Where does “Birnmannl” come from?

Birnmannl (East Central German) comes from Middle High German birn, from Middle High German bire, from Old High German bira, from Vulgar Latin pira, from Latin pirum — a pear.

Birnmannl (East Central German): thin, weak man

Definitions

  1. thin, weak man

Ancestry of “Birnmannl”, step by step

Birnmannl traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle High German birn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle High Germanbirnnominative plural of bir
2Middle High Germanbire—
3Old High Germanbirapear
4Vulgar Latinpira—
5Latinpiruma pear

via East Central German Mannl

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1East Central GermanMannl—
Every word from Latin pirum →Every word from Vulgar Latin pira →Every word from Old High German bira →