# fer
## English
### Pronunciation

* (unstressed) IPA: /fə(ɹ)/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Audio (US):(file)

### Preposition

fer
* (dialectal, especially British) Pronunciation spelling of for.
** 1899, Stephen Crane, chapter 1, in Twelve O'Clock:“[…] Them rich fellers, they don't make no bad breaks with their money. They watch it all th' time b'cause they know blame well there ain't hardly room fer their feet fer th' pikers an' tin-horns an' thimble-riggers what are layin' fer 'em. […]”
** 1997, J.K. Rowling, chapter IV, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone:‘Got summat fer yeh here – I mighta sat on it at some point, but it’ll taste all right.’

#### Derived terms

* fer instance
* gofer

### See also

* attack au fer
* fer-de-lance
* fer-de-moline
* martel de fer
* o-fer
* prise de fer

### References

* “fer”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

### Anagrams

* REF, RFE, Ref, Ref., erf, ref

## Aragonese
### Etymology

From Latin facere.

### Verb

fer
* to do

#### Conjugation
## Catalan
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin facere.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈfe]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈfeɾ]

#### Verb

fer (first-person singular present faig, first-person singular preterite fiu, past participle fet)
* to make, produce
    Fer vinagre. ― To make vinegar.
    Aquesta terra fa molt bon blat. ― This land produces very good wheat.
    Quatre i quatre fan vuit. ― Four and four make eight.
    Fer d'un enemic un aliat. ― To turn an enemy into an ally.
    Fer olor de roses. ― To smell of rose.
    Fer pudor de porcs. ― To stink of pig.
    (idiomatic) Fer bondat ― to behave, to comply with one's duty (an idiom, literally to make goodness)
    (idiomatic) Fer figa ― to fail to achieve an expected result (an idiom, literally to make fig)
* to make up
    Els jubilats fan un quart de la població. ― Retired people make up a quarter of the population.
* to do, to cause to be done
* to make do
* to give
    El primer marit li va fer dos fills. ― Her first husband gave her two sons.
    Feu-me mig quilo de formatge. ― Give me half a kilo of cheese.
    Fes-me un petó! ― Kiss me!
* to lay
    La canària ha fet un ou. ― The canary has laid an egg.
* to cause
* (auxiliary) to make (someone) (do something), that is auxiliary verb to form the causative together with an infinitive
    em van fer tornar a buscar el rebut ― they made me go back to get the receipt
    l'has feta plorar ― you made her cry
* to go
* (impersonal, of weather) to be
    Fa fred! ― It is cold!
    Fa calor! ― It is hot!
    Fa vent! ― It is windy!
* to play
* to measure

##### Conjugation

Balearic uses fais for the second person plural form in the present indicative instead of feu.

##### Derived terms

* a fer la mà
* a preu fet
* bufar i fer ampolles
* desfer
* fer acte de presència
* fer així
* fer banyes
* fer bondat
* fer caput
* fer cinc cèntims
* fer com
* fer costat
* fer el pes
* fer el préssec
* fer el salt
* fer figa
* fer fora
* fer front
* fer malbé
* fer nyam
* fer olor
* fer servir
* fer veure
* fer-se
* pel que fa a
* quefer
* refer
* si fa no fa
* tal faràs, tal trobaràs

##### Related terms

* fa
* fet
* feta

### Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin ferus (compare Occitan fèr, French fier, Spanish fiero), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰwer-.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [ˈfer]
* IPA: (Balearic) [ˈfe]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈfeɾ]

#### Adjective

fer (feminine fera, masculine plural fers, feminine plural feres)
* wild (untamed, not domesticated)

##### Derived terms

* enfereir-se
* fera
* feram
* ferament
* feredat
* ferejar
* feresa
* porc fer

##### Related terms

* feral
* ferest
* feréstec
* ferí
* ferotge

### Further reading

* “fer” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “fer”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “fer” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “fer” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Faroese
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /feːɹ/
* Homophone: ferð

### Verb

fer
* third-person singular present of fara

## French
### Etymology

Inherited from Middle French fer, from Old French fer, from Latin ferrum.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fɛʁ/
* Audio:(file)
* Homophones: fers, faire

### Noun

fer m (plural fers)
* iron
* horseshoe; steel tip
* (golf) iron
* iron (appliance)
* (in the plural, archaic) irons, fetters

