling
- herredømme
- herregård
- herremann
- herremiddag
- herremåltid
- herretoalett
- seierherre
References
- “herre” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
- ^ Falk, Hjalmar, Torp, Alf (1903–06) Etymologisk ordbog over det norske og det danske sprog [Etymological Dictionary of the Norwegian and Danish Languages], page 286
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology 1
From Old Norse herra, herri, from Old Saxon hērro, from Old High German hēriro, hērro, the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”) (German hehr), by analogy with Latin senior (“elder”).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /²hær.rə/
Noun
herre m (definite singular herren, indefinite plural herrar, definite plural herrane)
Derived terms
- herr
- Herre
- herreavdeling
- herredømme
- herremann
- herremiddag
- herremåltid
- herretoalett
Etymology 2
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈhær.rə/
Determiner
herre
References
- ^ Falk, Hjalmar, Torp, Alf (1903–06) Etymologisk ordbog over det norske og det danske sprog [Etymological Dictionary of the Norwegian and Danish Languages], page 286
- “herre” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse herri, herra, from Old Saxon hērro, from Old High German hēriro, hērro, the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”) (German hehr), by analogy with Latin senior (“elder”).[1] The Old High German word originally meant "grey, grey-haired", and descends from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”), making it cognate with Old English hār (English hoar), Old Norse hárr.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /²hɛrːɛ/
Audio: (file)
Noun
herre c
- a man, a gentleman, a sir (respected man, respectful way to refer to a man)
- mina damer och herrar
- (my) ladies and gentlemen
- Vi talade med en äldre herre
- We spoke to an older gentleman
- I fjol så gick jag med herrarna i hagen
- Last year I went with the men in the pasture (traditional song)
- Hon fick herrbesök igår
- She had a gentleman caller (male visitor) yesterday ("She got gentleman visit yesterday" – tongue-in-cheek implies a romantic liaison)
- (Can we date this quote?), traditional, “I fjol så gick jag med herrarna i hagen [Last year I went with the men in the pasture]”, in Skillingtryck [Broadside ballads][1], performed by Hootenanny Singers:
- I fjol så gick jag med herrarna i hagen. Ja, ja, med herrarna i hagen. Ja, med herrarna i hagen. I år har jag något som sparkar i magen. Aj, aj, som sparkar i magen. Aj, som sparkar i magen.
- Last year I went with the men in the pasture. Yes, yes, with the men in the pasture. Yes, with the men in the pasture. This year I have something that kicks in my belly. Ow, ow, that kicks in my belly. Ow, that kicks in my belly.
- 1974, Björn Afzelius, “En kungens man [A man of the king [literally, "A the-king's man"]]”[2]:
- Då möter hon en herre, på en häst med yvig man. Han säger: "Jag är kungens man, så jag tar vad jag vill ha. Och du är alltför vacker, för att inte ha nån [någon] man. Följ med mig in i skogen [så] ska jag visa vad jag kan."
- Then she meets a man ["gentleman," "sir," or "lord" sounds off in tone here], on a horse with a bushy mane. He says: "I am a man of the king, so I take what I want. And you are much too beautiful, to not have a man. Come with me into the forest and I will show you what I can do [show what I can]."
- a lord, a master ((male) person with more or less unrestricted authority over another person or group of people (or having control over a thing, by extension))
- folk och herrar
- people and lords
- slavens herre
- the master of the slave
- vara sin egen herre
- be one's own master (idiomatic)
- Ja, min herre och mästare. Säg vad jag ska göra så gör jag det, ty du är herre över mig.
- Yes, my lord and master. Tell me what to do and I will do it, for you are the master of [over] me.
- Skeletor vill bli herre över universum
- Skeletor wants to become the master of [over] the universe
- Människan vill göra sig till herre över naturkrafterna
- [The] man wants to make himself master of [over] the forces of nature
- Ingen kan tjäna två herrar
- No man can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24)
- (when capitalized: Herren) The Lord
- HERREN är min herde, mig skall intet fattas
- The LORD [is] my shepherd; I shall not want. (Psalms 23:1)
Declension
| nominative | genitive | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | indefinite | herre | herres |
| definite | herren | herrens | |
| plural | indefinite | herrar | herrars |
| definite | herrarna | herrarnas |
Derived terms
- domherre
- egendomsherre
- herradöme
- herrans
- herravdelning
- herravälde
- herrbastu
- herrbekant
- herrbesök
- herrbetjänt
- herrbyxor
- herrcykel
- herrdubbel
- herredag
- herrefolk
- herregud
- herrekipering
- herreklass+
- herrelös
- herrelöshet
- herreman
- herremoral
- herremöte
- herresäte
- herrfinal
- herrfrisör
- herrgård
- herrhatt
- herridrott
- herrklass
- herrklubb
- herrkläder
- herrknäppning
- herrkonfektion
- herrlag
- herrlandslag
- herrmiddag
- herrmode
- herrpyjamas
- herrsenior
- herrsida
- herrsingel
- herrskap
- herrskjorta
- herrsko
- herrskräddare
- herrstafett
- herrsällskap
- herrtidning
- herrtoalett
- herrum
- herrunderkläder
- herrur
- i herrans namn
- korsherre
- krigsherre
Related terms
See also
References
- herre in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- herre in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- herre in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
- ^ Falk, Hjalmar, Torp, Alf (1903–06) Etymologisk ordbog over det norske og det danske sprog [Etymological Dictionary of the Norwegian and Danish Languages], page 286