ere

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ere"

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English er, from Old English ǣr (adverb, conjunction, and preposition), from Proto-West Germanic *airi, from Proto-Germanic *airiz, comparative of Proto-Germanic *airi (“early”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éyeri (“day, morning”) (compare Avestan 𐬀𐬫𐬀𐬭 (ayar, “day”), Gk. ἠέριος (ēérios, “at daybreak”), see also era, Albanian herët (“early in the morning, at daybreak”) ). The adverb erstwhile retains the Old English superlative ǣrest (“earliest”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian eer (“before”), Dutch eer (“before, sooner than”), German ehe (“before”).

Alternative forms

• yer [15th–16th c.]

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɛə/, /ɛː/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɛɚ/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /eː/
• (New Zealand, without the cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /eə/
• (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger) IPA^(key): /iə/
• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /eɹ/
• (Lancashire, fair–fur merger) IPA^(key): /ɜː(ɹ)/
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)
• Homophones: air, Ayr, eyre, heir, are (“unit of measurement”), e'er (US); ear (cheer–chair merger); err (fair–fur merger)

Adverb

ere (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) At an earlier time. [10th–17th c.]
   • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, John j:[30], folio cxix, verso:

     Thys is he of whome I ſpake / he that cõmeth after me / was befoꝛe me be cauſe he was yer thẽ I.

     This is he of whom I spoke; he that comes after me was before me because he was earlier than I.

Preposition

ere

1. (poetic, archaic) Before; sooner than.
   • 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto), London: […] Richard Field, for Iohn Harrison, […], →OCLC, signature I3, verso:

     My ſelfe was ſtirring ere the breake of day, […]

   • 1837, Thomas Carlyle, “Old-Dragoon Drouet”, in The French Revolution: A History […], volume II (The Constitution), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC, book IV (Varennes), page 173:

     The hill-tops rejoicing will ere long be at their ruddiest, and blush Good-night.

Derived terms

• early
• erenow
• erer

Translations

before, sooner than

Arabic: قَبْل (ar) (qabl), أْبْكَر (ʔbkar) Egyptian Arabic: قبل ما (ʔabl ma) Bulgarian: преди (bg) (predi) Czech: před (cs), předtím než, dříve než Dutch: eer (nl) Finnish: ennen (fi) French: avant (fr) German: vor (de) Italian: prima (it), dinanzi (it) Polish: zanim (pl) Portuguese: antes (pt) Russian: до́ (ru) (dó), пе́ред (ru) (péred), пре́жде чем (préžde čem) Spanish: antes (es)

Conjunction

ere

1. (poetic, archaic) before.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 4:49, column 1:

     Syꝛ, come downe ere my child die.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:ere.

Derived terms

• erelong
• ere that
• erewhile
• ereyesterday
• erst
• erstwhile
• whilere

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪə(ɹ)/

Noun

ere (plural eres)

1. Obsolete form of ear.
   • 1533, R. Saltwood, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     As plesaunt to the ere as the blacke sanctus Of a sad sorte vpon a mery pyn.

Etymology 3

Formed from is + there + a/an.

Alternative forms

• 'ere

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eːɹə/

Contraction

ere

1. (chiefly Ireland, informal) A contraction of is, there, and the indefinite article. Mainly used in questions.

   'Ere bit o' bacon in it, Kathleen?

Anagrams

• -eer, EER, REE, Ree, e'er, eer, ree

Basque

Etymology

Unknown, the Biscayan form bere is probably more conservative. Potentially related to the pronoun bera.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɾe/ [e.ɾe]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɾe, -e
• Hyphenation: e‧re

Adverb

ere (not comparable)

1. also, too

Derived terms

• aparantziarik ere
• arean ere (“in fact”)
• artean ere
• aspaldian ere
• badaezpada ere
• badere
• bai ... ere
• baita ... ere
• baita zera ere
• baldinbaitere
• bat ere
• batez ere (“mainly”)
• batxo ere
• behin ere (“not even once”)
• berriz ere (“once again”)
• edonola ere
• edonor ere
• edozeinetera ere
• edozertara ere
• ez eta ... ere
• ezertxo ere
• ezik ere
• ezpabere
• ezta gutxiago ere
• ezta nahi ere
• ezta pentsatu ere
• gero ere
• geroenean ere
• guztiagatik ere
• guztiarekin ere
• guztiaz ere
• guztiz ere
• hain zuzen ere
• hala ere (“however”)
• hala eta ere
• hala eta guztiz ere
• halarik ere
• halaz ere
• halere
• hartan ere
• indondik ere
• inoiz ere
• inolaz ere
• inon ere
• inor ere
• inora ere
• izan ere (“in fact”)
• nahita ere
• nehoiz ere
• nehola ere
• neholatan ere
• neholaz ere
• neholere
• nehon ere
• nehondik ere
• nehor ere
• nehorat ere
• noiz ere
• noiz eta ere
• noizbait ere
• nolabait ere
• nolanahi ere
• nolazpait ere
• non ere
• nonbait ere
• nondik ere
• nor baitzen ere
• nor ere
• nora ere
• norabait ere
• onenean ere
• oraindik ere
• oraindino ere
• oraino ere
• ostera ere
• seguraz ere
• sekula ere
• sinisteko ere
• sobera ere
• sobra ere
• urrundik ere
• zein ere
• zenbat ere
• zer ere
• zer gerta ere (“just in case”)

