Erf

From Middle English erfe, erve, from Old English yrfe, ierfe ("heritage, bequest, inheritance, property, inherited property, property that passes to an heir, cattle, livestock"), from Proto-Germanic *arbiją ("heritage"), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃erbʰ- ("to change ownership") (from which 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 (arbi, "inheritance"), Latin orbus ("orphan"), Ancient Greek ὀρφανός (orphanós, "orphan"), Old English ierfa ("heir"). Related to orf.

Full definition of erf

Noun

1. Inheritance; patrimony.
2. (by extension) Stock; cattle.

Derived terms

• erfkin

From Dutch erf ("patrimony, ground"), related to English erf above.

Noun

1. (US regional, Cape Colony, New York) A small inherited house-and-garden lot in a village or settlement.

Abbreviation.

Noun