#### Derived terms

* âge fer
* battre le fer tant qu’il est chaud
* bras de fer
* chapel de fer
* chemin de fer
* croire dur comme fer
* croiser le fer
* croix de bois, croix de fer, si je mens, je vais en enfer
* de fer
* fer à cheval
* fer à friser
* fer à repasser
* fer à souder
* fer de lance
* ferraille
* fil de fer
* les quatre fers en l’air
* main de fer
* marquer au fer rouge
* rideau de fer
* sentiment du fer

#### Descendants

* Antillean Creole: fè
* Haitian Creole: fè
* Karipúna Creole French: fé
* Louisiana Creole: fèr, fè

### Further reading

* “fer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Hunsrik
### Etymology

Compare Pennsylvania German fer, German für and English for.

### Preposition

fer
* for

### Further reading

* Online Hunsrik Dictionary

## Icelandic
### Verb

fer
* inflection of fara:
** first-person singular present indicative
** third-person singular present indicative

## Latin
### Verb

fer
* first-person singular present active subjunctive of for
* second-person singular present active imperative of ferō

## Manx
### Etymology

From Old Irish fer, from Proto-Celtic *wiros, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fɛr/

### Noun

fer m (plural fir)
* man
    Cha nel mee lowal rish y fer aeg shen. ― I do not approve of that young man.
* one (modified by an adjective or demonstrative, referring to an object or animal)
    Ta fer jiarg aym. ― I have a red one [e.g. chair].
    Ta mee fakin kiare fir ghlassey. ― I see four green ones [e.g. birds].
    By vie lhiam yn fer shen. ― I would like that one [e.g. toy].
* used as a dummy noun to support a number, referring to a person, object or animal
    Ta fer ennagh ayns shoh laccal dy akin oo. ― There's a fellow here who wants to see you.
    Ta fer aym. ― I have one [e.g. chair].
    Ta mee fakin kiare fir. ― I see four [e.g. birds].

#### Synonyms

* dooinney

#### Derived terms

* ard-er
* fer ynsee

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Manx. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### References

* Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “fer”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

## Mauritian Creole
### Etymology

From French faire.

### Verb

fer (medial form fer)
* To make
* To do

#### Derived terms

* kifer

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* feor, for, fur, feer, ver, veir, far

### Etymology

From Old English feorr, from Proto-Germanic *ferrai.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fɛr/

### Adjective

fer
* far, distant
** a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “General Prologue”, in The Canterbury Tales, line 493:Wide was hys pariſſhe, & houſes ferre a ſondre […]Wide was his parish, and houses far asunder […]

#### Derived terms

* ferforth
* ferforthly

#### Descendants

* English: far
* Scots: faur
* Yola: var

#### References

* “fer, adj.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

## Middle French
### Etymology

From Old French fer.

### Noun

fer m (plural fers)
* iron (metal)
* (by extension) (iron) sword

#### Descendants

* French: fer (see there for further descendants)

## Middle Irish
### Etymology

From Old Irish fer, from Primitive Irish *ᚃᚔᚏᚐᚄ (*viras), from Proto-Celtic *wiros, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɸʲer/

### Noun

fer m (genitive fir, nominative plural fir)
* man
** c. 1000, anonymous author, edited by Rudolf Thurneysen, Scéla Mucca Meic Dathó, Dublin: Stationery Office, published 1935, § 1, page 2, line 13:In fer no·t⟨h⟩ēged iarsint ṡligi do·bered in n-aēl isin coiri, ocus a·taibred din chētgabāil, iss ed no·ithed.Each man who came along the way would put the flesh-fork into the cauldron, and whatever he got at the first taking, it was that which he ate. (literally, “The man who…”)

#### Derived terms

* ferchuitred

#### Descendants

* Irish: fear
* Manx: fer
* Scottish Gaelic: fear

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Middle Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

### Further reading

* Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “fer”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

## Norman
### Alternative forms

* faer (Guernsey)
* fé (France, Jersey)

### Etymology

From Old French fer, from Latin ferrum.

### Noun

fer m (uncountable)
* (Sark) iron

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Verb

fer
* present of fara

## Occitan
### Verb

fer
* Alternative form of faire

#### Conjugation
## Old English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /feːr/

### Verb

fēr
* singular imperative of fēran

## Old French
### Etymology 1

From Latin ferrum.

