Ern
//ɜːn// name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Alternative spelling of erne. alt-of, alternative
- 2 bulky greyish-brown eagle with a short wedge-shaped white tail; of Europe and Greenland wordnet
Verb
- 1 To run; flow. UK, dialectal
- 2 To stir with strong emotion; grieve; mourn. intransitive, obsolete
- 3 To (cause to) coagulate; curdle (milk) by adding rennet and applying heat. Scotland, UK, dialectal
- 4 To pain; torture. Scotland, UK, dialectal
- 5 (of the eyes) To cause to water; smart. Scotland, UK, dialectal
Proper Noun
- 1 A diminutive of the male given name Ernest.
"'That's a good one, that is!' said Ern."
Example
More examples"'That's a good one, that is!' said Ern."
Etymology
Etymology 1
Alteration of erne.
Etymology 2
From Middle English ernen, from Old English irnan, iernan (“to run, move quickly”), metathetic variant of rinnan (“to run”). More at run.
Etymology 3
Of obscure origin. Perhaps an alteration of erme, from Middle English ermen, from Old English yrman, ierman. Compare also Old Scots urn, uren. More at erme.
Etymology 4
Shortening.
More for "ern"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.