Bier
Alemannic German
Alternative forms
- Biär, Pier
Etymology
From Middle High German bier, from Old High German bior, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą (“beer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰews- (“dross, sediment, brewer's yeast”).
Cognate with German Bier, Dutch bier, English beer, Icelandic bjór. More at beer.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /biər/
Central Franconian
Etymology 1
From Middle High German bier, from Old High German bior, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą.
Usage notes
- Masculine in southern Moselle Franconian, otherwise neuter.
Alternative forms
- Beer (western Moselle Franconian)
Etymology 2
From Middle High German bēr, from Old High German bēr, from Proto-West Germanic *bair.
Noun
Bier m (plural Biere)
German

Etymology
From Middle High German bier, from Old High German bior, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą (“beer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰews-, *bheus- (“dross, sediment, brewer's yeast”).
Akin to Dutch bier, Low German Beer, bêr, English beer, Icelandic bjór. More at beer.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /biːɐ̯/
audio (file) audio (file) - Rhymes: -iːɐ̯
Usage notes
- As is common with beverages in German, the unchanged plural Bier can be used after numerals in the sense of “quantities of beer” (glasses, bottles, cans). One may order: „Zwei Bier, bitte!“ – “Two beers, please!” (Nota bene: In many places of the German language area, this is not a common order; instead one needs to specify Pils, Weißbier, Kölsch, etc.)
- The marked plural Biere is used to mean different kinds of beer. For example: „Pils und Kölsch sind beliebte deutsche Biere.“ – “Pils and Kölsch are popular German beers.”
Declension
Derived terms
- Altbier
- Bierabend
- bierartig
- Bierausschank
- Bierbaß
- Bierbecher
- Bierbrauer
- Bierdeckel
- Biergarten
- Bierglas
- Bierhefe
- Bierjunge
- Bierkeller
- Bierleiche
- Bierschaum
- Bierschorle
- Biersuppe
- Biertheke
- Bierwürze
- Dunkelbier
- Fassbier
- Flaschenbier
- Hellbier
- Malzbier
- Rauchbier
- Roggenbier
- Schwarzbier
- Weißbier
- Weizenbier
Luxembourgish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /biːr/, [biə̯], [ˈbiː.ɐ]
- Rhymes: -iːə
Etymology 1
From Proto-West Germanic *berō, from Proto-Germanic *berô. Compare German Bär, English bear, Dutch beer.
Derived terms
- Äisbier
- Teddybier
Etymology 2
From Old High German bira, from Latin pirum.
Alternative forms
- Bir (superseded in 2019)
Etymology 3
From Proto-West Germanic *baʀi, from Proto-Germanic *bazją. Compare German Beere, Danish bær, English berry.
Usage notes
Pennsylvania German
Etymology
From Middle High German bier, from Old High German bior, from Proto-West Germanic *beuʀ.