yern

English

Alternative forms

• yearn

Etymology

From Middle English yern (“willing, eager”), from Old English ġeorn (“eager”), from Proto-West Germanic *gern, from Proto-Germanic *gernaz.

Cognate with Danish gerne (“gladly”), Dutch gaarne (“with pleasure, gladly”), German gern (“willingly, gladly”), Icelandic gjarn (“willing, keen, eager”), Icelandic gjarna (“willingly, readily, gladdly”), Swedish gärna (“willingly, gladly”). See also yearnful and yearnfully.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /jəːn/
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n

Homophone: yearn

Adverb

yern

1. (obsolete) eagerly, heartily, gladly, willingly, earnestly.

   I am not afraid of death, and when my time comes I'll go yern.

   • 1865, Frederick James Furnivall, A Royal Historie of the Excellent Knight Generides:

     Who was so hardie and so stern? Tel me now, I pray you yern

   • c. 1515, unknown, The Buke of the Sevyne Sagis:

     All the people cried yernː God Master, now defend thy bairn.

   • 1513, Gavin Douglas, The Eneados:

     The black swarm ower the fields walks yerne

Usage notes

For the adverb, the form yearnly can also be found, but is much rarer.

References

• “yern”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• The Dictionary of Early English
• A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th ed. 1960 (originally 1894)
• The Middle English Dictionary
• The Dictionary of the Scots Language

Verb

yern (third-person singular simple present yerns, present participle yerning, simple past and past participle yerned)

1. Obsolete form of yearn.

Anagrams

• NYer, Nery, reyn