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)

Concepts

sister

👩‍👧

sibling

nun

nurse

female sibling

older sibling

female nurse

נ

younger sister

sistergirl

sisters

younger sibling

older sister

Synonyms

zus

👩‍👧

kloosterzuster

👩‍👧

non

verpleegster

broer

👨‍👦

ziekenzuster

ziekenverpleegster

broeder or zus

liefdezuster

Hyphenated as

zus‧ter

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈzʏstər/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle Dutch: suster

Inherited from Old Dutch: swester

In summary

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.