Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pern

/pɜː(ɹ)n/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.09 in modern English

Syllables: pern
IPA: /pɜː(ɹ)n/

6

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Part of a spinning wheel, a conical spool onto which the thread is wound from the spindle.

noun

A honey buzzard; Pernis apivorus.

verb

To take profit of; to make profitable.

Obsolete; Transitive verb

name

A solution stack consisting of the PostgreSQL database, Express.js application controller layer, React JavaScript library, and Node.js JavaScript runtime.

Example Sentences

"[…] these yarns are to be wove in the usual way of weaving canvas, but the weft to come off the pern or quill double […]"
"Model of a patent machine for winding yarn from the hank, upon the shuttlecope or pern."
"In one division the spindles carry the bobbins revolving inside a kind of cup or cone fitting down upon the pern, and the latter is shaped to fit accurately this conical surface."
"Those that, to ease their Purse, or please their Prince Pern their Profession"

Etymology

Presumably from a verb pern, a variant of preen, from Middle English prene; pernyng is read by some editors in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (v. 611) and interpreted as the present participle of this verb, also reflected dialectally as pirn (“reel; bobbin”). See also pirl.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: prene

Usage

Inflected Forms

perns (plural) perns (present, singular) perning (participle, present) perned (participle, past) perned (past)

Derived Forms

perne perning

Homonyms

pirn

Rhymes With

turn return learn left turn concern burn to burn earn stern fern urn discern

Questions

How do you pronounce pern?: The recorded pronunciation is /pɜː(ɹ)n/.
What does pern mean?: Part of a spinning wheel, a conical spool onto which the thread is wound from the spindle.
Where does pern come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce pern

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