Herr

See also: herr

English

Etymology 1

As a title and German and Jewish surname (also found in Hungary and France), from the noun Herr (“gentleman, sir”).

Proper noun

Herr (plural Herrs)

1. A surname.

Noun

Herr (plural Herren)

1. Used as a courtesy title before the surname of a German-speaking man.

   Synonym: Hr.

   Coordinate term: Frau

   • 1858 May 1, The Athenæum: Journal of English and Foreign Literature, Science, and the Fine Arts, number 1592, London, page 569, column 3:

     The principal singers we now learn are to be Mdlles. Krall and Jenny Meyer, Herren Schneider and Stepan.

   • 1862 November 14, “New Photolithographic Process”, in G. Wharton Simpson, editor, The Photographic News: A Weekly Record of the Progress of Photography, volume VI, number 219, London: […] Thomas Piper, […], page 546, column 1:

     On a variety of drawings being lately exhibited for a new town hall in one of the German capitals, a certain design of Herren Schmidt and Stauch attracted considerable attention among the art-loving public of the Fatherland, but as it happened to become a subject of jobbery, and was not to be accepted in consequence, would have been hardly accessible to larger circles of connoisseurs, without the invention of the new art.

   • 2014, Marsha Morton, Max Klinger and Wilhelmine Culture: On the Threshold of German Modernism, Ashgate Publishing, →ISBN, page 98:

     They stand in the poses of the two provincials—Herren Müller and Schultze—whose conversations (and portraits) were a regular column in the satirical paper.

Further reading

• “Herr”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “Herr”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Herr”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “Herr”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Etymology 2

As a Hmong surname, variant of Her, named after the Her clan, written in Chinese as 侯 (compare Hou).

Proper noun

Herr (plural Herrs)

1. A surname.

Etymology 3

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

Proper noun

Herr

1. An unincorporated community in Perry Township, Boone County, Indiana, United States.

German

Alternative forms

• Herre (archaic)
• Herꝛ (archaic; sometimes used in fraktur)
• (God): HErr, HERR

Etymology

From Middle High German hērre, hërre, from Old High German hēriro, hērro (“grey, grey-haired”), the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”) (by analogy with Latin senior (“elder”)), from Proto-Germanic *hairaz (“grey”).

Cognate with Dutch heer, Old English hār, English hoar, Old Norse hárr; compare also modern German hehr (“noble, holy”), herrschen (“to rule”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɛr/, [hɛʁ], [hɛr], [hɛɐ̯]

• Audio; [hɛɐ̯]:

  (file)

• Audio (Austria); “der Herr” [dɜɾ‿hɛr]:

  (file)

• Homophones: Heer, hehr, her (common merger)

Noun

Herr m (weak, genitive Herrn or (archaic) Herren, plural Herren or (archaic) Herrn, diminutive Herrchen n or Herrlein n)

1. man, gentleman (polite term)

   Herrenbekleidung

   gentlemen's wear

   Herrentoilette

   gentlemen's toilet

   Ein älterer Herr

   An old gentleman

2. sir (title of respect)

   Wie kann ich Euch zu Diensten sein, Herr?

   How can I serve you, sir?

   Gnädiger Herr!

   (Can be translated as my lord in English, but there is no direct equivalent)

3. Mr., mister, sir

   Sehr geehrter Herr Schmidt

   (Dear) Mr. Schmidt

   Die Herren Schmidt und Müller

   Messrs. Schmidt and Müller

   Herr Doktor von Braun ― Dr. von Braun

   Herr Professor ― Dr. (Ph.D.) / Professor

   Herr Bundeskanzler ― Mr. Chancellor or Sir

   Jawohl, Herr Oberst! ― Yes, sir! (Because Herr already is a respectful form of address, adding a term like sir is unnecessary) (literally, “Yes, Mr. Colonel.”)

   Entschuldigung, der Herr? Sie haben Ihre Uhr verloren. ― Excuse me, sir? You've lost your watch. (standard usage between strangers)

   Was kann ich Ihnen bringen, meine Herren? ― What can I bring you, sirs?

   Sehr verehrte Damen und Herren ― Dear Sir or Madam (address in formal letters and e-mails)

4. gentleman

   Meine Damen und Herren...

   Ladies and gentlemen...

5. master, lord (generally denotes that someone has control over something, either in a generic or in a regal sense)

   Herr der Lage sein

   to be master of the situation

   Weil die Tiere auf seinen Wink reagieren, nennt man ihn den Herren der Wölfe.

   Because the animals are at his beck and call, he is called Lord of the Wolves.

   • (Can we date this quote?), Der gestiefelte Kater:

     Wer ist Herr dieser Landen? Der Graf von Karabas.

     Who is the ruler/owner of these lands? The Count of Karabas.

   Der Schirmherr

   the patron

6. (historical) the lowest title of German nobility

   Gans Edle Herren zu Putlitz

   Gans (noble) lords of Putlitz

7. Lord, God

   Das Haus des Herrn

   The House of God

   Gott der Herr

   The Lord

Usage notes

• Omitting Herr (or the female form Frau) when addressing a person with their last name is usually perceived as disrespectful, but it is more common when speaking about someone who is not present, except in formal contexts. However, there may be contextual pitfalls and regional differences, which makes it advisable for learners not to leave out Herr (and Frau).
• When people address each other with their last name, but say du to each other, the words Herr and Frau are always left out in most regions. In parts of western Germany, however, there is (or was) a system of saying du and Herr (Frau) among coworkers.

Declension

• The forms Herrn and Herren were originally simple phonetic/graphic variants. Both were used for the singular and plural inflections. In contemporary standard German they are—usually—distinguished functionally, Herrn being the inflected singular, Herren the plural.

Declension of Herr [masculine, weak]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Herr	die	Herren, Herrn1
genitive	eines	des	Herrn, Herren1	der	Herren, Herrn1
dative	einem	dem	Herrn, Herren1	den	Herren, Herrn1
accusative	einen	den	Herrn, Herren1	die	Herren, Herrn1

¹Archaic.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• Bauherr
• Brotherr
• Dienstherr
• Empfangsherr
• Feldherr
• Feudalherr
• Freiherr
• Hausherr
• Herrenbekleidung
• Herrenhaus
• Herrenmensch
• Herrenmode
• Herrenmoral
• Herrgott
• Herrin
• herrisch
• herrlich
• Herrschaft
• Herr werden
• Ratsherr

Related terms

• herrschen

Further reading

• “Herr” in Duden online
• “Herr” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• Friedrich Kluge (1883) “Herr”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891

Hunsrik

Alternative forms

• hër (Portuguese based orthography)

Etymology

From Middle High German herre, from Old High German hēriro, hērro, the comparative form of hēr (“noble, venerable”) (German hehr), by analogy with Latin senior (“elder”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hɛr/

Pronoun

Herr m (plural Herre)

1. Mr., mister, sir
2. gentleman
3. master, lord, generally denotes that somebody has control over something, either in a generic or in a regal sense
4. Lord, God
5. Used as a title of respect that is not translated into English or replaced with Sir

Further reading

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary