kers

See also: Kers, KERS, and ķers

Afrikaans

Etymology

From dialectal Dutch kers (“candle”), variant of kaars, from Middle Dutch kerse. The Dutch development -er- → -aar- before a dental consonant is absent in a number of Afrikaans words (compare lantern, perd, stert, werd).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

kers (plural kerse, diminutive kersie)

1. candle

Usage notes

• The diminutive kersie is the same as the noun kersie (“cherry”); it is avoided unless the context is clear.

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɛrs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: kers
• Rhymes: -ɛrs

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch kerse, ultimately from Vulgar Latin ceresia, from the neuter plural of Late Latin ceresium, from Latin cerasium, from Ancient Greek κεράσιον (kerásion, “cherry”), from κερασός (kerasós, “bird cherry”), ultimately possibly of Anatolian origin.

Noun

Rode kersen
Red cherries

kers f (plural kersen, diminutive kersje n)

1. a cherry tree, one of certain trees of the genus Prunus, especially the subgenus Cerasus
2. a cherry, a stone fruit of a cherry tree

Hypernyms

• (cherry fruit): steenfruit, steenvrucht

Derived terms

• kersenbloesem
• kersenbonbon
• kersenboom
• kersendief
• kersenhout
• kersenjam
• kersenpit
• kersenrood
• kersensap
• kersentaart
• kersenvlaai
• kersrood
• meikers

 

Descendants

• ⇒ Afrikaans: kersie (from the diminutive form)
• Negerhollands: kirsch
• → Caribbean Hindustani: kers
• → Malay: kersen (from the plural form)
  • Indonesian: kers, kersen
• → Sranan Tongo: kersi
  • → Caribbean Hindustani: kersi
  • → Caribbean Javanese: kèrsi
• → West Frisian: kers

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch kerse, kersse, from Old Dutch *kersa, *kressa, from Proto-West Germanic *karsjā, *krassjā, from Proto-Germanic *krasjǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *gras-. Cognates include Sanskrit ग्रसति (grasati); related to English cress, German Kresse.

Kresse

Noun

kers f (uncountable)

1. cress: a term used of various plants, chiefly but not solely of the family Brassicaceae (crucifers), particularly of the genus Rorippa

Derived terms

• akkerkers
• kruidkers
• moeraskers
• Oost-Indische kers
• Oostenrijkse kers
• peperkers
• tuinkers
• waterkers
• wolfskers
• zinkboerenkers

 

Icelandic

Noun

kers

1. indefinite genitive singular of ker

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɛrs/
• Hyphenation: kèrs

Noun

kèrs (uncountable)

1. (dated) Alternative form of kersen (“cherry”).

Synonyms

• ceri, seri
• kers

West Frisian

Etymology

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

Noun

kers c (plural kersen, diminutive kerske)

1. (Clay) cherry

Alternative forms

• kjers (Wood)

Further reading

• “kers (II)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011