Sau

See also: sau, SAU, sáu, sâu, său, s-au, and sau-

Bavarian

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū. Cognate with German Sau.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɑɔ̯/

Noun

Sau f (plural Sai)

1. pig, sow
2. (card games) ace

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

• Sou (spelling variant, chiefly used for Moselle Franconian dialects)

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zou̯/

Noun

Sau f (plural Säu or Sei, diminutive Säuche or Seiche)

1. (Ripuarian, western Moselle Franconian) sow; female pig
2. (eastern Moselle Franconian) pig (male or female)

Usage notes

• The inflected forms with -äu- are Ripuarian, those with -ei- are Moselle Franconian.

Synonyms

• (any pig): Ferke; Schwein

German

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zaʊ̯/, [zaʊ̯], (southern also) [saʊ̯]
• Rhymes: -aʊ̯

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Sau f (genitive Sau, plural Säue or Sauen)

1. (archaic or dialectal) pig (male or female)
2. sow, female pig
3. (figurative) a dislikable or unethical person

Usage notes

• Both plurals are roughly equally common in the concrete sense “female pig”, though Sauen is usually preferred in farmers’ and hunters’ parlance. In the figurative sense, only Säue is used.

Declension

Declension of Sau [feminine]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	eine	die	Sau	die	Säue, Sauen
genitive	einer	der	Sau	der	Säue, Sauen
dative	einer	der	Sau	den	Säuen, Sauen
accusative	eine	die	Sau	die	Säue, Sauen

Hypernyms

• Schwein

Derived terms

• Saustall
• Sauwetter
• unter aller Sau
• sau-

Further reading

• “Sau” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Hunsrik

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /saʊ̯/

Noun

Sau f (plural Sei)

1. sow (female pig)

   Die Sau hod nein Witzje.

   The swine has nine piglets/piggies. (German: Die Sau hat neun Wutzen/Wützchen/Wutzerln.)

Further reading

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary

Luxembourgish

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū. Cognate with German Sau, English sow, Icelandic sýr, Swedish so.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /zæːʊ̯/

Noun

Sau f (plural Sai)

1. sow (female pig)

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

From Middle High German sū, from Old High German sū, from Proto-West Germanic *sū. Compare German Sau, Dutch zeug, English sow.

Noun

Sau f (plural Sei)

1. sow (female pig)
2. filthy person

Derived terms

• Grundsau