befer

Middle English

Noun

befer

1. (Early Middle English) alternative form of bever (“beaver”)

Old English

Alternative forms

• beofor, byfor, bebr, bebir, beber, befor, beofer, beuer

Etymology

From earlier *bebr, from Proto-West Germanic *bebru. The alternative form beofor must have the slightly different pre-form *bebur, since it shows back umlaut. Related to Proto-Germanic *bebruz and Latin fiber.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbe.fer/, [ˈbe.ver]
• Rhymes: -e.fer

Noun

befer m

1. beaver

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	befer	befras
accusative	befer	befras
genitive	befres	befra
dative	befre	befrum

Derived terms

• *bifren

Descendants

• Middle English: bever, beever, beuver, bevere, bevre, bewer, byvre, beauver, befer, beofer (Early Middle English), bevir, bevyr, bevyre (East Anglia or Northern)
  • English: beaver
  • Middle Scots: baver, bever, bevir
    • Scots: beaver, baiver
  • → Irish: béabhar