ager

See also: Ager, äger, åger, and Ağer

English

Etymology

From age +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ.dʒə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ.d͡ʒɚ/

Noun

ager (plural agers)

1. One who or that which ages something.
2. (euphemistic) One who is aging; an elderly person.
   • 1965, Richard Hays Williams, Claudine G. Wirths, Lives Through the Years: Styles of Life and Successful Aging, Transaction Publishers, →ISBN, page 165:

     When the aging person depends on another, the control of the aged one's life space is placed in the hands of another person who may or may not contribute action energy that is appropriate or acceptable from the standpoint of the ager.

   • 2006, Gloria Davenport, Working with Toxic Older Adults: A Guide to Coping with Difficult Elders, Springer Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 143:

     Inappropriate behavior then erupts from the agers involved, disturbing everyone around, including the agers themselves, who often do not understand what is happening and struggle excessively to maintain rigid control of old perceptions and self images.

   • 2014, Susan H. McFadden, Mark Brennan, New Directions in the Study of Late Life Religiousness and Spirituality, Routledge, →ISBN, page 62:

     This definition of success is located in society's structures and suits society, not the agers. Successful ageing is arguably therefore a socially constructed phenomenon, characterized by lack of “noise,” maintenance of youthful status until death, and a dogged engagement with social structures which appear almost as if designed to discourage the engagement of older people.

Synonyms

• (elderly person): geriatric, oldster, senior citizen; see also Thesaurus:old person

Derived terms

• middle-ager
• superager

 

Anagrams

• GRAE, Gear, Gera, Rega, areg, gare, gear, rage

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse akr, from Proto-Germanic *akraz, cognate with Swedish åker, English acre, German Acker. The word goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵros (“field”), which is also the source of Latin ager, Ancient Greek ἀγρός (agrós), Sanskrit अज्रः (ájraḥ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aːˀɣər/, [ˈæˀ(j)ɐ]
• Rhymes: -aːˀər

Noun

ager c (singular definite ageren, plural indefinite agre)

1. (dated) field

   Synonyms: agerjord, mark

Declension

Declension of ager

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ager	ageren	agre	agrene
genitive	agers	agerens	agres	agrenes

Derived terms

• agerbrug
• agerdyrker
• agerdyrkning
• agerjord

 

References

• “ager” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aːɣər/, [ˈæː(j)ɐ]
• Homophone: aer

Verb

ager

1. present tense of age

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɡeːˀr/, [aˈɡ̊eˀɐ̯], [aˈɡ̊eɐ̯ˀ]

Verb

ager or agér

1. imperative of agere

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *agros, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵros. Cognates include Ancient Greek ἀγρός (agrós), Sanskrit अज्र (ájra) and Old English æcer (English acre).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈa.ɡer/, [ˈäɡɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈa.d͡ʒer/, [ˈäːd͡ʒer]

Noun

ager m (genitive agrī); second declension

1. field, acre
2. land, estate, park
3. territory
4. country, countryside
5. terrain
6. soil

Declension

Second-declension noun (nominative singular in -er).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ager	agrī
Genitive	agrī	agrōrum
Dative	agrō	agrīs
Accusative	agrum	agrōs
Ablative	agrō	agrīs
Vocative	ager	agrī

Derived terms

• agellus
• agrālis
• agrāria
• agrārius
• agrāticum
• agrellus
• agrestis
• agricola
• agricultiō
• agricultor
• agricultūra
• agrīmēnsor
• agripeta
• agrōsus
• peragrō
• peregre

 

Descendants

• Aromanian: agru
• French: aire
• → French: ager
• Galician: agro, agra
• Italian: agro
• Megleno-Romanian: agru
• Old Occitan: agre
• Portuguese: agro
• Romanian: agru
• Spanish: agro

References

• “ager”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ager”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ager in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to irrigate fields: agros irrigare
    
  • the river floods the fields: flumen agros inundat
    
  • to settle a large number of people in a country: multitudinem in agris collocare
    
  • to till the ground: agrum colere (Leg. Agr. 2. 25. 67)
    
  • to leave fertile ground untilled: agros fertiles deserere
    
  • to live in the country: in agris esse, habitare
    
  • the corn is not yet ripe: frumenta in agris matura non sunt (B. G. 1. 16. 2)
    
  • public land; state domain: ager publicus
    
  • to allot land: agros assignare (Leg. Agr. 1. 6. 17)
    
  • to make an inroad into hostile territory: excursionem in hostium agros facere
    
• “ager”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “ager”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Romanian

Etymology

Inherited from Latin agilis (“swift”). Doublet of agil, a borrowing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.d͡ʒer/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

ager m or n (feminine singular ageră, masculine plural ageri, feminine and neuter plural agere)

1. quick, swift.
2. smart, cunning, sharp.
3. (of objects) sharp

Declension

Declension of ager

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	ager		ageră	ageri	agere
	definite	agerul		agera	agerii	agerele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	ager		agere	ageri	agere
	definite	agerului		agerei	agerelor	agerilor

Synonyms

• (sharp): ascuțit

See also

• agil

Scanian

Etymology

From Old Norse akr, from Proto-Germanic *akraz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɑ́ːɣɐ]

Noun

ager m (definite singular agern, plural agrar)

1. a field

Welsh

Alternative forms

• agerdd

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈaɡɛr/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈa(ː)ɡɛr/

Noun

ager m (plural agerau)

1. steam

   Synonyms: stêm, anwedd

Derived terms

• agerfad (“steamboat”)
• agerforthwyl (“steam-hammer”)
• agerlong (“steamship”)
• ageru (“to steam”)

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
ager	unchanged	unchanged	hager
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “ager”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies