# erf

> English word · Noun · IPA /ɜːf/ · frequency rank #91,474

## Definitions
1. Inheritance; patrimony.
2. Stock; cattle.

## Etymology
From Middle English erve, erfe, from Old English yrfe, ierfe (“heritage, bequest, inheritance, property, inherited property, property that passes to an heir, cattle, livestock”), from Proto-West Germanic *arbī, from Proto-Germanic *arbiją (“heritage”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃erbʰ- (“to change ownership”) (whence also *h₃órbʰos (“orphan”)).
Cognate with Dutch erf (“inheritance, patrimony, ground, courtyard”), German Erbe (“heritage, legacy, inheritance”), Danish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Swedish arv (“heritage, inheritance”), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌹 (arbi, “inheritance”), Latin orbus (“orphan”), Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, “orphan”), Old English ierfa (“heir”). Related to orf and odal and athel.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/erf