puer

See also: Appendix:Variations of "puer"

English

Etymology 1

Perhaps from French puer.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpju.ɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpjuː.ə/, /ˈpjʊə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːə(ɹ), -ʊə(ɹ)

Noun

puer (uncountable)

1. (chiefly historical) Dung (of dogs, fowls, etc) used in tanning, after applying lime, to soften skins.
   • 1842, The Penny Magazine, May 212/1:

     A solution called the ‘pure’ or the 'pewer' (having never seen the word written.., we must spell it as pronounced) is prepared in a large vessel, and into this the skins are immersed.

   • 1903, Henry Richardson Proctor, The principles of leather manufacture, page 174:

     […] The bacteria of fresh dog-dung were not found to possess a satisfactory puering effect, but those from dung with had been fermented a month (as in practice) have a result nearly equal to actual puer.

   • 2009, Tony Covington, Tanning Chemistry: The Science of Leather, page 166:

     […] it was about 50 years before the use of puer was discontinued, at least in Europe.

Etymology 2

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of 普洱 (pǔ'ěr), without syllable-dividing mark (隔音符號／隔音符号 (géyīn fúhào)).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpʊəɹ/, /ˈpu.əɹ/

Noun

puer

1. Alternative form of pu'er

Usage notes

Puer can be considered a misspelling of pu'er. In theory, a syllable-dividing mark (隔音符號／隔音符号 (géyīn fúhào)) should be added before a non-initial syllable beginning with a, o, or e. Hence, puer is not allowed since a word made up of pu and er would be spelled as pu'er (cf. pu'er). In practice, syllable-dividing marks are often added or omitted at will.

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpu.ɛɹ/

Noun

puer (plural puers)

1. Ellipsis of puer aeternus.
   • 1957, IW: The Management Magazine, volume 140, page 6:

     “No; you called it that. Anyway, what’s wrong with ‘whither’?” / “Oh, that; we had to struggle through a high school commencement speech one time, something about ‘Whither now, oh, puers and puellas?’ and now the word gives us the hiccoughs.”

   • 1979, Quadrant, volume 12 or 13, page 102:

     As I mentioned earlier, the circumstances that precipitate puer development prece sexual differentiation and the formation of a strong identity based on gender. Some puers and puellas are, therefore, heterosexual, others are homosexual.

   • 1996, Seymour Boorstein, editor, Transpersonal Psychotherapy, 2nd edition, State University of New York Press, →ISBN, pages 472, 473:

     TR spirit-work: For some extreme and gifted puers and puellas, Jesus or Mary another spirit comes in vivid visions. […] The blessing, though related to the body, takes place mainly on a heavenly-spiritual place. It is a necessary beginning for puers and puellas, though much embodied “shadow-material” remains to be dealt with, including the “nasty old (wo)man.”

   • 1996 June 8, Daryl Sharp, “Re: Puer Aeternus info.”, in alt.psychology.jung (Usenet), message-ID <31B98038.779E@inforamp.net>:

     Mr. Pan, I wrote a book that owes much to von Franz's interpretation of the puer syndrome: THE SECRET RAVEN: Conflict and Transformation in the Life of Franz Kafka (Inner City Books, 1980). Also, my book THE SURVIVAL PAPERS: Anatomy of a Midlife Crisis (Inner City, 1988) is a narrative about the personal analysis of a puer brought to his knees by his own psychology.

   • 1999 February 21, Sharyn C, “Re: Hillman Online”, in alt.psychology.jung (Usenet), message-ID <3B348FE4.1963DB1D@prodigy.net>:

     Having a child was a definite turning point in my puella lifestyle, so was getting an education and working towards a serious career. John Lee's book is on my shelf and will have to give it another look in the coming days. I much prefer Hillman's twist on the puer archetype over some of the Jungians. Even my fav, Von-Franz, is a bit too pessimistic about it. Hillman's archetypal dig brings back the positive aspects of the puer/puella and for those of us who inhabit this realm,it was a great relief to be able to claim more than the negative side of it.

   • 2000 June 3, Troubledoor, “Re: Question about Puer and Thanatos”, in alt.psychology.jung (Usenet), message-ID <393843A8.737705E6@earthlink.net>:

     Nobody understands the puer aeternus and also the puella aetermiss because they are the archetypicals of eternity in time. […] The puer and puella are more like masks/roles in this respect because no one ever measures up to these standards. So most people only know the pue's by the shadow or shallow. […] And the puers and puellas don't remember anymore the ego's DIGNITY AND HONOR because they are worn out.

   • 2005, Erin Sullivan, Astrology of Midlife and Aging, →ISBN:

     The combination of Scorpio and Capricorn is not a terribly cheerful image, and considering the mundane events of the time in which this transit occurred, we would be fools to consider that the product of those times might be a lighthearted, happy-go-lucky bunch of puers and puellas. […] Puers and puellas have a very hard time individuating into their aging process.

   • 2005, Daryl Sharp, Not the Big Sleep: On Having Fun, Seriously: A Jungian Romance, Inner City Books, →ISBN, page 48:

     You see, puers and puellas are always about to make a change; one day they’ll do what’s necessary—but not just yet.

   • 2007, Robert A. Johnson, Jerry Ruhl, Living Your Unlived Life: Coping with Unrealized Dreams and Fulfilling Your Purpose in the Second Half of Life, →ISBN:

     We are also familiar with the type of man or woman who is overly dominated by the Eternal Youth. Though more common in the first half of life, there are Puers and Puellas of all ages, and their energy is often a delight during courting. […] These Puers and Puellas can never commit, fearing that choices may limit their options.

