bier

See also: Bier and Bie̩r

English

WOTD – 28 January 2010

a funeral bier (sense 1)

Etymology

From Middle English beer, beere, bere, from Old English bēr, (West Saxon) bǣr (“stretcher, bier”), from Proto-West Germanic *bāru, from Proto-Germanic *bērō, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, bear”).

Cognate with Saterland Frisian Beere (“stretcher, bier”), Dutch baar (“bier”), German Bahre (“bier, stretcher”). More at bear.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /bɪə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /bɪɚ/
• Homophones: beer, bere, bear (New Zealand, cheer–chair merger)
• Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Noun

bier (plural biers)

1. A litter to transport the corpse of a dead person.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:

     They bore him bare-faced on the bier.

2. A platform or stand where a body or coffin is placed.
   • 1971, Pichon Pei Yung Loh, The early Chiang Kai-shek: A STUDY OF HIS PERSONALITY AND POLITICS, 1887-1924‎^[1], Columbia University Press, page 1:

     On April 5, 1925, Chiang Kai-shek returned from the First Eastern Expedition to the Whampoa Military Academy to officiate at a funeral service for Sun Yat-sen, who had died in Peking on March 12. Huang Chi-lu, then a young professor of political science at the University of Kwangtung and destined to become director of the Kuomintang Archives some forty years later, has informed us of the display of strong emotion evidenced by Chiang on this occasion: "The service was officiated by Mr. Chiang and Liao Chung-k'ai and was attended by over four thousand officers, cadets, and soldiers. As the funeral ceremonies began, Mr. Chiang, unable to control himself, wept bitterly and audibly, causing all in the assembly to shed tears."¹ Three years later, at the conclusion of the Northern Expedition, a similarly melodramatic scene unfolded before the eyes of the public as Chiang visited Sun's bier in the suburbs of Peking.

3. A count of forty threads in the warp or chain of woollen cloth.

Derived terms

• abier
• bierbalk

 

Translations

litter to transport the corpse of a dead person

• Arabic: جَنَازَة (ar) f (janāza)
• Czech: máry (cs) f pl
• Dutch: baar (nl) f, lijkbaar (nl) f
• Finnish: ruumispaarit pl
• French: civière (fr)
• Galician: escano (gl) m, cadaleito m
• German: Bahre (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient: φέρετρον n (phéretron)

• Irish: cróchar m
• Italian: barella (it), catafalco (it) m
• Macedonian: но́сило n (nósilo), катафа́лка f (katafálka)
• Malay: pedati jenazah
• Maori: puhirere (for an important person), atamira
• Odia: କୋକେଇ (or) (kokei), କକୁଆ (or) (kakuā), ଛଖଣ୍ଡ (or) (chakhaṇḍa), ବାଜ୍ଖଟ୍ (or) (bājkhaṭ), ଛଡ଼ାଙ୍ଗିଆ (or) (chaṛāṅgiā), ଶବରଥ (śabaratha)
• Ottoman Turkish: جنازه (cenâze, cinâze)
• Polish: mary (pl)
• Romanian: năsălie (ro) f
• Russian: похоронные носи́лки (ru) (nosílki)
• Scottish Gaelic: giùlan m
• Serbo-Croatian: katafalk (sh) m, barela (sh) f, pogrebna kolica n pl
• Spanish: camilla (es), parihuelas (es), angarillas (es) f pl
• Swahili: jeneza (sw)
• Swedish: bår (sv) c
• Tagalog: patungan ng kabaong
• Welsh: elor f

platform or stand where a body or coffin is placed

• Finnish: katafalkki (fi)
• French: catafalque (fr), lit mortuaire
• Galician: catafalco (gl) m
• Hungarian: ravatal (hu)
• Italian: catafalco (it)
• Macedonian: о́дар m (ódar)
• Ottoman Turkish: جنازه (cenâze, cinâze)
• Polish: katafalk (pl)
• Romanian: catafalc (ro) n
• Russian: катафа́лк (ru) m (katafálk)
• Serbo-Croatian: katafalk (sh) m
• Spanish: catafalco (es)
• Swedish: katafalk (sv)
• Welsh: elor f

Further reading

• bier on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Brie, brie, rebi

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch bier, from Middle Dutch bier, from Old Dutch bier, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą (“beer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰews- (“dross”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bir/, [biːr]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bier (plural biere, diminutive biertjie)

1. beer (alcoholic drink brewed from grains or other starch material)
2. (countable) a serving of beer

Derived terms

• bierbottel
• bierglas

Breton

Etymology

From Dutch bier, from Middle Dutch bier, from Old Dutch bier, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ (“beer”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbiːɛr/

Noun

bier m

1. beer

Danish

Noun

bier c

1. indefinite plural of bi

Verb

bier

1. present of bie

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch bier, from Old Dutch bier, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą (“beer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰews- (“dross”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bir/, [biːr]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bier
• Rhymes: -ir

Noun

bier n (plural bieren, diminutive biertje n)

1. (uncountable) beer (alcoholic drink brewed from grains or other starch material)

   Het is hier nu vooral feest en bier drinken.

   Here it's mostly partying and drinking beer.

2. (countable, usually in the diminutive) a serving of beer
3. (countable) a variety of beer

Synonyms

• gerstenat

Derived terms

• bier na wijn geeft venijn
• bieraccijns
• bierazijn
• bierbank
• bierboom
• bierbrouwer
• bierbrouwerij
• bierbrouwster
• bierbuik
• bierdop
• bierdrager
• bierdrinker
• bierfiets
• bierfles
• biergeld
• bierglas
• bierhuis
• bierkan
• bierkelder
• bierkroeg
• bierpens
• bierpomp
• bierpul
• biersmaak
• biertap
• bierton
• biervat
• biervilt
• bierwagen
• bierworst
• bvo
• wijn na bier geeft plezier

 

- beer types

• abdijbier
• amberbier
• bokbier
• fruitbier
• gemberbier
• kriekenbier
• lambiekbier
• palmbier
• rookbier
• speciaalbier
• tapbier
• trappistenbier
• witbier

 

Descendants

• Afrikaans: bier
• Negerhollands: bier
• → Breton: bier
• → Caribbean Hindustani: bir
• → Caribbean Javanese: bir
• → Malay: bir
  • Indonesian: bir
• → Japanese: ビール (bīru)
  • → Hakka: 啤露 (pi-lú)
  • → Hokkien: 米魯／米鲁 (bì-lù / bì-luh / bih-luh)
  • → Korean: 비르 (bireu)
  • → Jeju: 비르 (bireu)
• → Javanese: ꦧꦶꦂ (bir)
• → Sranan Tongo: biri
  • Aukan: bii
  • Saramaccan: bíi
  • → Kari'na: biri

Anagrams

• brei

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch bier, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą.

Noun

bier n

1. beer

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: bier (see there for further descendants)
  • Afrikaans: bier
• Limburgish: beer
• → Middle French: biere (see there for further descendants)

Further reading

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

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

bier m or f

1. indefinite plural of bie

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

bier f

1. indefinite plural of bie

Vilamovian

Etymology

See bjēr

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bier f (plural biern)

1. berry

West Frisian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /biə̯r/

Etymology 1

From Old Frisian biār, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą.

Noun

bier n (plural bieren, diminutive bierke)

1. beer

Further reading

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

Etymology 2

From Old Frisian bēre, from Proto-West Germanic *bāru.

Noun

bier n (plural bieren)

1. A bier (litter).

Further reading

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