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erf

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erf¹

  • /ɜːf/ UK
  • /ɝf/ US

Sounds like earth (th-fronting), oeuf (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)f

Where it comes from

From Middle English erve, erfe, from Old English yrfe, ierfe (“heritage, bequest, inheritance, property, inherited property, property that passes to an heir, cattle, livestock”), from Proto-West Germanic *arbī, from Proto-Germanic *arbiją (“heritage”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃erbʰ- (“to change ownership”) (whence also *h₃órbʰos (“orphan”)).

Cognate with Dutch erf (“inheritance, patrimony, ground, courtyard”), German Erbe (“heritage, legacy, inheritance”), Danish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Swedish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌹 (arbi, “inheritance”), Latin orbus (“orphan”), Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “orphan”), Old English ierfa (“heir”). Related to orf. Compare odal and athel.

noun erfs

  1. Northern England, Scotland, rare Inheritance; patrimony. Son, you will have this farm to erf.
  2. broadly Stock; cattle.

erf²

  • /ɜːf/ UK
  • /ɝf/ US

Sounds like earth (th-fronting), oeuf (non-rhotic) · Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)f

Where it comes from

Borrowed from obsolete Dutch erf (“hereditament, plot of land”). Doublet of erf above.

noun erfs · erven

  1. New York, South Africa, US, regional A small inherited house-and-garden lot in a village or settlement.

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Cite this
MLA

"erf." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/erf. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

erf. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/erf

Chicago

"erf." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/erf.

BibTeX
@misc{erf_2026,
  title = {erf},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/erf},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}