FromMiddle Englishherne,hyrne, fromOld Englishhyrne(“corner”), fromProto-Germanic*hurnijō,*hurnijǭ(“projecting point, corner, angle”), fromProto-Indo-European*ḱerh₂-(“horn”).Doublet ofhirn. Further related tohorn.
hern (pluralherns)
- (now chiefly dialectal)Corner,nook.
- (now chiefly dialectal) Arecess beside a wide chimney-fireside.
- (now chiefly dialectal) A corner ofangular piece ofland; a nook of land projecting into another district, parish, or field.
FromMiddle Englishhiren,hirne, from the same source asher. The-n was added (especially in the speech of the Midlands and Southern England, starting in the 1300s) by analogy withmine andthine. (Compareourn.) Displaced in standard speech by the-s form,hers, which see for more. Cognate withWest Flemishheurn(“hern”).
hern
- (obsolete outside British and US dialects, especially Appalachia)Hers;herown.
Dialectal variant ofheron.
hern (pluralherns)
- (dialectal or poetic)Heron.
- 1662,Henry More,An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 73:
- "Now forSwans &Ducks, and such likeBirds of theWater, it is obvious to take notice how well they are fitted for that manner of life. For those that swim, theirFeet are framed for it like a pair ofOars, theirClaws being connected with a pretty broad Membrane; and theirNecks are long, that they may dive deep enough into the water. As also theNeck of theHern, and such like Fowl who live of Fishes, and are fain to frequent their Element, who walk on long stilts also like the people that dwell in the Marshes; but theirClaws have no such Membranes, for they had been but a hindrance to those kind of Birds that onely wade in the water, and do not swim."
(Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.)
hern f (singulativehernen)
- pilchards,sardines
hern
- alternative form ofhiren(“hers”)
hern
- alternative form ofheren(“theirs”)
