tern

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) enPR: tûrn, IPA(key): /tɜːn/ (General American) enPR: tûrn, IPA(key): /tɝn/ Homophones: turn, tarn Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n === Etymology 1 === 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 Germanic *þewernā (“handmaid, young girl”). First attested in the 1670s. ==== Noun ==== tern (plural terns) 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. ===== Alternative forms ===== terne (obsolete, 17th c.) ===== Hyponyms ===== ===== Derived terms ===== ternery ===== Translations ===== ===== See also ===== sea swallow (“common tern”) (one sense) === Etymology 2 === 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. ==== Noun ==== tern (plural terns) (dated or obsolete) A thing with three components; a set of three things. (gambling, dated) A lottery prize resulting from the favourable combination of three numbers in the draw. ===== Translations ===== ==== Adjective ==== tern (not comparable) (chiefly botany, rare) Consisting of three components; ternate, threefold, triple. Synonyms: ternary, treble, trine; see also Thesaurus:triple Coordinate terms: quatern, (obsolete, rare) quine tern flowers    tern leaves ===== Translations ===== === References === === Further reading === tern on Wikipedia.Wikipedia tern (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Category:Sternidae on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons Sternidae on Wikispecies.Wikispecies === Anagrams === Rent, rent, tren == Catalan == === Etymology === Learned borrowing from Latin ternus. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈtɛrn] IPA(key): (Valencia) [ˈtɛɾn] === Noun === tern m (plural terns) set of three, trio matching three-piece suit === Further reading === “tern”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007 == Middle English == === Verb === tern alternative form of teren == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from French terne. === Adjective === tern m or n (feminine singular ternă, masculine plural terni, feminine/neuter plural terne) (literary) matte, lackluster, dull (lacking gloss) (figurative) colorless, pale (lacking color or contrast) Synonyms: monoton, mohorât ==== Declension ====