Where does “Stern” come from?
Stern (English) comes from English tern, from Middle English terne, from Old French terne, from Latin ternas, from Latin terni, from Latin ter, from Latin terr, from Old Latin tris.
Ancestry of “Stern”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | tern | Any of various sea birds of the family Sternidae... |
| 2 | Middle English | terne | — |
| 3 | Old French | terne | dull, dim |
| 4 | Latin | ternas | accusative feminine plural of terni |
| 5 | Latin | terni | three each; three at a time |
| 6 | Latin | ter | thrice |
| 7 | Latin | terr | — |
| 8 | Old Latin | tris | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | trēs | three |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | *tréyes | — |