Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tern

/tɝn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.72 in modern English

Syllables
tern
IPA
/tɝn/
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars

Meaning

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.

noun

A thing with three components; a set of three things.

Dated; Obsolete

noun

A thing with three components; a set of three things.

Dated; Obsolete

adj

Consisting of three components; ternate, threefold, triple.

name

A river in Shropshire, England, which joins the Severn at Atcham; in full, the River Tern.

Example Sentences

Etymology

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.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: -, þerna, *þewernā, terne, ternās, *tréyes

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /tɝn/
  • British English: /tɜːn/

Usage

Inflected Forms

terns (plural) terne (alternative)

Derived Forms

ternery

Phrases

sea swallow Stoke on Tern Stoke upon Tern

Frequently Paired Words

sea swallow quatern quine

Synonyms

ternary treble trine tern threefold triadic trinary triple

Homonyms

turn tarn terne

Rhymes With

turns returns concerns burns learns earns ferns stearns byrnes kearns yearns terns

Questions

How do you pronounce tern?
The recorded pronunciation is /tɝn/.
What does tern mean?
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.
Where does tern come from?
It is traced to Old Norse. First known use: First attested in the 1670s.

How to pronounce tern

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tern”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tɝn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tern”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “tern” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.