Gau

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See also: gau, GAU, gấu, and gâu

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

Two main origins:

  • Borrowed from German Gau, a habitational surname.
  • A variant of Gao, a surname of Chinese origin.

Proper noun

Gau (plural Gaus)

  1. A surname.

Statistics

  • According to the 2010 United States Census, Gau is the 19703rd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1367 individuals. Gau is most common among White (76.74%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (18.07%) individuals.

Further reading

German

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
German Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia de

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle High German göu, gou, from Old High German gawi, gouwi, from Proto-West Germanic *gawi, from Proto-Germanic *gawją from earlier *gaawja (“riverlands, lakeside land”), from collective *ga- + *awjō (“land by a waterway”).

Cognates

Cognate with Low German Gohe, Dutch gouw, West Frisian gea, goa, Old English ġē, German Aue.

Noun

Gau m (strong, genitive Gaues or Gaus, plural Gaue)

  1. (now chiefly in placenames) shire; district
  2. (historical) an administrative unit of the Third Reich
  3. (historical) nome of ancient Egypt
Declension
Declension of Gau
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Gau die Gaue
genitive eines des Gaues, Gaus der Gaue
dative einem dem Gau, Gaue1 den Gauen
accusative einen den Gau die Gaue

1Now rare, see notes.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From the acronym GAU (“worst-case scenario”).

Noun

Gau m (strong, genitive Gaus or Gaues, plural Gaus or Gaue)

  1. (informal) an accident, a calamity
Declension
Declension of Gau
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Gau die Gaus, Gaue
genitive eines des Gaus, Gaues der Gaus, Gaue
dative einem dem Gau, Gaue1 den Gaus, Gauen
accusative einen den Gau die Gaus, Gaue

1Now rare, see notes.

References

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