Further reading

• “ere”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “ere”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Coastal Konjo

Noun

ere

1. water

Further reading

• Darrell T. Tryon, Comparative Austronesian Dictionary (1995), page 26

Danish

Verb

ere

1. (obsolete) present plural of være

Usage notes

• Plural verbs were made optional in 1900.

Related terms

• er

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eːrə

Noun

ere

1. (archaic) dative singular of eer

Derived terms

• ere wie ere toekomt

Verb

ere

1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of eren

Anagrams

• eer, ree

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *heredä. Possibly the same root as in erk. Compare Finnish hereä, Livvi herei and Veps hered.

Adjective

ere (genitive ereda, partitive eredat, comparative eredam, superlative kõige eredam)

1. bright

Declension

Declension of ere (ÕS type 2/õpik, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		ere	eredad
accusative	nom.
	gen.	ereda
genitive			eredate
partitive		eredat	eredaid
illative		eredasse	eredatesse eredaisse
inessive		eredas	eredates eredais
elative		eredast	eredatest eredaist
allative		eredale	eredatele eredaile
adessive		eredal	eredatel eredail
ablative		eredalt	eredatelt eredailt
translative		eredaks	eredateks eredaiks
terminative		eredani	eredateni
essive		eredana	eredatena
abessive		eredata	eredateta
comitative		eredaga	eredatega

Hungarian

Etymology

ér +‎ -e (possessive suffix)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛrɛ]
• Hyphenation: ere

Noun

ere

1. third-person singular single-possession possessive of ér

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, front unrounded harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	ere	—
accusative	erét	—
dative	erének	—
instrumental	erével	—
causal-final	eréért	—
translative	erévé	—
terminative	eréig	—
essive-formal	ereként	—
essive-modal	eréül	—
inessive	erében	—
superessive	erén	—
adessive	erénél	—
illative	erébe	—
sublative	erére	—
allative	eréhez	—
elative	eréből	—
delative	eréről	—
ablative	erétől	—
non-attributive possessive – singular	eréé	—
non-attributive possessive – plural	erééi	—

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛ.re/
• Rhymes: -ɛre
• Hyphenation: è‧re

Noun

ere f

1. plural of era

Anagrams

• ree

Latin

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɛ.rɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈɛː.re]

Verb

ere

1. second-person singular future active indicative of sum

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɛ.rɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈɛː.re]

Noun

ere

1. vocative singular of erus

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈeː.rɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈɛː.re]

Noun

ēre

1. ablative singular of ēr

Manchu

Romanization

ere

1. romanization of ᡝᡵᡝ

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch ēra, from Proto-West Germanic *aiʀu, from Proto-Germanic *aizō.

Noun

êre f

1. glory, fame
2. honour, respect
3. worship
4. decency, etiquette

Inflection

Weak feminine noun

	singular	plural
nominative	êre	êren
accusative	êre	êren
genitive	êre, êren	êren
dative	êre, êren	êren

Descendants

• Dutch: eer
  • Afrikaans: eer
  • Negerhollands: eer
• Limburgish: ieër

Etymology 2

Adverb

êre

1. alternative form of êer

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Article

êre

1. feminine genitive/dative singular of êen

Further reading

• “ere (I)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “ere (IV)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page IV

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English ēare, from Proto-West Germanic *auʀā, from Proto-Germanic *ausô, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ṓws.

Alternative forms

• eare, eere, eyr, ȝhere, here, ire, yere

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛːr(ə)/

Noun

ere (plural eren or eres)

1. The ear (organ that receives sound):
   1. The auricle; the outside of the ear.
   2. The ear canal; the inside channel of the ear.
2. The sense of hearing; the ability to hear.
   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎, published c. 1410, Mark 7:16, folio 19, verso, column 2; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     If ony man haþ eeris of herynge .· here he

     If anyone has ears for hearing, make him hear.

3. The level of attention given to someone speaking.
4. A handle or grip.
5. A portion of the heart with an earlike shape.

Related terms

• mousere

Descendants

• English: ear
  • Tok Pisin: ia
• Scots: ear

References

• “ēre, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 May 2018.

