ern

See also: ERN, Ern, and -ern

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɜːn/
• (US) enPR: ûrn, IPA^(key): /ɝn/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n
• Homophones: earn, erne, urn

Etymology 1

Alteration of erne.

Noun

ern (plural erns)

1. Alternative spelling of erne

Etymology 2

From Middle English ernen, from Old English irnan, iernan (“to run, move quickly”), metathetic variant of rinnan (“to run”). More at run.

Alternative forms

• earn (Scotland)

Verb

ern (third-person singular simple present erns, present participle erning, simple past and past participle erned)

1. (UK dialectal) To run; flow.
2. (UK dialectal, Scotland) To (cause to) coagulate; curdle (milk) by adding rennet and applying heat.

Etymology 3

Of obscure origin. Perhaps an alteration of erme, from Middle English ermen, from Old English yrman, ierman. Compare also Old Scots urn, uren. More at erme.

Verb

ern (third-person singular simple present erns, present participle erning, simple past and past participle erned)

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To stir with strong emotion; grieve; mourn.
2. (UK dialectal, Scotland) To pain; torture.
3. (UK dialectal, Scotland) (of the eyes) To cause to water; smart.

Related terms

• erme

Anagrams

• ner, NER, ren, NRE, -ren, RNE, Ren, ENR, -ner-, REN

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse ern, from Proto-Germanic *arniz (“serious; diligent”).

Adjective

ern (comparative ernari, superlative ernastur)

1. brisk, active (of an older person)

Declension

Positive forms of ern

strong declension (indefinite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	ern	ern	ernt
	accusative	ernan	erna
	dative	ernum	ernri	ernu
	genitive	erns	ernrar	erns
	plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	ernir	ernar	ern
	accusative	erna
	dative	ernum
	genitive	ernra
weak declension (definite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	erni	erna	erna
	acc/dat/gen	erna	ernu
	plural (all-case)	ernu

Comparative forms of ern

weak declension (definite)		masculine	feminine	neuter
	singular (all-case)	ernari	ernari	ernara
	plural (all-case)	ernari

Superlative forms of ern

strong declension (indefinite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	ernastur	ernust	ernast
	accusative	ernastan	ernasta
	dative	ernustum	ernastri	ernustu
	genitive	ernasts	ernastrar	ernasts
	plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	ernastir	ernastar	ernust
	accusative	ernasta
	dative	ernustum
	genitive	ernastra
weak declension (definite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	ernasti	ernasta	ernasta
	acc/dat/gen	ernasta	ernustu
	plural (all-case)	ernustu

References

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989) Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “ern”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• Mörður Árnason (2019) Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
• “ern” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Middle English

Alternative forms

• arn, aryn, eerne, eren, erne, eron
• ærn, earn (Early Middle English)

Etymology

From Old English earn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛːrn/, /ɛrn/, /arn/

Noun

ern (plural ernes)

1. eagle (bird of prey)

   Synonym: egle

Descendants

• English: erne
• Scots: earn, ern, erne

References

• “ē̆rn, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Scots

Noun

ern (plural erns)

1. Alternative form of airn

References

• “ern, n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.