learn

learn · verb, noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*(le-)lóys-e
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*lizaną
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*liʀnōn
4. Old English · inherited fromleornian“to learn", rarely also, "to teach”
5. Middle English · inherited fromlernen“to learn", also, "to teach"”
6. English todaylearn

From Middle English lernen (“to learn", also, "to teach"”), from Old English leornian (“to learn", rarely also, "to teach”), from Proto-West Germanic *liʀnōn, from Proto-Germanic *lizaną, from Proto-Indo-European *(le-)lóys-e, stative from the root *leys- (“track, furrow, trace, trail”). The spelling with ⟨ea⟩ is of Early Modern English origin and reflects a lengthening of /ɛ~e/ to /eː/ before /rn/ in Late Old English or Early Middle English, then later lowering to /ɛː/; the modern pronunciation reflects still later reshortening. The dialect form with /ɑː/ reflects the Middle English pronunciation which either retained the short /ɛ/ or reshortened it earlier, enabling the a development to /a/ before /r/ which yielded modern /ɑː/. Cognate with Old Frisian lernia, lerna (“to learn”), Middle Low German lernen (“to learn", also, "to teach”), Middle Dutch leernen (“to learn", also, "to teach”) (whence Dutch lernen (“to study scripture”)), German lernen (“to learn”). See also lore and lear.

Learn · proper noun²

Possibly a reduced form of McLaren.