Kerf

See also: kerf

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Low German Kerbe, from Middle Low German kerf, kerve, probably related to Old Saxon kervan (“to cut”).

Synonymous with Kerbtier (1815 by Lorenz Oken); cf. German Low German half (“half”) and Dutch half (“half”) with High German halb (“half”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɛrf/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Kerf m (strong, genitive Kerfes or Kerfs, plural Kerfe)

1. (rare) insect

   Synonyms: (obsolete) Insect; Insekt; Kerbtier

Declension

Declension of Kerf [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Kerf	die	Kerfe
genitive	eines	des	Kerfes, Kerfs	der	Kerfe
dative	einem	dem	Kerf, Kerfe1	den	Kerfen
accusative	einen	den	Kerf	die	Kerfe

¹Now rare, see notes.

Further reading

• “Kerf” in Duden online
• “Kerf” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• Friedrich Kluge (1989) “Kerf”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 366