-eren

forms the plural of a limited group of nouns: blad, been, ei, gelid, gemoed, goed, hoen, kalf, kind, kleed, lam, lied, rad, rund, volk

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ərə(n)/

Etymology

Cognate with German: -er

Cognate with English: -ren

Inherited from Middle Dutch: -eren

In summary

From earlier -er, from Middle Dutch -er, the dative plural plural of which was -eren (compare German -ern). The use for all cases in Modern Dutch is probably due to a desire to over-illustrate the plural (that is -er + -en, comparing the dialectal byform -ers). The simple form of the suffix can still be seen in many compounds such as kindertijd, and in the formation of plural diminutives (kindertjes, radertjes). Compare English -ren.