English word origin

Etymology of tern

Via an East Anglian dialect, from some Scandinavian (North Germanic) language, related to Danish terne, Norwegian terne, and Swedish tärna, all from Old Norse þerna (“tern; maidservant”), ultimately from Proto-West Germa

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 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

Any of various seabirds of the subfamily Sterninae (of the family Laridae) that are similar to gulls but are smaller and have a forked tail.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Cognate mentionterneda
Cognate mentionterneno
Cognate mentiontärnasv
Derivation mentionþernanon · tern; maidservant
Derivation mention*þewernāgmw-pro · handmaid, young girl

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "dercat",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "osx"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmq",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "North Germanic"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "terne"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish terne"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "terne"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian terne"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "tärna"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish tärna"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "þerna",
        "t": "tern; maidservant"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse þerna (“tern; maidservant”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "sup",
      "args": {
        "1": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "¹"
    },
    {
      "name": "sup",
      "args": {
        "1": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "¹"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*þewernā",
        "t": "handmaid, young girl"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *þewernā (“handmaid, young girl”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "etydate",
      "args": {
        "1": "1670s"
      },
      "expansion": "First attested in the 1670s"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "terne",
      "terne#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "terne",
      "terne#Norwegian"
    ],
    [
      "tärna",
      "tärna#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "þerna",
      "þerna#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*þewernā",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/þewernā"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Any of various seabirds of the subfamily Sterninae (of the family Laridae) that are similar to gulls but are smaller and have a forked tail."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "f21975ce9376d28fd580d5c12828fd1e6a34e349b62ad06d53ea7381aa651318",
      "rawRecordSha256": "22ccb18ae67fa78a0d0959d046977839a0439ebc35b721ed3c941d44ba8b0339",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 155532
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

adj

Consisting of three components; ternate, threefold, triple.

noun

A thing with three components; a set of three things. · A lottery prize resulting from the favourable combination of three numbers in the draw.

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

PIE word *tréyes The noun is derived from Late Middle English terne (“throw of a die or dice showing the number three”), from Old French terne (“gathering of three people; trinity”) (modern French terne), from Latin ternās, the accusative feminine plural of ternī (“three each; three at a time”), from ter (“thrice”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (“three”)) + -ī (from -us (suffix forming adjectives)). The adjective is either derived from the noun, or directly from Latin ternī (“three each; three at a time”); see above.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionterneenm · throw of a die or dice showing the number three
Derivation mentionternefro · gathering of three people; trinity
Cognate mentionternefr
Derivation mentionternāsla
Derivation mention*tréyesine-pro · three
Derivation mentionternīla · three each; three at a time

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "dercat",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "langname",
      "args": {
        "1": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European"
    },
    {
      "name": "word",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine",
        "3": "tréyes",
        "id": ""
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "PIE word",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "tréyes"
      },
      "expansion": "PIE word\n *tréyes"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "noun"
      },
      "expansion": "noun"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "terne",
        "t": "throw of a die or dice showing the number three"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English terne (“throw of a die or dice showing the number three”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "terne",
        "t": "gathering of three people; trinity"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French terne (“gathering of three people; trinity”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "terne"
      },
      "expansion": "French terne"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "ternās"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin ternās"
    },
    {
      "name": "sup",
      "args": {
        "1": "2"
      },
      "expansion": "²"
    },
    {
      "name": "sup",
      "args": {
        "1": "2"
      },
      "expansion": "²"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "accusative"
      },
      "expansion": "accusative"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "feminine"
      },
      "expansion": "feminine"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "plural"
      },
      "expansion": "plural"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*tréyes",
        "t": "three"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *tréyes (“three”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "suffix"
    },
    {
      "name": "glossary",
      "args": {
        "1": "adjective"
      },
      "expansion": "adjective"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "ternī",
        "t": "three each; three at a time"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin ternī (“three each; three at a time”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*tréyes",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/tréyes"
    ],
    [
      "terne",
      "terne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "terne",
      "terne#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "terne",
      "terne#French"
    ],
    [
      "ternās",
      "ternas#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ternī",
      "terni#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ter",
      "ter#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*tréyes",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/tréyes"
    ],
    [
      "-ī",
      "-i#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-us",
      "-us#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "ternī",
      "terni#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Consisting of three components; ternate, threefold, triple."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "rare"
      ],
      "recordId": "182451509a28b059772ab108dd803c684ab62db793c3e8c7aa74bca575a9d023",
      "rawRecordSha256": "3b549e72c224936f4bb692322bebc4afc2055a3f4dc8407644221dfc0ca8a747",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 155534
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A thing with three components; a set of three things.",
        "A lottery prize resulting from the favourable combination of three numbers in the draw."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "cfa38eb3f179f1f5f2adb5f7c811115e097bc19d80b3aa88bab9d608e0f06e7b",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6ba0c6778df183f20ef6ee60de1f49f3d9c32e7408e36b932aaf918687804c6c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 155533
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 tern →

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-dGVybg