Etymology

churn

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Today it means: To agitate rapidly and repetitively, or to stir with a rowing or rocking motion; generally applies to liquids, notably cream. Full definition →

Middle English chyrne ← Old English ċyrn ← Proto-Germanic *kirnijǭ
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*kirnijaną“to churn, stir”
  2. Old English · inherited fromċernan
  3. Middle English · inherited fromchyrnen
  4. Proto-Germanic · derived from*kirnijǭ“churn”
  5. Old English · inherited fromċyrn
  6. Middle English · inherited fromchyrne
  7. English todaychurn

Noun from Middle English chyrne, cherne, kyrne ( > Scots kirn), from Old English ċyrn, ċyrin, ċirin (“churn”), from Proto-Germanic *kirnijǭ (“churn”); verb from Middle English chyrnen from Old English ċernan, from Proto-Germanic *kirnijaną (“to churn, stir”), of unknown origin. Cognate with West Frisian tsjerne, Dutch karn, Walloon serene, German Karn, Kirne, Norwegian Bokmål kjerne, Danish kærne, Swedish kärna, Icelandic kirna.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.