Pfau

German

Etymology

From Middle High German pāwe, pauwe, from Old High German pfāwo, from Proto-West Germanic *pāwō (“peacock, peafowl”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pfaʊ̯/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /faʊ̯/ (northern and central Germany)
• Rhymes: -aʊ̯
• Homophone: Vau (nonstandard)

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Pfau m (mixed or strong, genitive Pfaues or Pfaus, plural Pfauen or Pfaue)

1. peacock
2. (astronomy) the constellation Pavo

Declension

Declension of Pfau [masculine, mixed // strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Pfau	die	Pfauen, Pfaue
genitive	eines	des	Pfaues, Pfaus	der	Pfauen, Pfaue
dative	einem	dem	Pfau, Pfaue1	den	Pfauen
accusative	einen	den	Pfau	die	Pfauen, Pfaue

¹Now rare, see notes.

Further reading

• “Pfau” in Duden online
• “Pfau” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache