English Online Dictionary. What means wider? What does wider mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English widder, widdur, widere, from Old English widdra; equivalent to wide + -er.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈwaɪdɚ/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈwaɪdə/
- Rhymes: -aɪdə(ɹ)
Adjective
wider
- comparative form of wide: more wide
Adverb
wider
- comparative form of wide: more wide
Anagrams
- Dwire, WEIRD, weird, weïrd, wierd, wired, wride, wried
German
Etymology
From Middle High German wider, from Old High German widar, from Proto-Germanic *wiþrą (“against, toward”). The same word as wieder (“again”) with artificial orthographic distinction. Hence cognate with Dutch weer, English wither.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈviːdər/, [ˈviːdɐ], [ˈʋiːdɐ]
- Homophone: wieder
Preposition
wider (+ accusative)
- (formal, literary) against
- Synonym: gegen
Usage notes
- In contemporary German, wider is found in compounds (see wider-) and otherwise mainly in a few set phrases. Due to its rarity it is sometimes hypercorrectly construed with the genitive case; thus instead of wider besseres Wissen (“against one's better knowledge”) one will sometimes read or hear wider besseren Wissens.
Derived terms
- wider besseres Wissen
- wider Erwarten
Further reading
- “wider” in Duden online
- “wider” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache