von

Probably ultimately from a derivative of Latin avus, or a related term, possibly a diminutive. Compare Italian avo, avolo. Cf. also archaic Romanian bun (“grandfather”) (modern bunic), Calabrian Sicilian and Piedmontese bona (“grandmother”).

von m (plural vons)

1. grandfather

• nono

• ave
• basavon

From Middle High German von (“from”), from Old High German fon, fona (“from”), from Proto-Germanic *afanē, *fanē, *funē (“from”), compound of *afa (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“from, off”)) + *ana (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- (“on”)). Cognate with Old Saxon fana, fan (“from”), Dutch van (“from; of”), Old Frisian fon (“from”).

• IPA^(key): /fɔn/, [fɔn]

• audio

  (file)

von (+ dative)

1. from

   Ich fahre von Köln nach Hamburg.

   I'm travelling from Cologne to Hamburg.

   Ich hab’s von meiner Schwester gehört.

   I heard it from my sister.

2. of, belonging to (often replacing genitive; see usage note below)

   das Auto von meinem Vater ― my father’s car / the car of my father

3. by (with passive voice)

   Das Hotel wird von der Firma bezahlt.

   The hotel is paid for by the company.

4. about, of (a topic)

   Er hat von seiner Jugend erzählt.

   He told about his youth.

   • 1796, Abraham Sahlstedt, Schwedische Grammatik nach dem Sprachgebrauch unserer Zeiten, Lübeck & Leipzig, page 259:

     Von dem Nomine Substantivo, oder dem Hauptworte.

     About the substantive noun, or the [alternative term]. (headline)

5. on, with (a resource)

   Von welchem Geld soll ich als Arbeitsloser in Urlaub fahren?

   Being unemployed, on what money should I go on holidays?

   Man kann nicht nur von Luft und Liebe leben.

   You can’t live on air and love alone. (proverb)

• (from): English “from” is generally expressed by means of von, but aus is often used with geographical names. One uses von when both the places “from which” and “to which” are given: Dieser Zug fährt von Köln nach Hamburg. – “This train goes from Cologne to Hamburg.” If the further direction is not given, aus is the normal choice: Dieser Zug kommt aus Köln. – “This train is coming from Cologne.” The phrase: Dieser Zug kommt von Köln is not wrong but has a colloquial ring to it.
• (of): The preposition von is used to replace possessive and partitive genitives, sometimes also genitives with prepositions. Such replacement can be obligatory, optional, or restricted to the colloquial register:

It is obligatory if the genitive cannot be expressed grammatically, which is the case with common nouns not preceded by any declinable articles, determiners, or adjectives: die Rechte von Kindern (“children’s rights”); der Geschmack von Käse (“the taste of cheese”). It is also true of most singular pronouns and all personal pronouns: der Geschmack von diesem (“the taste of this”); ein Freund von mir (“a friend of mine”).

The replacement is optional in cases such as the following: 1.) with those pronouns that do have an applicable genitive form, chiefly plurals: die Arbeit vieler = die Arbeit von vielen (“the work of many”); 2.) with the numeral genitives zweier and dreier (see lemmas); 3.) with proper nouns, particularly geographical names: die Kirchen Roms = die Kirchen von Rom (“the churches of Rome”); 4.) with common nouns preceded only by an adjective: die Rechte kleiner Kinder = die Rechte von kleinen Kindern (“small children’s rights”).

The replacement is colloquial in most other cases. Any possessive or partitive genitive can, per se, be replaced with a von-phrase, which is normal in speech, and virtually obligatory in colloquial speech. In formal writing, however, it is generally considered incorrect and unusual. This is one of the gravest grammatical differences between colloquial and literary German.

• In older usage, Latin nouns often occurred in the ablative case after von. This is now obsolete, Latin case inflections never being used in contemporary German (except the genitives of a few personal names).

• (by): durch

• vom

• -s

• IPA^(key): [ˈvon]
• Hyphenation: von

Of unknown origin.[1]

von

1. (transitive) to pull, draw, attract

   felvonta a vitorlát ― he hoisted the sails (literally, “he pulled/drew up the sails”)

   félrevonta a barátját ― she drew/pulled her friend aside

   magához vonta a lányt ― he drew/pulled her closer to himself

   magára vonta a tanára figyelmét ― he drew/attracted his teacher’s attention

2. (transitive) to cover, envelop, enclose, encircle, surround

   csokoládéval vonta be a felszínét ― she covered its surface with chocolate

   élőláncot vontak az épület köré ― they formed a human chain around the building (literally, “they enclosed the building with…”)

   a varázsló pajzsot vont maga köré ― the wizard surrounded himself with a shield

(With verbal prefixes):

(Expressions):

• felelősségre von
• gyököt von
• kérdőre von
• kétségbe von
• levonja a tanulságot
• maga után von, magával von
• vállat von

Borrowed from Korean 원 (won, also 圓 in hanja), from Sinitic 圓／圆 (yuán, “circle” > “round coin”).

von

1. won (currency)

From Old Norse ván.

• IPA^(key): /vɔːn/
• Rhymes: -ɔːn

von f (genitive singular vonar, nominative plural vonir)

1. hope, expectation

From Old Norse ván, vón, ón

• IPA^(key): /ʋuːn/

von f (definite singular vona, indefinite plural voner, definite plural vonene)

1. hope
2. expectation

• (hope): håp

• “von” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

von

1. they

von

1. out, outwards

Borrowed from German von.

von

1. of; only used in surnames of nobility

   Carl von Linné

   Carl Linnaeus

• af
• de

• IPA^(key): /vúːn/, [ʋɯ̞́ᵝŋn], [ʋɯ́ᵝːɳ], [ʋóʊ̯ːn] (example of pronunciation)

  Rhymes: -úːn

From Old Norse ván.

von f (definite singular vona)

1. Hope, expectation that something will happen, opportunity.

   Dräp ej vona!

   Don't lose hope!

• venäs
• vonvara
• vänt

von f (definite singular vona, plural voon, definite plural vonen)

1. (agriculture) A determined task, undertaking.
   1. A distance of a field or meadow, of which every worker takes on their share for harvesting
   2. The width of a scythe, or his part of the field, that a haymaker mows where he walks.
   3. As great a width of the field strip, as the sowing man sows in the direction he is going.
2. Synonym of vone.

• slottervon
• sävon (“the part or the width of the field, which is delegated to the one who sows”)

• Rietz, Johan Ernst, “von”, “von”, in Svenskt dialektlexikon: ordbok öfver svenska allmogespråket [Swedish dialectal lexicon: a dictionary for the Swedish lects] (in Swedish), 1962 edition, Lund: C. W. K. Gleerups Förlag, published 1862–1867, page 822, 840