1862, E. William Robertson,Scotland Under Her Early Kings, page137:
[…]the character of a horseman was inseparable connected with theknight—the military attendant of the baron, who was himself nothing more than theWer, orMan, of the king—even thearmiger,[…]
1864, Thomas Oswald Cockayne,Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England[...] from Brit. mus. ms. Cotton. Vitellius C. III, page205:
Further is this wort of two kinds,wer and wife, or male and female. Thewer, or male, hath white blossoms, and the wife, or female, hath red or brown; either is beneficial and wonderlike, and they have on them wondrous virtue.
Under the system of money compensation, the kindred of the slain must demand payment of thewer, or prosecute the feud. They had the right to thewer when paid, and must by oath release the slayer and his kindred from the feud.
It was so in the England ofAlfred's day; the maternal kinsfolk paid a third of thewer. TheLeges Henrici, which about such a matter will not be inventing new rules, tell us that the paternal kinsfolk pay and receive two-thirds, the maternal kinsfolk one-third of thewer; and this is borne out by other evidence.
(what): In colloquial German,wer and its forms may be used in reference to things. This is often done when asking about a noun whose gender one knows to be masculine or feminine. For example:Kannst du mir mal den Dings rübergeben? –Wen? (“Could you pass me the thingamabob?” – “Passwhat?”) In this case, the interrogative mirrors the grammatical gender of the noun one asks about.
(someone): The colloquialwer meaning “someone” cannot usually be the first word in a main clause, because it could be misinterpreted as an interrogative in this position. The only exception is when it is followed by a nominalized adjective:
Wer Neues ist in die Mannschaft gekommen. –Someone new joined the team.
A user suggests that this German entry be cleaned up, giving the reason:“manual inflection table should be moved to a template”.
Please see the discussion onRequests for cleanup(+) or thetalk page for more information and remove this template after the problem has been dealt with.
...ðā ðā hǣðenan āhēowon þæt trēow mid ormǣtre blisse, þæt hit brastliende sāh tō ðām hālganwere, hetelīċe swīðe. Þā worhte hē onġēan ðām hrēosendum trēowe þǣs Hǣlendes rōde tācn, and hit ðǣrrihte ætstōd, wende ðā onġēan, and hrēas underbæc, and fornēan offēoll ðā ðe hit ǣr forcurfon.
Then the heathens cut down the tree with great joy, so that, rustling, it fell towards the holyman very violently. Then he made the sign of the Savior's cross to the falling tree, and it immediately stood still, turned around, and fell backwards, and almost fell upon those who had previously cut it.
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, published1867,page77
