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Added 10 October 2026

tern

/tɜːn/ noun

In Latin: larus, sterna First recorded: 1670 Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about tern at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

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.

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.
A lottery prize resulting from the favourable combination of three numbers in the draw.

adjective

Consisting of three components; ternate, threefold, triple.
tern flowers tern leaves

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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