Via an East Anglian dialect, from some Scandinavian (North Germanic) language, related toDanishterne,Norwegianterne, andSwedishtärna, all fromOld Norseþerna(“tern; maidservant”),[1] ultimately fromProto-West Germanic*þewernā(“handmaid, young girl”). First attested in the 1670s.
Anarctic tern (Sterna paradisaea;etymology 1) photographed on theFarne Islands off thecoast ofNorthumberland,England, U.K.tern (pluralterns)
- Any of variousseabirds of thesubfamilySterninae (of thefamilyLaridae) that aresimilar togulls but aresmaller and have aforkedtail.
bird of the subfamily Sternidae
- Abkhaz:please add this translation if you can
- Arabic:خَرْشَنَة f(ḵaršana)
- Asturian:garrochín (ast),chirri (ast),carranclín (ast)
- Bulgarian:морска лястовица f(morska ljastovica)
- Catalan:xatrac m
- Chinese:
- Mandarin:海鷗 /海鸥 (zh)(hǎi'ōu)
- Czech:rybák (cs) m
- Danish:terne c
- Dutch:stern (nl) m
- Esperanto:ŝterno
- Faroese:terna (fo) f
- Finnish:tiira (fi)
- French:sterne (fr) f
- Galician:carrán m
- Georgian:please add this translation if you can
- German:Seeschwalbe (de) f,Meerschwalbe f
- Greek:στέρνα (el) f(stérna)
- Ancient:κήξ f(kḗx)
- Hungarian:csér (hu)
- Icelandic:þerna (is) f
- Ido:alcedo (io)
- Irish:geabhróg f,scréachóg thrá f
- Italian:sterna (it) f
- Japanese:アジサシ (ja)(あじさし, ajisashi)
- Korean:제비갈매기(jebigalmaegi)
- Latin:larus m,sterna f
- Manx:gant Arctagh m,gant cadjin m,gollan marrey m
- Mazanderani:اسپریک(esperik)
- Mokilese:pares
- Navajo:tónteel táshchozhii
- Norman:daûtchet m
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål:terne m orf
- Nynorsk:terne f
- Polish:rybitwa (pl) f
- Portuguese:andorinha-do-mar (pt) f,gaivina (pt) f
- Romanian:rândunică-de-mare (ro) f
- Russian:кра́чка (ru) f(kráčka)
- Scottish Gaelic:steàrnan m,steàrnag f,steàrnal m
- Serbo-Croatian:čȉgra (sh) f,mòrskalȁstavica f
- Slovak:rybár (sk) m
- Slovene:čígra (sl) f
- Spanish:charrán (es) m,fumarel m,gaviotín m
- Swedish:tärna (sv) c
- Tiwi:martapaka,wujirrini
- Turkish:sumrugil
- Ukrainian:кря́чок m(krjáčok)
- Volapük:melasval
- Welsh:morwennol f,môr-wennol f
- West Frisian:stirns c
- Wik-Mungkan:oopal
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Thenoun is derived from LateMiddle Englishterne(“throw of a die or dice showing the number three”),[2] fromOld Frenchterne(“gathering of three people; trinity”) (modernFrenchterne), fromLatinternās,[3] theaccusativefeminineplural ofternī(“three each; three at a time”), fromter(“thrice”) (ultimately fromProto-Indo-European*tréyes(“three”)) +-ī (from-us(suffix forming adjectives)).
Theadjective is either derived from the noun, or directly fromLatinternī(“three each; three at a time”);[3] see above.
tern (pluralterns)
- (dated orobsolete) Athing withthreecomponents; aset of three things.
- (gambling,dated) Alotteryprizeresulting from thefavourablecombination of threenumbers in thedraw.
1856,Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Seventh Book”, inAurora Leigh, London:Chapman and Hall, […], published1857,→OCLC,page319:And yet, now even, ifMadonna willed, / She'd win atern in Thursday's lottery, / And better all things.
lottery prize resulting from the favourable combination of three numbers in the draw
tern (notcomparable)
- (chieflybotany,rare)Consisting ofthreecomponents;ternate,threefold,triple.
- Synonyms:ternary,treble,trine;see alsoThesaurus:triple
- Coordinate terms:quatern,(obsolete, rare)quine
- tern flowers tern leaves
atern schooner, one with three masts
consisting of three components
—seeternary- ^“tern,n.1”, inOED Online
, Oxford:Oxford University Press, December 2020;“tern1,n.”, inLexico,Dictionary.com;Oxford University Press,2019–2022. - ^“terne,n.(2)”, inMED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.
- ↑3.03.1Compare“tern,adj. andn.2”, inOED Online, Oxford:Oxford University Press, September 2019;“tern2,n.”, inLexico,Dictionary.com;Oxford University Press,2019–2022.
Learned borrowing fromLatinternus.
tern m (pluralterns)
- set ofthree,trio
- matchingthree-piece suit
tern
- alternative form ofteren
Borrowed fromFrenchterne.
tern m orn (feminine singularternă,masculine pluralterni,feminine and neuter pluralterne)
- (literary)matte,lackluster,dull(lackinggloss)
- (figurative)colorless,pale(lacking color or contrast)
- Synonyms:monoton,mohorât
%2c_Farne_Islands.jpg)
, Oxford:Oxford University Press, December 2020;“tern1,n.”, inLexico,Dictionary.com;Oxford University Press,2019–2022.
tern on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Category:Sternidae on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
Sternidae on Wikispecies.Wikispecies