Etymology 2

Noun

ere

1. alternative form of eere (“ear of grain”)

Etymology 3

Noun

ere

1. alternative form of here (“army”)

Etymology 4

Determiner

ere

1. alternative form of here (“their”)

Etymology 5

Determiner

ere

1. alternative form of hire (“her”)

Pronoun

ere

1. alternative form of hire (“hers”)

Etymology 6

Verb

ere

1. alternative form of aren

Etymology 7

Verb

ere

1. alternative form of eren (“to plough”)

Middle High German

Etymology

Inherited from Old High German ēra, from Proto-West Germanic *aiʀu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈeːrə/

Noun

ēre f

1. honour, respect, renown

   Si stalten ir leben nâch triuwen und nâch êren. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Declension

Declension of ēre (strong feminine in -e)

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	diu	ēre	die	ēre
genitive	einer	dër	ēre	dër	ēren
dative	einer	dër	ēre	dën	ēren
accusative	eine	die	ēre	die	ēre

Descendants

• Central Franconian:

  Hunsrik: Eher

  Luxembourgish: Éier

• German: Ehre
• Rhine Franconian: Ehr, Ihr
• Vilamovian: ere

References

• Benecke, Georg Friedrich; Müller, Wilhelm; Zarncke, Friedrich (1863), “êre”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel

Murui Huitoto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɛɾɛ]
• Hyphenation: e‧re

Root

ere

1. giant anteater

Derived terms

• erezi
• ereño

Namia

Noun

ere

1. woman

References

• transnewguinea.org, citing D. C. Laycock, Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea (1968), Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66

Old Frisian

Alternative forms

• ēr

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *aiʀu, from Proto-Germanic *aizō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂oys-éh₂. Cognates include Old English āre, Old Saxon ēra and Old Dutch ēra.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeːre/, [ˈɛːre]

Noun

ēre f

1. honour

Inflection

Declension of ēre (ō-stem)

	singular	plural
nominative	ēre	ēra
accusative	ēre	ēra
genitive	ēre	ēra, ērena
dative	ēre	ērum, ērem, ēron

Descendants

• Saterland Frisian: Eere
• West Frisian: eare

References

• Köbler, Gerhard, Altfriesisches Wörterbuch (4th edition 2014)
• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009), An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, →ISBN

Purari

Noun

ere

1. water

References

• The Structural Violence of Resouce Extraction in the Purari Delta, in Tropical Forests Of Oceania: Anthropological Perspectives
• Comparative wordlists (Karl James Franklin, Summer Institute of Linguistics) (1975)
• Transnewguinea.org, citing G. E. MacDonald, The Teberan Language Family, pages 111-121, in The Linguistic Situation in the Gulf District and Adjacent Area, Papua New Guinea (editor K. J. Franklin) (1973)

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈere]

Noun

ere f

1. inflection of eră:
   1. indefinite plural
   2. indefinite genitive/dative singular

Sa

Noun

ere

1. village

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeɾe/ [ˈe.ɾe]
• Rhymes: -eɾe
• Syllabification: e‧re

Etymology 1

Noun

ere f (plural eres)

1. (proscribed) The name of the Latin-script letter R/r.

   Synonym: (represents both r and rr) erre

Derived terms

• ere eréa

Etymology 2

Verb

ere

1. (colloquial) apocopic form of eres; you are
   • 2019, “La venda”, in Amuza, performed by Miki Núñez:

     La venda ya cayó y serás como querías / Lo que ere, lo que ere, ere, ere, e

     The blindfold fell and you'll be however you wanted to be / What you are, what you are, you are, you are, a—

Further reading

• “ere”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• Royal Spanish Academy (ed.). "Un solo nombre para cada letra" (in Spanish).

Swedish

Alternative forms

• äre

Contraction

ere

1. (colloquial) contraction of är +‎ det, literally “is it, it is”

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔeɾe/ [ˈʔɛː.ɾɛ]
• Rhymes: -eɾe
• Syllabification: e‧re

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish aire, from Latin āēr, from Ancient Greek ἀήρ (aḗr). Doublet of arya.

Noun

ere (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜇᜒ)

1. air

   Synonym: hangin

   • 2017, Ladlad 2: An Anthology of Philippine Gay Writing, Anvil Publishing, Inc., →ISBN:

     Dapat matigas, di iyakin, di lumilipad ang kamay sa ere.

     I must act tough, not a crybaby, not with the hands fluttering in the air.

   • 2017, Penguin20, Altheria: School of Alchemy Book 1‎, Psicom Publishing Inc, page 47:

     Ito rin ang unang beses kong makakita ng Flying Board na parang skate board na lumilipad sa ere.

     This is also the first time I have seen a Flying Board, which is like a skateboard flying in the air.

