zuster

Meaning

1. (dated,feminine,formal) sister (female sibling)
2. (feminine) sister (fictive female kin member)
3. (feminine) sister (nun)
4. (feminine) nurse (woman who provides care for the ill)

Hyphenated as

zus‧ter

Gender

♀️ Feminine

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈzʏstər/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch suster, from Old Dutch swester, from Proto-Germanic *swestēr, from Proto-Indo-European *swésōr. The sense “nurse” from the fact that (before the Reformation and in Catholic areas until recently) the majority of nurses were nuns; already in Middle Dutch generalized to lay nurses.