earn

earn · verb¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*azanōną
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*aʀanōn
3. Old English · inherited fromearnian
4. Middle English · inherited fromernen
5. English todayearn

From Middle English ernen, from Old English earnian, from Proto-West Germanic *aʀanōn, from Proto-Germanic *azanōną. This verb is denominal from the noun *azaniz (“harvest”).

earn · verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₃er-“to move, stir; to rise, spring”
2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*rinnaną
3. Old Norse · derived fromrinna“to move quickly, run; of liquid: to flow, run; to melt”
4. Old English · inherited fromrinnan“to run”
5. Middle English · inherited fromerne
6. English todayearn

Probably either: * from Middle English erne, ernen (“to coagulate, congeal”) (chiefly South Midlands) [and other forms], a metathetic variant of rennen (“to run; to coagulate, congeal”), from Old English rinnan (“to run”) (with the variants iernan, irnan) and Old Norse rinna (“to move quickly, run; of liquid: to flow, run; to melt”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to move, stir; to rise, spring”); or * a back-formation from earning (“(Britain regional, archaic) rennet”).

earn · verb³

A variant of yearn.

Earn · proper noun⁴

1. Scottish Gaelic · derived fromÈireann
2. English todayEarn

From Scottish Gaelic Èireann, genitive singular of Èirinn (“Ireland”), closely related to the river name Erne.

Words from the same roots