noun
Meaning 1
Inheritance; patrimony.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, rare
Examples
- Son, you will have this farm to erf.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
erf
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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Received-Pronunciation: /ɜːf/
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General-American: /ɝf/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)f
noun
Meaning 2
Stock; cattle.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A small inherited house-and-garden lot in a village or settlement.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: New-York, South-Africa, US, regional
Qualifier: Cape Colony
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h3erbh-der. Proto-Germanic *arbiją Proto-West Germanic *arbī Old English ierfe Middle English erve English erf 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”)). 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 and odal and athel.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h3erbh-der. Proto-Germanic *arbiją Proto-West Germanic *arbī Old Dutch ervi Middle Dutch erve Dutch erfbor. English erf Borrowed from obsolete Dutch erf (“hereditament, plot of land”). Doublet of erf above.