hern

hern · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ḱerh₂-“horn”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*hurnijō
3. Old English · inherited fromhyrne“corner”
4. Middle English · inherited fromherne
5. English todayhern

From Middle English herne, hyrne, from Old English hyrne (“corner”), from Proto-Germanic *hurnijō, *hurnijǭ (“projecting point, corner, angle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”). Doublet of hirn. Further related to horn.

hern · pronoun²

1. Middle English · inherited fromhiren
2. English todayhern

From Middle English hiren, hirne, from the same source as her. The -n was added (especially in the speech of the Midlands and Southern England, starting in the 1300s) by analogy with mine and thine. (Compare ourn.) Displaced in standard speech by the -s form, hers, which see for more. Cognate with West Flemish heurn (“hern”).

hern · noun³

Dialectal variant of heron.

Words from the same roots