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dier

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Dier

English

Etymology

From die +‎ -er.

Noun

dier (plural diers)

  1. One who dies.
    • 1985, Don DeLillo, White Noise:
      It's a way of controlling death. A way of gaining the ultimate upper hand. Be the killer for a change. Let someone else be the dier.
    • 2006, Shankar Mokashi Punekar, Awadheswari:
      Since other languages are structurally constrained to say who it was who died and since the original leaves the identity of the dier unexpressed, any translation in the target language is going to be incorrect.

Usage notes

  • Used in abstract and philosophical contexts, rather than in discussing a known individual who has died. Compare deceased.

Anagrams

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Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch dier, from Middle Dutch dier, from Old Dutch *dior, from Proto-West Germanic *deuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *deuzą, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewsóm.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dir/, [diːr]
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

dier (plural diere)

  1. animal
  2. beast; brute

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dir/, [diːr], [diər]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: dier
  • Rhymes: -ir

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch dier, from Old Dutch dier, from Proto-West Germanic *deuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *deuzą, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewsóm.

Noun

dier n (plural dieren, diminutive diertje n)

  1. animal (any member of the kingdom Animalia)
Usage notes

Sometimes used as a term of endearment or flirtation, as in the phrase lekker dier.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

    From Middle Dutch dier.

    Determiner

    dier

    1. (demonstrative) her, their, the latter's (genitive feminine singular and genitive plural of die)
      De verdachte heeft zich samen met een vriend, haar dochter en dier vriend schuldig gemaakt aan de moord op haar echtgenoot [...] (from a verdict of the Court of Justice at 's-Gravenhage, 2011 )
      The accused (woman) is guilty of having murdered her husband in cooperation with a friend, her daughter and the latter's friend [...]
    Usage notes

    Dier is used in a similar way as the possessive determiners haar and hun. It is rare in spoken Dutch, but used occasionally in writing to avoid confusion. Compare:

    • Zij vertelde van haar dochter en haar man. ― She told of her daughter and her (own) husband.
    • Zij vertelde van haar dochter en dier man. ― She told of her daughter and the latter's husband.

    The corresponding masculine and neuter singular form is diens.

    Etymology 3

    Dialectal variant of duur; compare besturen and bestieren, which displays the same alternation in vowels, arising from dialectal differences.

    Adjective

    dier (comparative dierder, superlative dierst)

    1. (dialectal, archaic) alternative form of duur
    Derived terms

    Anagrams

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    Elfdalian

    Etymology

    From Old Norse þeir, þær, from Proto-Germanic *þai.

    Pronoun

    dier

    1. they

    Luxembourgish

    Etymology

    From Old High German durri, from Proto-Germanic *þursuz.

    Pronunciation

    Adjective

    dier (masculine dieren, neuter diert, comparative méi dier, superlative am diersten)

    1. (of plants and trees) dry, dead

    Declension

    More information singular, plural ...
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    Middle Dutch

    Pronunciation

    Etymology 1

    From Old Dutch dier, from Proto-West Germanic *deuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *deuzą, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewsóm.

    Noun

    dier n

    1. animal
    Inflection
    More information singular, plural ...
    Descendants
    • Dutch: dier
    • Limburgish: deer

    Etymology 2

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Determiner

    dier

    1. inflection of die:
      1. feminine genitive/dative singular
      2. genitive plural

    Further reading

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    Middle English

    Noun

    dier

    1. (Early Middle English, Essex or Late Middle English, Kent) alternative form of der (“deer”)

    Norwegian Bokmål

    Verb

    dier

    1. present tense of die

    Old Dutch

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    From Proto-West Germanic *deuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *deuzą, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewsóm.

    Noun

    dier n

    1. animal

    Inflection

    Declension of dier (neuter a-stem noun)
    More information case, singular ...

    Descendants

    Further reading

    • “dier”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

    Slovak

    Noun

    dier

    1. genitive plural of diera

    West Frisian

    Etymology

    From Old Frisian diār, from Proto-West Germanic *deuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *deuzą, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewsóm.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    dier n (plural dieren, diminutive dierke)

    1. animal

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    • “dier”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

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