wer

Meaning

Noun

• A man; a male; a husband
• A fine for slaying a man; wergeld.

Origin

• From Middle English wer, were, from Old English wer ("man"), from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós ("man, freeman"). Cognate with Middle High German wër ("man"), Swedish värbror ("brother-in-law"), Norwegian verfader ("father-in-law"), Latin vir ("man, husband"), Old Irish fer, Middle Welsh gwr. The original meaning of “man” is now preserved only in compounds like werewolf and wergeld.