dier

From die + -er.

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.

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

• Deri, IDer, Reid, dire, drie, ired, ride

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.

• IPA^(key): /dir/, [diːr]

• Audio:

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dier (plural diere)

1. animal
2. beast; brute

• IPA^(key): /dir/, [diːr], [diər]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: dier
• Rhymes: -ir

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

dier n (plural dieren, diminutive diertje n)

1. animal (any member of the kingdom Animalia)

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

From Middle Dutch dier.

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 [1])

   The accused (woman) is guilty of having murdered her husband in cooperation with a friend, her daughter and the latter's friend [...]

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.

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

dier (comparative dierder, superlative dierst)

1. (dialectal, archaic) alternative form of duur

• dierbaar

• drie, ried

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

dier

1. they

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

• IPA^(key): /diːr/, [diə̯], [ˈdiː.ɐ]
• Rhymes: -iːə
• Homophones: Dier, dir, Dir

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

1. (of plants and trees) dry, dead

• IPA^(key): /diə̯r/

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

dier n

1. animal

• Dutch: dier
• Limburgish: deer

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

dier

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

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

dier

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

dier

1. present tense of die

• dior

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

dier n

1. animal

• Middle Dutch: dier
  • Dutch: dier
    • Afrikaans: dier
  • Limburgish: deer

• “dier”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

dier

1. genitive plural of diera

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

• IPA^(key): /diə̯r/

dier n (plural dieren, diminutive dierke)

1. animal

• húsdier
• sûchdier

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