Gerte

German

Etymology

From Middle High German gerte, from Old High German gerta (“rod, twig, staff”), from Proto-West Germanic *gaʀdi (“staff, rod, twig”). Doublet of Yard.

Cognates

Cognate with Dutch garde (“whisk, stick, yard”), Saterland Frisian Jädde (“crop, yard”), English yard (unit of measurement). Also related to Old Norse gaddr, Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌶𐌳𐍃 (gazds), Latin hasta (“spear”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɛrtə/, [ˈɡɛʁ.tə], [ˈɡɛɐ̯-], (southern also) [-tɛ]

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛʁtə
• Hyphenation: Ger‧te
• Homophone: gärte (some speakers)

Noun

Gerte f (genitive Gerte, plural Gerten)

1. (dated or regional) rod, flexible stick, twig

   Synonym: Rute

   • 1930, Hermann Hesse, Narziß und Goldmund [Narcissus and Goldmund], Berlin: S. Fischer Verlag, page 196:

     […] da stand eine Bauernmagd, die sah ihn an und kitzelte ihn mit der Spitze einer Weidengerte.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (equestrianism) crop (whip without a lash)

   Synonym: Reitgerte

Declension

Declension of Gerte [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Gerte	die	Gerten
genitive	einer	der	Gerte	der	Gerten
dative	einer	der	Gerte	den	Gerten
accusative	eine	die	Gerte	die	Gerten

Derived terms

• Reitgerte
• Weidengerte

Further reading

• “Gerte”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)
• “Gerte” in Duden online