wær

See also: waer and wär

Middle English

Noun

wær

  1. Alternative form of werre

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *war. Cognate with Old Saxon war, Old High German war, Old Norse varr, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍂 (war).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /wær/

Adjective

wær (comparative wærra, superlative wærest)

  1. cautious, on guard, watching out for something (+genitive)
Declension
Declension of wær — Strong
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative wær waru, waro wær
Accusative wærne ware wær
Genitive wares wærre wares
Dative warum wærre warum
Instrumental ware wærre ware
Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative ware wara, ware waru, waro
Accusative ware wara, ware waru, waro
Genitive wærra wærra wærra
Dative warum warum warum
Instrumental warum warum warum
Declension of wær — Weak
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative wara ware ware
Accusative waran waran ware
Genitive waran waran waran
Dative waran waran waran
Instrumental waran waran waran
Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative waran waran waran
Accusative waran waran waran
Genitive wærra, warena wærra, warena wærra, warena
Dative warum warum warum
Instrumental warum warum warum
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *wār (“true”).

Cognates
Germanic cognates include Old High German wār, wāra (German wahr), Old Saxon wār (Low German war), Old Dutch wār (Dutch waar), Old Norse várar pl. The Indo-European root is also the source of Latin vērus, Old Irish fír (Irish fíor), Welsh cywir, Old Church Slavonic вѣра (věra), Russian ве́ра (véra).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /wæːr/

Adjective

wǣr

  1. true, correct
    Iċ ġelȳfe þæt hit from Gode cōme, brōht from his bysene, þæs mē þes boda sæġde wǣrum wordum.
    I believe that it came from God, brought from His example, for this messenger told me in true words.
Usage notes

As a simplex, attested only once in Genesis B. Attested several times in composition, cf. Genesis A 67a, Juliana 351a, etc.

Declension
Declension of wǣr — Strong
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative wǣr wǣr wǣr
Accusative wǣrne wǣre wǣr
Genitive wǣres wǣrre wǣres
Dative wǣrum wǣrre wǣrum
Instrumental wǣre wǣrre wǣre
Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative wǣre wǣra, wǣre wǣr
Accusative wǣre wǣra, wǣre wǣr
Genitive wǣrra wǣrra wǣrra
Dative wǣrum wǣrum wǣrum
Instrumental wǣrum wǣrum wǣrum
Declension of wǣr — Weak
Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative wǣra wǣre wǣre
Accusative wǣran wǣran wǣre
Genitive wǣran wǣran wǣran
Dative wǣran wǣran wǣran
Instrumental wǣran wǣran wǣran
Plural Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative wǣran wǣran wǣran
Accusative wǣran wǣran wǣran
Genitive wǣrra, wǣrena wǣrra, wǣrena wǣrra, wǣrena
Dative wǣrum wǣrum wǣrum
Instrumental wǣrum wǣrum wǣrum
Synonyms
Derived terms
  • wǣrlīċe

Etymology 3

From Proto-West Germanic *wāru, from Proto-Germanic *wērō (“truth”). Cognate with Old Saxon wār (“truth”), Old High German wāra (“truth”), Latin vērus (“true”).

Noun

wǣr f (nominative plural wǣra or wǣre)

  1. truth, faith
  2. fidelity, friendship
  3. agreement, promise
Declension
Declension of wær (strong ō-stem)
Case Singular Plural
nominative wǣr wǣra, wǣre
accusative wǣre wǣra, wǣre
genitive wǣre wǣra
dative wǣre wǣrum
Derived terms
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