Gerät

See also: gerat, gérât, and gerät

German

Etymology

From Middle High German geræte (“consultation; equipment”), from Old High German girāti (“advice, consultation”), derived from rāt (“advice, council”), whence modern German Rat. The semantic development can, theoretically, be explained internally through a path “consultation” → “precaution” → “equipment”. However, the word has without doubt been influenced by another term, at hand in Old High German gireiti (“stuff, equipment”), which is related with bereit (“ready”). Both became homophonous in many Low and Central German dialects; compare Middle Low German gerēde (“consultation; equipment”), which can be cognate with either Old High German word. The Middle High German sources show that the sense “equipment” did indeed spread from the north. Cognate with Swedish geråd. Compare Dutch gerei and gereedschap.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɡəˈʁɛːt/, [ɡəˈʁɛːt] (standard; used naturally in western Germany and Switzerland)
IPA^(key): /ɡəˈʁeːt/ (overall more common; chiefly northern and eastern regions)
Audio (Austria): (file)
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -ɛːt
Homophone: gerät

Noun

Gerät n (strong, genitive Gerätes or Geräts, plural Geräte)

(countable) device, tool, appliance, machine
Bitte schalten Sie Ihre elektronischen Geräte aus.
Please turn off your electronic devices.

einwandfreie Geräte. ― faultless devices.
(uncountable) equipment, tools
(dated, uncountable) contents, furniture

Declension

Declension of Gerät [neuter, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Gerät	die	Geräte
genitive	eines	des	Gerätes, Geräts	der	Geräte
dative	einem	dem	Gerät, Geräte¹	den	Geräten
accusative	ein	das	Gerät	die	Geräte

Gerät

German

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading