Etymology

Schaefer

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Today it means: A surname from German [in turn originating as an occupation], equivalent to English Shepherd. Full definition →

German Schaefer ← Middle High German schæfære ← Old High German scāphare
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The story

  1. Old High German · derived fromscāphare
  2. Middle High German · derived fromschæfære
  3. German · borrowed fromSchaefer“shepherd”
  4. English todaySchaefer

From German Schaefer (“shepherd”), an occupational surname; from Middle High German schæfære, from late Old High German scāphare.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.