erne en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ɜːn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ɝːn/ (US)
Etymology
From Middle English ern, erne, earn, from Old English earn (“eagle”), from Proto-West Germanic *arnu (“eagle”), from Proto-Germanic *arnuz (“eagle”), from Proto-Germanic *arô (“eagle”) (whence also Arnold), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃érō (“large bird, eagle”). Cognate with North Frisian Aarn, iarn, jarn (“eagle”), West Frisian earn (“eagle”), Dutch arend (“eagle”), German Aar (“eagle”), Low German Arend (“eagle”), Danish, Faroese, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk ørn (“eagle”), Icelandic and Swedish örn (“eagle”), Ancient Greek ὄρνεον (órneon), ὄρνις (órnis, “bird”) (whence ornitho-), translingual -ornis, Proto-Slavic *orьlъ (“eagle”).
Meanings
-
A sea eagle (Haliaeetus), especially the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)
Ahoi! come kite! Ahoi! come erne from off the fen!
1866, Charles Kingsley, chapter 20, in Hereward the Wake, London: Nelson, page 274:[T]his is an in-depth study of the Erne (to use the old Anglo-Saxon name for this eagle).
1985, Amadon, Dean, “Review of The Return of the Sea Eagle”, in The Auk, volume 102, number 1, pages 218-19:
-
(dialectal, poetic) An eagle.
the bald erne
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ern | alternative | lexicographic | |
| earn | alternative | lexicographic | |
| ernes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
white-tailed eagle (an eagle) · sea eagle (an eagle)
Translations (13)
he עֵיטָם (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · pl bielik (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · gl pigargo (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · eo haliaeto (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · es pigargo (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · el θαλασσαετός (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · pt pigargo (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · uk орла́н (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · ca pigarg (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · unm òpalanie (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · ru орла́н (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · ro codalb (bird of the genus Haliaeetus) · fr pygargue (bird of the genus Haliaeetus)