ere

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”).

• yer [15th–16th c.]

• (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)

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.

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.

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.

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

• IPA^(key): /ɪə(ɹ)/

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.

Formed from is + there + a/an.

• 'ere

• IPA^(key): /eːɹə/

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?

• -eer, EER, REE, Ree, e'er, eer, ree

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

• IPA^(key): /eɾe/ [e.ɾe]

• Audio:

  (file)

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

ere (not comparable)

1. also, too

• “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

ere

1. water

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

ere

1. (obsolete) present plural of være

• Plural verbs were made optional in 1900.

• er

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eːrə

ere

1. (archaic) dative singular of eer

• ere wie ere toekomt

ere

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

• eer, ree

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

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

1. bright

ér +‎ -e (possessive suffix)

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

ere

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

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

ere f

1. plural of era

• ree

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

ere

1. second-person singular future active indicative of sum

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

ere

1. vocative singular of erus

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

ēre

1. ablative singular of ēr

ere

1. romanization of ᡝᡵᡝ

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

êre f

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

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

êre

1. alternative form of êer

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

êre

1. feminine genitive/dative singular of êen

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

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

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛːr(ə)/

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.)‎^[1], 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.

• ere fynger
• mousere

• English: ear, ears
  • Tok Pisin: ia
  • Krio: yes
  • Sranan Tongo: yesi
    • Aukan: yesi
    • Saramaccan: jési
• Scots: er, ere, eir

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

ere

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

ere

1. alternative form of here (“army”)

ere

1. alternative form of here (“their”)

ere

1. alternative form of hire (“her”)

ere

1. alternative form of hire (“hers”)

ere

1. alternative form of nere (“kidney”)

ere

1. alternative form of aren

ere

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

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

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

ēre f

1. honour, respect, renown

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

• Central Franconian:

  Hunsrik: Eher

  Luxembourgish: Éier

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

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

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

ere

1. giant anteater

ere

1. woman

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈeː.re/

ēre n (Mercian)

1. alternative form of īere

Strong ja-stem:

• ēr

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.

• IPA^(key): /ˈeːre/, [ˈɛːre]

ēre f

1. honour

• Saterland Frisian: Eere
• West Frisian: eare

• 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

ere

1. water

• 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)

• IPA^(key): [ˈere]

ere f

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

ere

1. village

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

ere f (plural eres)

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

   Synonym: (represents both r and rr) erre

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—

• “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).

• äre

ere

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

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

Borrowed from Spanish aire, from Old Spanish ayre, from Latin āēr, borrowed from Ancient Greek ᾱ̓ήρ (āḗr, “air”), from Proto-Hellenic *auhḗr, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewsér, from *h₂ews-. Doublet of arya.

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^[2], 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

• ayre — dated
• eyre

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

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

• “ere”, in KWF Diksiyonaryo ng Wikang Filipino, Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2025
• “ere”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 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

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

ere m

1. appearance, complexion (of skin)

• ersna (“beauty”)

• 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

ere

1. dative singular of er

From Old High German ēra.

• Audio:

  (file)

ēre f

1. homage, honor
2. fame

ere

1. alternative form of eyver

• 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

• IPA^(key): /è.ɾè/

èrè

1. advantage, reward
2. profit, reward

• This noun is normally used with the verb jẹ.

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

• IPA^(key): /ē.ɾè/

erè

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

   Synonyms: òṣùmàrè, òjòlá

• IPA^(key): /è.ɾē/

ère

1. statue, figurine, sculpture

   ó gbẹ́ igi ní ère ― He carved a wooden sculpture

• 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.

Compare with Igala úlé

• IPA^(key): /ē.ɾé/

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

• Brazilian Portuguese: erê

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

• IPA^(key): /è.ɾé/

èré

1. inflamed or swollen part of the body

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

• IPA^(key): /è.ɾé/

èré

1. curse

   Synonyms: èpè, èèdì, ègún

   ó fi wá ré èré ― He put curses on us

1=n

ere

1. afternoon