Wort

From Middle High German wort. Compare Dutch woord, English word, Danish ord. Doublet of Verb.

• IPA^(key): /vɔrt/, [vɔʁt], [ʋ-], [-ɔɐ̯t], [-ɔːt]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Wort n (strong, genitive Wortes or Worts, plural Wörter or Worte, diminutive Wörtchen n or Wörtlein n)

1. (plural Wörter) word as an isolated unit

   Im Deutschen gibt es wenig Wörter, die mit y geschrieben werden.

   In German there are few words spelt with y.

2. (plural Worte) utterance, word with context

   Er erklärte das Problem mit wenigen Worten.

   He explained the problem in few words.

   Keiner wagte dem Wort des Königs zu widersprechen.

   No one dared contradict the king's word.

3. (uncountable) speech, speaking, (figuratively) floor

   Er beherrscht unsere Sprache in Wort und Schrift.

   He masters our language in speech and writing.

   Der Präsident erteilte dem Abgeordneten das Wort.

   The president gave the delegate the floor.

4. (uncountable) promise, (figuratively) word

   Ich gebe dir mein Wort, dass ich pünktlich da bin.

   I give you my word that I shall be there on time.

5. (Christianity) the Word (epithet for Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity)
6. (biblical) the Word of God, Scripture, the scriptures (collectively)

• A clear distinction is usually made in the standard language between the plural forms Wörter and Worte (as above). Note, however, the compound Sprichwort (“proverb”), whose plural is more commonly Sprichwörter rather than the expected Sprichworte. Generally, the distinction is much less clear in colloquial German, where Worte is not seldom heard for sense 1, and Wörter is occasionally heard for sense 2.

• (grammar, parts of speech):
  • (adjective): Artwort, Beinennwort, Beiwort, Eigenschaftswort, Wiewort, (rare) Beschreibungswort, (rare, dated) Eigenheitswort
  • (adverb): Nebenwort, Umstandswort, Zuwort
  • (article): Geschlechtswort
  • (conjunction): Bindewort, Fügewort
  • (interjection): Ausdruckswort, Ausrufewort, Empfindungswort, Zwischenwort
  • (noun (sensu lato)): Namenwort, Nennwort
  • (noun (sensu stricto), substantive): Dingwort, Gegenstandswort (ambiguous), Hauptnennwort, Hauptwort, Sachwort
  • (numeral, number): Zahlnennwort, Zahlwort
  • (participle): Mittelwort
  • (preposition): Verhältniswort, Vorsetzwort, Vorwort
  • (pronoun): Fürwort, Fürnennwort, Personenwort, Personwort, Vertretewort, Vertretungswort
  • (verb): Aussagewort, Tätigkeitswort, Tuwort, Wandelwort, Zeitwort
• (grammar) Hilfswort, Lagewort, Verrichtungswort
• (grammar) Pluralwort, Singularwort
• (linguistics) Kurzwort; Endwort, Klammerwort, Kopfwort, Rumpfwort, Schwanzwort, Silbenkurzwort

• “Wort” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Wort” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “Wort” in Duden online
• Friedrich Kluge (1883) “Wort”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891

From Middle High German wort.

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɔt/

Wort n (plural Werter or Worte)

1. word

The plural forms are used as mentioned in the entry above.

• Wortschatz

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary