Schwester

See also: schwester and Schwëster

Central Franconian

Alternative forms
  • Sester, Söster (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old High German swester, from Proto-Germanic *swestēr, from Proto-Indo-European *swésōr. The native form, at least in western dialects, is Söster with swe- → sü- (compare Dutch zuster). The modern form is based on German Schwester.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈʃʋɛstʌ/

Noun

Schwester f (plural Schwestere, diminutive Schwesterche)

  1. sister
    Meng Schwester es net ens e Johr aaler wie ich.
    My sister is less than a year older than me.
  2. nun
  3. nurse

German

Alternative forms
  • Schw. (abbreviation)

Etymology

From Old High German swester, from Proto-Germanic *swestēr, from Proto-Indo-European *swésōr. Compare Low German swester, Dutch zuster, English sister, Danish søster, Swedish syster.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈʃvɛstɐ/, [ˈʃʋɛstɐ]
  • audio(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛstɐ

Noun

Schwester f (genitive Schwester, plural Schwestern)

  1. sister
    Meine Schwester kommt morgen.
    My sister is coming tomorrow.
  2. (chiefly colloquial, short for Krankenschwester) nurse; by extension used to refer to any medical staff that is not a doctor (usually, but not necessarily, confined to female staff)
  3. nurse; used as a title of address for nurses
  4. (Christianity) sister; nun; used particularly, but not only, as a title of address

Declension
Declension of Schwester
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative eine die Schwester die Schwestern
genitive einer der Schwester der Schwestern
dative einer der Schwester den Schwestern
accusative eine die Schwester die Schwestern

Derived terms

Further reading
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