Herr

[her; English hair]

noun, plural Her·ren [her-uh n; English hair-uh n] /ˈhɛr ən; English ˈhɛər ən/.

the conventional German title of respect and term of address for a man, corresponding to Mr. or in direct address to sir.

Origin of Herr

From German

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for herr

Contemporary Examples of herr

The email was sent from a private PC that did not belong to Herr Wannabe.
The CIA’s Bumbling German Spy Was More Austin Powers and Less James Bond
Christopher Dickey, Nadette De Visser
July 8, 2014
Herr Doktor, of course, is the notorious Josef Mengele of Auschwitz, on the run from justice.
Holocaust Horrors Haunt the Films ‘Ida’ And ‘The German Doctor’
Jack Schwartz
May 12, 2014
She greeted him saying, “Herr Dr. Heim, what are you doing here?”
Hunting Down Aribert Heim, Egypt’s Hidden Nazi
Nicholas Kulish, Souad Mekhennet
March 24, 2014
The written word has no greater champion than Herr Besofsky from Galicia.
Joseph Roth’s Letters Reveal a Great Forgotten Writer
Anthony Heilbut
February 10, 2012
Herr Glock then cleverly marketed these attributes to police departments in the United States.
‘Glock’ by Paul Barrett: Interview and Excerpt
The Daily Beast
January 8, 2012

Historical Examples of herr

Herr Pastor has other functions than to preach to the living.
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
And Herr Winkleman is equal to you; you have said so yourself.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
"Herr von Holzen is the most important person," replied Roden.
Roden's Corner
Henry Seton Merriman
Herr Erasmus has given me a small Spanish mantilla and three men's portraits.
Albert Durer
T. Sturge Moore
I have spoken for you to Herr Wilibald Pirkheimer about the instrument you wanted to have.
Albert Durer
T. Sturge Moore

British Dictionary definitions for herr

Herr

noun plural Herren (ˈhɛrən)

a German man: used before a name as a title equivalent to Mr

Word Origin for Herr

German, from Old High German herro lord

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for herr

Herr

German equivalent of Mr., 1650s, originally "nobler, superior," from Middle High German herre, from Old High German herro, comparative of her "noble, worthy, exalted," from PIE *kei-, a color adjective, in suffixed form *koi-ro- here meaning "gray, hoary," hence "gray-haired, venerable." Cognate with Old Frisian hera, Dutch heer; perhaps in this usage a loan-translation of Latin senior. Hence also Herrenvolk "master race," in Nazi ideology, the concept of the German people.