German

edit

Etymology

edit

From Middle High German erwidern, from Old High German irwidarōn. Equivalent to er- +‎ wider (against) +‎ -n.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ɛrˈviːdərn/, [ʔɛɐ̯ˈviː.dɐn], [-ˈʋiː-]
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

edit

erwidern (weak, third-person singular present erwidert, past tense erwiderte, past participle erwidert, auxiliary haben)

  1. to reciprocate, return, to react with something analogous
    Synonym: zurückgeben
    Feuer erwidern!Return fire!
    Er küsste sie und sie erwiderte seinen Kuss.
    He kissed her and she began to kiss him back.
  2. (higher register) to answer, reply
    Synonym: antworten
    Ich erwiderte, dass es mir eine Ehre sei.
    I replied that it was an honour for me.
  3. (especially) to object, retort, to express an opposing view
    Synonyms: entgegnen, einwenden, widersprechen
    Nach dieser Darlegung konnte er nichts mehr erwidern.
    After this argumentation he had nothing to retort.

Conjugation

edit
edit

Further reading

edit
  • erwidern” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • erwidern” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • erwidern” in Duden online
  • erwidern” in OpenThesaurus.de
  NODES
chat 1
Note 1