Etymology

Herne

H4E1R1N1E1

Today it means: Herne the Hunter, an English mythological figure; an antlered ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. Full definition →

Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- ← Old English Herian
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Herne · proper noun1

  1. Old English · derived fromHerian
  2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱer-“horn”
  3. English todayHerne

Unknown. Suggested by R. Lowe Thompson to derive from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (“horn”), which would mean it is related to English horn. Others have suggested that it comes from Old English Herian (literally “warrior-leader”), which is a name for Woden. Another theory is that it derives from the surname Horne.

Herne · proper noun2

  1. Old English · derived fromhyrne“corner”
  2. English todayHerne

From Old English hyrne (“corner”).

Herne · proper noun3

  1. German · borrowed fromHerne
  2. German · borrowed fromHerne
  3. English todayHerne

Borrowed from German Herne.

Herne · proper noun4

Variant of Hearn.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*ḱer- all →

cerealceresaccretion

Old EnglishHerian all →

herryherye

Old Englishhyrne all →

hurleyhearnhernhirnGuyhirn

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.