Vieh

== German == === Etymology === From Middle High German vihe, from Old High German fihu, Proto-Germanic *fehu, from Proto-Indo-European *péḱu (“livestock, domestic animals”). Cognate with Low German Veeh, Dutch vee, English fee, Danish fæ. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /fiː/ Homophone: Phi Rhymes: -iː === Noun === Vieh n (strong, genitive Viehes or Viehs, no plural) (uncountable, collective) livestock; farm animals (animals kept for their milk, meat, skin, etc.) Das Vieh grast auf der Weide. ― The animals are grazing on the pasture. (countable, singulative) alternative form of Viech (“animal, beast”) (countable, figurative, derogatory) beast; swine (person behaving in a boorish or inhumane way) Du Vieh! Wie kannst du nur! ― You beast! How dare you! ==== Usage notes ==== Vieh is per se a collective noun (“livestock”), but is also sometimes used as a singulative (“animal”). For the latter case, however, there is no corresponding plural. Instead, a construction with Stück can be used: ein, zwei, drei Stück Vieh (“one, two, three head[s] of livestock”). In Upper German areas, the variant Viech is also used as a singulative of Vieh, whence the plural Viecher (“animals”). In the north, however, Viech is not used in this neutral way but only with a pejorative sense (“beast, pest”). In the figurative sense of “boorish, inhumane person”, an ad-hoc plural Viehe may be formed, but this is rare and nonstandard. ==== Declension ==== ==== Hyponyms ==== ==== Derived terms ==== viehisch ==== Related terms ==== ==== See also ==== Viech === Further reading === “Vieh” in Duden online “Vieh”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[1] (in German) == Limburgish == === Alternative forms === vie, vieë (Veldeke spelling) Vië (Eupen spelling) === Etymology === Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *fehu, from Proto-Germanic *fehu, from Proto-Indo-European *péḱu. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈviː/, /ˈviə̯/ Rhymes: -iː, -iə̯ === Noun === Vieh n (no plural) (German-based spelling) (uncountable, collective, loosely) livestock; farm animals (animals kept for their milk, meat, skin, etc.) (uncountable, collective, strictly) cattle == Pennsylvania German == === Etymology === From Middle High German vihe, from Old High German fihu, Proto-West Germanic *fehu, from Proto-Germanic *fehu, from Proto-Indo-European *peḱu-. Compare German Vieh. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /fiː/ === Noun === Vieh n (collective) livestock, cattle