2. sky

   Synonym: himpapawid

3. (figurative) arrogance

   Synonym: kahambugan

4. (music, dated) tempo

   Synonym: bilis

5. (music, dated) air (melody); tune

   Synonyms: himig, melodiya, tono

Alternative forms

• ayre — dated
• eyre

Derived terms

• isaere
• iwan sa ere
• maere
• mang-iwan sa ere
• pagsasaere
• umere

Related terms

• aerado
• aerasyon
• aerea
• aereo
• aerobika
• aerobyo
• aerodinamika
• aerodinamiko
• aerodromo
• aerograma
• aeronawta
• aeronawtika
• aeropobya
• aeropuwerto
• aerostatika
• aerostatiko
• aerotekniya
• awra
• ayre-libre
• eroplano
• eyrosol

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Spanish ere, the Spanish name of the letter R / r.

Noun

ere (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜇᜒ)

1. (historical) the name of the Latin-script letter R/r, in the Abecedario

   Synonyms: (in the Filipino alphabet) ar, (in the Abakada alphabet) ra

Related terms

• doble-ere

Further reading

• “ere”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “ere”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018.
• Cuadrado Muñiz, Adolfo (1972), Hispanismos en el tagalo: diccionario de vocablos de origen español vigentes en esta lengua filipina, Madrid: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, page 19

Tocharian B

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

ere m

1. appearance, complexion (of skin)

Derived terms

• ersna (“beauty”)

Further reading

• Adams, Douglas Q. (2013), “ere”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN

Turkish

Noun

ere

1. dative singular of er

Vilamovian

Etymology

From Old High German ēra.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

ēre f

1. homage, honor
2. fame

Yola

Adverb

ere

1. alternative form of eyver

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 38

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /è.ɾè/

Noun

èrè

1. advantage, reward
2. profit, reward

Usage notes

• This noun is normally used with the verb jẹ.

Derived terms

• èrè orí-okòwò (“investment profit”)
• èrè àgbélọ́gọ́rùn-ún (“percent gain”)
• èrè àjẹjù (“excess profit”)
• èrè àjẹwọlé (“generated profit”)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Yoruba *e-rè, from Proto-Edekiri *e-rè, ultimately from Proto-Yoruboid *é-lè, compare with Igala élè, Olukumi érè

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ē.ɾè/

Noun

erè

1. python, specifically the Ball python, regarded as a symbol of the rainbow spirit, Òṣùmàrè

   Synonyms: òṣùmàrè, òjòlá

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /è.ɾē/

Noun

ère

1. statue, figurine, sculpture

   ó gbẹ́ igi ní ère ― He carved a wooden sculpture

Usage notes

• This word is usually used with three verbs, gbẹ́ (“to carve”), mọ (“to mold”), or yá (“to make a metal image”), normally depending on the medium the sculpture is made in.

Derived terms

• agbẹ́gilére (“woodcarver”)
• elére
• ọdún Ère (“A festival celebrated by the people of Èsìẹ́”)
• ère àkúnlẹ̀bọ
• ère ìbejì

Etymology 4

Compare with Igala úlé

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ē.ɾé/

Noun

eré

1. physical play

   Synonyms: aré, iré

2. game

   Ẹ kúrò nídìí ìdò, eré ọmọdé ni ― Stop playing with the ido seeds, it's a child's game

3. race, run

   Synonym: eré ìje

   Eré tí ajá fogún ọdún sá; ìrìn fàájì ni fẹ́ṣin

   The race that took the dog twenty years to run is a leisurely stroll for the horse.

4. drama, musical, play
5. television show, movie, film

   Synonyms: fíìmù, sinimá

6. joke, fun

   Synonyms: àwàdà, àpárá

   mo ń ṣe eré ni ― I am only joking

Derived terms

• aṣọ-eré
• eléré (“dramatist, stage actor, player, comedian, athlete”)
• eré ayò
• eré ẹkúndẹ̀rín (“tragicomedy”)
• eré oníṣe (“drama”)
• eré orí ìtàgé (“theater show”)
• eré àrín
• eré àṣekágbá
• eré òṣùpá
• eré-amẹ́rìn-ínwá (“comedy”)
• eréepá (“rough play”)
• sáré (“to run”)
• ṣeré
• ìṣeré<t:doing games
• òṣèré

Descendants

• Brazilian Portuguese: erê

Etymology 5

From è- (“nominalizing prefix”) +‎ ré (“to swell”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /è.ɾé/

Noun

èré

1. inflamed or swollen part of the body

Etymology 6

From è- (“nominalizing prefix”) +‎ ré (“to curse”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /è.ɾé/

Noun

èré

1. curse

   Synonyms: èpè, èèdì, ègún

   ó fi wá ré èré ― He put curses on us

Zazaki

Noun

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ere

1. afternoon