Wånd

From Middle High German want, from Old High German want, from Proto-Germanic *wanduz (“weave; wickerwork; plait; fence, wall”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn; bend; wind; twist; braid; weave”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈwɔnd̥/
• IPA^(key): /ˈwɒ̃nd̥/ (Vienna)
• Hyphenation: Wånd

Wånd f (plural Wänd, diminutive Wanderl)

1. wall, partition
2. vertical face of a precipice, any large vertical surface

• The words Wånd and Mauer are often but not always interchangeable. Even when they are synonymous, there is sometimes a preference for one of them:

• Wånd is predominant for walls that are not made of stone, concrete, or the like. Mauer usually implies masonry.
• With stone walls, only Mauer is commonly used for freestanding ones.
• Both words are used for the walls of buildings. Wand is the normal choice, however, when one refers to them as seen from the inside (for example, a painting is typically said to hang ån der Wånd, "on the wall", rather than ån der Mauer).