tern

tern · noun¹

1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*þewernā“handmaid, young girl”
2. Old Norse · derived fromþerna“tern; maidservant”
3. English todaytern

Via an East Anglian dialect, from some Scandinavian (North Germanic) language, related to Danish terne, Norwegian terne, and Swedish tärna, all from Old Norse þerna (“tern; maidservant”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *þewernā (“handmaid, young girl”). First attested in the 1670s.

tern · noun, adjective²

1. Latin · derived fromternī“three each; three at a time”
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*tréyes“three”
3. Latin · derived fromternās
4. Old French · derived fromterne“gathering of three people; trinity”
5. Middle English · inherited fromterne“throw of a die or dice showing the number three”
6. English todaytern

PIE word *tréyes The noun is derived from Late Middle English terne (“throw of a die or dice showing the number three”), from Old French terne (“gathering of three people; trinity”) (modern French terne), from Latin ternās, the accusative feminine plural of ternī (“three each; three at a time”), from ter (“thrice”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (“three”)) + -ī (from -us (suffix forming adjectives)). The adjective is either derived from the noun, or directly from Latin ternī (“three each; three at a time”); see above.

Words from the same roots