Earn
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Alternative form of erne British, alt-of, alternative, dialectal
"They gleamed on many a dusky tarn , Haunted by the lonely earn"
- 1 To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work. transitive
"You can have the s'mores: you earned them, clearing the walkway of snow so well."
- 2 To curdle (milk), especially in the cheesemaking process. British, archaic, dialectal, transitive
- 3 To strongly long or yearn (for something or to do something). British, dialectal, obsolete, transitive
"And ever as he rode, his hart did earne / To prove his puissance in battell brave."
- 4 earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages wordnet
- 5 To receive payment for work or for a role or position held (regardless of whether effort was applied or whether the remuneration is deserved or commensurate). transitive
"He earns seven million dollars a year as CEO. My bank account is only earning one percent interest."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Of milk: to curdle, especially in the cheesemaking process. British, dialectal, intransitive, obsolete
- 7 To grieve. British, dialectal, intransitive, obsolete
"[M]y manly heart doth erne. […] Boy, briſsle thy Courage vp: For Falſtaffe hee is dead, and wee muſt erne therefore."
- 8 acquire or deserve by one's efforts or actions wordnet
- 9 To receive payment for work. intransitive
"Now that you are earning, you can start paying me rent."
- 10 To cause (someone) to receive payment or reward. transitive
"My CD earns me six percent!"
- 11 To achieve by being worthy of. transitive
"to earn a spot in the top 20"
- 1 Initialism of European Academic and Research Network: a former computer network connecting universities and research institutions across Europe. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 2 A river in Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland, which flows into the tidal River Tay.
Example
More examples"America is a lovely place to be, if you are here to earn money."
Etymology
From Middle English ernen, from Old English earnian, from Proto-West Germanic *aʀanōn, from Proto-Germanic *azanōną. This verb is denominal from the noun *azaniz (“harvest”).
Probably either: * from Middle English erne, ernen (“to coagulate, congeal”) (chiefly South Midlands) [and other forms], a metathetic variant of rennen (“to run; to coagulate, congeal”), from Old English rinnan (“to run”) (with the variants iernan, irnan) and Old Norse rinna (“to move quickly, run; of liquid: to flow, run; to melt”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to move, stir; to rise, spring”); or * a back-formation from earning (“(Britain regional, archaic) rennet”).
A variant of yearn.
From Scottish Gaelic Èireann, genitive singular of Èirinn (“Ireland”), closely related to the river name Erne.