Coordinate terms

• puella

Anagrams

• Pre-U, pure, Perú, Prue, Peru, reup, re-up, Rupe

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French puir (with a change in conjugation), from Vulgar Latin *putīre, from Classical Latin pūtēre (also with a change in conjugation), present active infinitive of pūteō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *puH-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɥe/, /py.e/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -e

Verb

puer

1. (intransitive) to stink, to smell (bad)

   Synonym: poquer

2. (transitive) to stink of

   Cet homme pue l’ail. ― That man stinks of garlic.

Conjugation

Conjugation of puer (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	puer
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	puant /pɥɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		pué /pɥe/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	pue /py/	pues /py/	pue /py/	puons /pɥɔ̃/	puez /pɥe/	puent /py/
	imperfect	puais /pɥɛ/	puais /pɥɛ/	puait /pɥɛ/	puions /py.jɔ̃/	puiez /py.je/	puaient /pɥɛ/
	past historic2	puai /pɥe/	puas /pɥa/	pua /pɥa/	puâmes /pɥam/	puâtes /pɥat/	puèrent /pɥɛʁ/
	future	puerai /py.ʁe/	pueras /py.ʁa/	puera /py.ʁa/	puerons /py.ʁɔ̃/	puerez /py.ʁe/	pueront /py.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	puerais /py.ʁɛ/	puerais /py.ʁɛ/	puerait /py.ʁɛ/	puerions /py.ʁjɔ̃/	pueriez /py.ʁje/	pueraient /py.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	pue /py/	pues /py/	pue /py/	puions /py.jɔ̃/	puiez /py.je/	puent /py/
	imperfect2	puasse /pɥas/	puasses /pɥas/	puât /pɥa/	puassions /pɥa.sjɔ̃/	puassiez /pɥa.sje/	puassent /pɥas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	pue /py/	—	puons /pɥɔ̃/	puez /pɥe/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Derived terms

• puant
• puer de la gueule
• puer du bec
• empuantir

Further reading

• “puer”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• peur, pure, puré, repu, rupe, rupé

Hunsrik

Etymology

From Middle High German pūr, from Latin purus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʰuːɐ/

Adjective

puer

1. pure

Further reading

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary

Latin

Alternative forms

• puerus (rare)

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *puweros, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂weros, from *peh₂w-. Cognate with Oscan 𐌐𐌖𐌂𐌋𐌖𐌌 (puglum), Ancient Greek παῖς (paîs, “boy”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpu.er/, [ˈpuɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpu.er/, [ˈpuːer]

Noun

puer m (genitive puerī, feminine puera); second declension

1. a child; chit
2. a boy, lad (typically between ages 7-14 but could be younger) (older than an īnfāns but younger than an adulēscēns)
3. a male servant or page; slave
4. a bachelor
5. boyhood (ex: in puero, "in his boyhood" or "as a boy")

Declension

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

	singular	plural
nominative	puer	puerī
genitive	puerī	puerōrum
dative	puerō	puerīs
accusative	puerum	puerōs
ablative	puerō	puerīs
vocative	puer	puerī

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “gender”): puella, puera
• (antonym(s) of “age”): vir

Coordinate terms

• īnfāns
• adulēscēns
• catulaster

Derived terms

• -por
• puer dēlicātus
• puera
• puerārius
• puerāscō
• pueraster
• puerculus
• puerigenus
• puerīlis
• puerīlitās
• puerīliter
• puerinus
• pueritia
• pueritiēs
• puerpera
• puerperium
• puerperus
• puerulus
• pūsus
• putus
• repuerāscō

 

Related terms

• puerperium

Descendants

• → English: puer, puer aeternus, puerile, puerilism, puerperium, puerility, puerperal, puerperous
• → Ido: puero
• ⇒ Romanian: prunc

See also

• puer on the Latin Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^la

References

• “puer”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “puer”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• puer in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • from youth up: a puero (is), a parvo (is), a parvulo (is)
    
  • a boy ten years old: puer decem annorum
    
  • to entrust a child to the tuition of..: puerum alicui erudiendum or in disciplinam tradere
    
  • to teach children the rudiments: pueros elementa (prima) docere
    
  • (ambiguous) to leave one's boyhood behind one, become a man: ex pueris excedere
    
• puer in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016

Anagrams

• pūrē, rūpe

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From the noun Puer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /puɐ̯/
• Rhymes: -uɐ
• Homophone: Puer

Pronoun

puer

1. few, some, a few
   • 2001, Pol Wilmes, Eng Klack fir eis Sprooch‎^[3]:

     All puer Woche fannt dir eist „Chamber-Blietchen“ an ärer Bréifkëscht, vläicht och op der Trap oder am Gank;

     Every few weeks we find our "Chamber-Blietchen" in our letter box, perhaps even on the stairs or in the hallway;

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin puer.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpu.ɛr/
• Rhymes: -uɛr
• Syllabification: pu‧er

Noun

puer m pers

1. (historical) pharmacist apprentice

   Synonym: aptekarczyk

2. (historical) student dressed up for comedy

Declension

Declension of puer

	singular	plural
nominative	puer	puerzy/puery (deprecative)
genitive	puera	puerów
dative	puerowi	puerom
accusative	puera	puerów
instrumental	puerem	puerami
locative	puerze	puerach
vocative	puerze	puerzy

Further reading

• puer in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• puer in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Brückner, Aleksander (1927) “puery”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna