-erne

See also: erne, Erné, and Erne

Danish

Suffix

-erne

1. Marks the plural definite of some nouns.

Usage notes

The nouns that inflect like this are mostly the same as those who get -er in the plural indefinite. menneske is a notable exception, being inflected mennesket, mennesker, menneskene (although the form menneskerne also occurs occasionally). Words ending in unstressed -er, such as forfatter, usually inflect -er, -eren, -ere, -erne.

Synonyms

• -ene

Middle English

Alternative forms

• -ern, -ren, -eren, -orn, -ron

Etymology

From Old English -erne; see -ern for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /-ɛrn(ə)/, /-ərn(ə)/, /-rən(ə)/

Suffix

-erne

1. (no longer productive) Suffix denoting belonging to or being in an area, cardinal direction, or ordinal direction.

   northerne "northern", southerne "southern", esterne "eastern", westerne "western", nihterne "during the night"

Descendants

• English: -ern

Old English

Etymology

Akin to Old High German -rōni; see -ern for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /er.ne/, [erˠ.ne]

Suffix

-erne

1. Adjective suffix occurring in names for directions

   norþerne ― northern, sūþerne ― southern, ēasterne ― eastern, westerne ― western

Descendants

• Middle English: -erne, -ern, -ren, -ron
  • English: -ern
  • Scots: -ren