wivre

Old French

Alternative forms

• guivere, guivre, huivre, vivre, vyvre, wivere, wyvre

Etymology

Anglo-Norman and Old Northern French form of guivre, from Latin vīpera. See English viper and French vipère.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwi.vrə/

Noun

wivre oblique singular, f (oblique plural wivres, nominative singular wivre, nominative plural wivres)

1. any of various types of snake, viper
2. beam, girder

Descendants

• French: guivre, vouivre (from variant forms)
• → English: weever
• → Middle English: wyver, wyvere
  • ⇒ English: wyvern
  • ⇒ Spanish: guiverno
• Portuguese: guivra

Further reading

• guivre on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub
• “wīver, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.