Schäfer

See also: Schaefer, Schafer, and schäfer

German

Etymology

From Middle High German schæfære, from late Old High German scāphāre. Equivalent to Schaf (“sheep”) +‎ -er. Compare Dutch schaper, scheper.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃɛːfər/, [ˈʃɛː.fɐ], [ˈʃeː.fɐ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛːfɐ

Noun

Schäfer m (strong, genitive Schäfers, plural Schäfer, feminine Schäferin)

1. shepherd

   Synonym: Schafhirt(e)

Declension

Declension of Schäfer [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Schäfer	die	Schäfer
genitive	eines	des	Schäfers	der	Schäfer
dative	einem	dem	Schäfer	den	Schäfern
accusative	einen	den	Schäfer	die	Schäfer

Proper noun

Schäfer m or f (proper noun, surname, masculine genitive Schäfers or (with an article) Schäfer, feminine genitive Schäfer, plural Schäfers or Schäfer)

1. a surname originating as an occupation, equivalent to English Shepherd

Alternative forms

• Schaefer

Descendants

• → English: Schaefer, Schafer

Further reading

• “Schäfer” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Schäfer” in Duden online
• “Schäfer” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• Schäfer on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de