-ern
English edit
Etymology edit
In form, from Middle English -erne, -ern, -ren, -ron (northern(e), northron, so(u)thern(e), sothron, etc), from Old English -erne (norþerne, etc), from Proto-Germanic *-r- (probably from rebracketing of *nurþrōnijaz etc) + *-ōnijaz, whence also Old High German -rōni, Old Saxon -rōni, Old Norse -rǿnn / Old Norse -ǿnn. In practice, possibly a back-formation from northern, southern, etc.
(Contrast the -ern in hāliġern, etc., which is related to ærn (“place”).)
Suffix edit
-ern
- (nonstandard outside fossilized words) Added to the names of directions to form adjectives.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
See also edit
Further reading edit
- “-ern”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
Anagrams edit
German edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
Suffix edit
-ern
- (now rarely productive) iterative suffix, used to form verbs from other verbs
- Synonym: -eln
- used to form verbs from nouns, often with an additional prefix
- be- + Weihrauch (“incense”) + -ern → beweihräuchern (“to incense”)
Etymology 2 edit
Extended form of -en, generalised from such forms as silbern, kupfern, ledern, originally also eisern, in which -er is part of the stem.
Suffix edit
-ern
Etymology 3 edit
-ern
- Dative plural suffix for nouns that form the plural in -er (with or without Umlaut) or whose plural form (not root) already ends in -er.
- der Mann - den Männern
- der Rechner - den Rechnern
Derived terms edit
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Old English -ern, from ærn (“place”).
Suffix edit
-ern
- Denotes a place related to the noun it attaches to
Etymology 2 edit
From Old English -erne.
Suffix edit
-ern
- Alternative form of -erne
Descendants edit
- English: -ern
Old English edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From the adjectival use of -ærn (“noun suffix denoting location”), from ærn (“place”).
Alternative forms edit
Suffix edit
-ern
Declension edit
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
- Middle English: -ern
Etymology 2 edit
Variant of -erne.
Suffix edit
-ern
- Suffix meaning "toward a place"; alternative form of -erne