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Gau. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Gau, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Gau in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Gau you have here. The definition of the word
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English
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)
- 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
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”).
Noun
Gau m (strong, genitive Gaues or Gaus, plural Gaue)
- (now chiefly in placenames) shire; district
- (historical) an administrative unit of the Third Reich
- (historical) nome of ancient Egypt
Declension
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From the acronym GAU (“worst-case scenario”).
Noun
Gau m (strong, genitive Gaus or Gaues, plural Gaus or Gaue)
- (informal) an accident, a calamity
Declension
References
- “Gau” in Duden online
- “Gau” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache