Harnisch

English

Etymology

Borrowed from German Harnisch.

Proper noun

Harnisch (plural Harnisches)

1. A surname from German.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Harnisch is the 38332^nd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 578 individuals. Harnisch is most common among White (96.19%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Harnisch”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 133.

German

Etymology

From Middle High German harnasch, harnisch, from Old French hernois. Usually derived from an Old Norse *hernest (“army equipment”), from herr (“army”) + nest (“provisions”) (from Proto-Germanic *nesaną (“to heal, recover”)), the former related with German Heer.

A less likely derivation is from Old Breton hoiarn (“iron”), from Proto-Brythonic *hijarn, from Proto-Celtic *īsarnom, related with German Eisen.

Cognate with English harness, which see for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈharnɪʃ/, [ˈhaʁ.nɪʃ], [ˈhaɐ̯-], [ˈhaː-]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Harnisch m (strong, genitive Harnischs or Harnisches, plural Harnische)

1. (usually) armour covering the torso of a medieval knight

   Synonym: Brustpanzer

2. (broader sense) the entire suit of armour

   Synonyms: Rüstung, Panzer

Declension

Declension of Harnisch [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Harnisch	die	Harnische
genitive	eines	des	Harnischs, Harnisches	der	Harnische
dative	einem	dem	Harnisch, Harnische1	den	Harnischen
accusative	einen	den	Harnisch	die	Harnische

¹Now rare, see notes.

Related terms

• geharnischt

Further reading

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