*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of hern

From Middle English herne, hyrne, from Old English hyrne (“corner”), from Proto-Germanic *hurnijō, *hurnijǭ (“projecting point, corner, angle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”). Doublet of hirn. Further related

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Corner, nook. · A recess beside a wide chimney-fireside. · A corner of angular piece of land; a nook of land projecting into another district, parish, or field.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English herne, hyrne, from Old English hyrne (“corner”), from Proto-Germanic *hurnijō, *hurnijǭ (“projecting point, corner, angle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”). Doublet of hirn. Further related to horn.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "herne"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English herne"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hyrne",
        "4": "",
        "5": "corner"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hyrne (“corner”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*hurnijō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *hurnijō"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ḱerh₂-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "horn"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- (“horn”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hirn"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of hirn"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "herne",
      "herne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hyrne",
      "hyrne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hyrne",
      "hyrne#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*hurnijō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hurnijō"
    ],
    [
      "*hurnijǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hurnijǭ"
    ],
    [
      "*ḱerh₂-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ḱerh₂-"
    ],
    [
      "hirn",
      "hirn#English"
    ],
    [
      "horn",
      "horn#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Corner, nook.",
        "A recess beside a wide chimney-fireside.",
        "A corner of angular piece of land; a nook of land projecting into another district, parish, or field."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal"
      ],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
pron

Hers; her own.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English hiren, hirne, from the same source as her. The -n was added (especially in the speech of the Midlands and Southern England, starting in the 1300s) by analogy with mine and thine. (Compare ourn.) Displaced in standard speech by the -s form, hers, which see for more. Cognate with West Flemish heurn (“hern”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionhirenenm
  • Cognate mentionheurnvls
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "hiren"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English hiren"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "vls",
        "2": "heurn",
        "3": "",
        "4": "hern"
      },
      "expansion": "West Flemish heurn (“hern”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hiren",
      "hiren#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hirne",
      "hirne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "her",
      "her#English"
    ],
    [
      "ourn",
      "ourn#English"
    ],
    [
      "hers",
      "hers#English"
    ],
    [
      "heurn",
      "heurn#West_Flemish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "pron",
      "glosses": [
        "Hers; her own."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Appalachia",
        "especially"
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

Heron.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Dialectal variant of heron.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "heron",
      "heron#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Heron."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dialectal",
        "poetic"
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for hern →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-aGVybg