#### Noun

fer oblique singular, m (oblique plural fers, nominative singular fers, nominative plural fer)
* iron (metal)
* (by extension) sword (made of iron)

##### Descendants

* Middle French: fer
** French: fer (see there for further descendants)
* Norman: fé (France, Jersey), faer (Guernsey), fer (Sark)
* Walloon: fier

### Etymology 2

From Latin ferum, accusative of ferus (“wild”).

#### Adjective

fer m (oblique and nominative feminine singular fere)
* cruel; harsh
* fierce; ferocious
** c. 1120, Philippe de Taon, Bestiaire:Quatre pez ad la beste, e mult est de fer estreFour feet has the beast, and it is of a very ferocious nature

##### Alternative forms

* fier

##### Descendants

* Middle French: fier
** French: fier
* → Middle English: fer
** English: fere
* → Middle English: fers (from the nominative singular fers)
** English: fierce
** Yola: fearse

### References

* Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX$^e$ au XV$^e$ siècle (1881) (fier)
* fer on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub

## Old High German
### Etymology

From West Proto-Germanic *ferrai, whence also Old English feorr.

### Adjective

fer
* remote

### Adverb

fer
* far

#### References

* Braune, Wilhelm. Althochdeutsches Lesebuch, zusammengestellt und mit Glossar versehen

## Old Irish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ɸʲer]

### Etymology 1

From Primitive Irish *ᚃᚔᚏᚐᚄ (*viras), from Proto-Celtic *wiros, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognates include Latin vir, Sanskrit वीर (vīrá) and Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂 (wair).

#### Noun

fer m (genitive fir, nominative plural fir)
* man
* husband
** c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 22$^c$10
    Is bés trá dosom aní-siu cosc inna mban i tossug et a tabairt fo chumacte a feir, armbat irlamu de ind ḟir fo chumacte Dǽi, co·mbí íarum coscitir ind ḟir et do·airbertar fo réir Dǽ.This, then, is a custom of his, to correct the wives at first and to bring them under the power of their husbands, so that the husbands may be the readier under God’s power, so that afterwards the husbands are corrected and bowed down in subjection to God.

##### Declension

* $^H$ = triggers aspiration
* $^L$ = triggers lenition
* $^N$ = triggers nasalization

##### Derived terms

* oínḟer

##### Descendants

* Middle Irish: fer
** Irish: fear
** Manx: fer
** Scottish Gaelic: fear

#### Further reading

* Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “fer”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

### Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Verb

fer
* second-person singular imperative of feraid

#### Verb

·fer
* third-person singular preterite conjunct of feraid

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

## Old Norse
### Verb

fer
* first-person singular present active indicative of fara

## Old Saxon
### Alternative forms

* ferr, ferro

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fɛr/

### Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *ferro, an old comparative form.

#### Adverb

fer
* far

##### Descendants

* Middle Low German: verre

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *ferro.

#### Adjective

fer
* far

##### Declension
#### References

Köbler, Gerhard, Altsächsisches Wörterbuch (5th edition 2014)

## Pennsylvania German
### Etymology

Compare German für, Dutch voor, English for, Hunsrik fer.

### Preposition

fer
* for

## Piedmontese
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fɛr/

### Noun

fer m
* iron

## Romanian
### Noun

fer n (plural feare)
* Alternative form of fier

#### Declension
## Romansch
### Verb

fer (Puter)
* Alternative form of far (“to do; to make”)

## Scots
### Alternative forms

* fere, ferr

### Pronunciation

* (Hawick) IPA: /ˈfɛr/

### Adjective

fer (comparative ferther, superlative ferthest)
* (Southern Scots) far

#### Derived terms

* fer ahint
* fer away
* fer ben
* ferness (“farness”)
* ferrer (“farther”)
* ferrest (“farthest”)
* fer sichty (“far-sighted”)
* ferther (“farther”)
* ferthest (“farthest”)

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

Borrowed from English fair.

### Adjective

fer (Cyrillic spelling фер)
* fair

### Adverb

fer (Cyrillic spelling фер)
* fairly

## Spanish
### Verb

fer
* Obsolete spelling of hacer.

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language.
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

### Further reading

* “fer”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Welsh
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /vɛr/
* Rhymes: -ɛr

### Adjective

fer
* Soft mutation of ber (“short”).

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.