irren

See also: Irren

Danish

Noun

irren c

  1. definite singular of ir

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɪʁən/

Etymology 1

From Middle High German irren, from Old High German irren, from Proto-West Germanic *irʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *irzijaną.

Verb

irren (weak, third-person singular present irrt, past tense irrte, past participle geirrt, auxiliary sein)

  1. (intransitive) to wander (to move around aimlessly, being unable to find where one wants to go)
    Wir sind eine Stunde durch die Stadt geirrt, weil wir das Hotel nicht gefunden haben.
    We wandered around the city for an hour because we couldn't find the hotel.
Conjugation

Etymology 2

From Old High German irrōn.

Verb

irren (weak, third-person singular present irrt, past tense irrte, past participle geirrt, auxiliary haben)

  1. (reflexive, sometimes intransitive) to err, to be wrong, to be mistaken
    Du irrst dich, Naomi und ich haben uns nur unterhalten.
    You are wrong, Naomi and I were only talking.
    • 1787, Friedrich Schiller, Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien, 3. Akt, 4. Auftritt; republished as R. D. Boylan, transl., (Please provide a date or year):
      Noch einmal, Sire, das Volk / Kann irren – und es irrt gewiß.
      The people, sire, are liable to err, / Nay err assuredly.
  2. (transitive, archaic) to mislead
    • 1787, Friedrich Schiller, Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien, 5. Akt, 3. Auftritt; republished as R. D. Boylan, transl., (Please provide a date or year):
      Wenn ich den König irrte? Wenn es mir / Gelänge, selbst der Schuldige zu scheinen?
      Could I mislead the king! Could I succeed / In making him think me the criminal!
Conjugation
Derived terms

Further reading

  • irren” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • irren” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • irren” in Duden online
  • irren” in OpenThesaurus.de
  • Friedrich Kluge (1883) “irren”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *irzijaną.

Verb

irren

  1. (transitive) to wander

Conjugation

Descendants

  • Middle High German: irren