tern

tern · noun

1. Proto-West Germanic*þewernā“handmaid, young girl”
2. Old Norseþerna“tern; maidservant”
3. Englishtern

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.

More words from Old Norse, Proto-West Germanic

tern · noun, adjective

1. Latinternī“three each; three at a time”
2. Proto-Indo-European*tréyes“three”
3. Latinternās
4. Old Frenchterne“gathering of three people; trinity”
5. Middle Englishterne“throw of a die or dice showing the number three”
6. Englishtern

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.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin