dern

D2E1R1N1
/ˈdɜː(ɹ)n/

noun

A secret; secrecy.

OriginMiddle English dern ← Old English dyrne ← Proto-West Germanic *darnī →
UncommonScrabble 5
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Meanings

dern1

noundern (plural derns)

plural derns

  1. obsoleteA secret; secrecy.
  2. obsoleteA secret place; hiding.
  3. obsoleteAn obscure language.
  4. obsoleteDarkness; obscurity.

dern2

adjectivedern (comparative more dern, superlative most dern)

comparative more dern · superlative most dern

  1. dialectalobsoleteHidden; secret; private.

    Through dreary beds of tangled fern, / Through groves of nightshade dark and dern.

    1819, J. R. Drake, The Culprit Fay
    1 more example

    Now with their backs to the den's mouth they sit, / Yet shoulder not all light from the dern pit.

    1659, Dr. H. More, Immortal, of the Soul

dern3

verbdern (third-person singular simple present derns, present participle derning, simple past and past participle derned)

present singular third person derns · participle present derning · participle past derned · past derned

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo hide; secrete, as in a hole.

    He at length escaped them by derning himself in a fox-earth.

    1865, Hugh Miller, My schools and schoolmasters
  2. intransitiveobsoleteTo hide oneself; skulk.

    But look how soon they heard of Holoferne / Their courage quail'd, and they began to derne.

    1584, Thomas Hudson, Judith

dern4

noundern (plural derns)

plural derns

  1. UKA gatepost or doorpost.

    1855, Charles Kingsley, Westward Ho!, Ch. XIV, How Salvation Yeo Slew the King of the Gubbings So I just put my eye between the wall and the dern of the gate, and I saw him come up to the back door […]

Dern5

proper nounDern (plural Derns)

plural Derns

  1. A surname from German.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
abstruseclandestinecloak-and-daggerconfidentialcovertdarkdeep-laidfurtivehiddenhugger-muggerinwardmysteriousnondisplayedobscureout of sightsecrecysecretsnugsub rosaunderground

Origin

dern · noun

  1. Proto-West Germanic*darnī“hidden, secret”
  2. Old Englishdyrne
  3. Middle Englishdern
  4. Englishdern

From Middle English dern, derne, from Old English dyrne, dierne (“secret”), from Proto-West Germanic *darnī (“hidden, secret”).

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dern · adjective

  1. Proto-West Germanic*darnī“hidden, secret”
  2. Old Englishdyrne
  3. Middle Englishdern
  4. Englishdern

From Middle English dern, derne, from Old English dyrne, dierne (“hidden, secret, retired, obscure, remote, eluding detection, concealed, deceitful, evil, magical”), from Proto-West Germanic *darnī (“hidden, secret”). Doublet of terne.

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dern · verb

  1. Proto-West Germanic*darnijan“to conceal”
  2. Old Englishdyrnan
  3. Middle Englishdernen
  4. Englishdern

From Middle English dernen, dærnen, from Old English dyrnan, diernan (“to keep secret, conceal, hide, restrain, repress, hide oneself”), from Proto-West Germanic *darnijan (“to conceal”), from *darnī (“hidden, secret”). Cognate with Old Saxon dernian (“to conceal”), German tarnen (“to camouflage, disguise”). See also darn, tarnish.

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dern · noun

Uncertain. Maybe related to door.

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Dern · proper noun

  1. GermanDern
  2. EnglishDern

Borrowed from German Dern.

More words from German

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Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with dern

returnlearnconcernearnburnsternkernfernurnBernadjourndiscernchurnternernnocturneyearnAuvergneupturnperngernhernasternspurn
All rhymes →

Anagrams

nerdrend
Cite this entry
APA

dern. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dern

MLA

“dern.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dern. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dern,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dern.

Source: dern on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.