erf – English noun declension

Noun: erf

Singular	erf
Plural	erfs; erven

Sample Sentences

Nouns inflected like erf

woonerf, erf,

Etymology

1. Etymology tree
2. Proto-Indo-European *h₃erbʰ-der.
3. Proto-Germanic *arbiją
4. Proto-West Germanic *arbī
5. Old English ierfe
6. Middle English erve
7. English erf
8. From Middle English erve, erfe, from Old English yrfe, ierfe (“heritage, bequest, inheritance, property, inherited property, property that passes to an heir, cattle, livestock”), from Proto-West Germanic *arbī, from Proto-Germanic *arbiją (“heritage”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃erbʰ- (“to change ownership”) (whence also *h₃órbʰos (“orphan”)).
9. Cognate with Dutch erf (“inheritance, patrimony, ground, courtyard”), German Erbe (“heritage, legacy, inheritance”), Danish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Swedish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌹 (arbi, “inheritance”), Latin orbus (“orphan”), Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “orphan”), Old English ierfa (“heir”). Related to orf. Compare odal and athel. See: Middle English Nouns 'erve', Old English Nouns 'yrfe', Dutch Nouns 'erf', German Nouns 'Erbe', Swedish Nouns 'arv', Gothic Nouns '𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌹', Latin Nouns 'orbus', Old English Nouns 'ierfa'.