Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “ern” come from?

ern (Middle English) comes from Old English earn, from Proto-Germanic arô, from Proto-Indo-European er- — eagle, bird; loose, light, rare, sparse; to fail,...

Ancestry of “ern”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishearneagle
2Proto-Germanicarôeagle
3Proto-Indo-Europeaner-eagle, bird; loose, light, rare, sparse; to fail,...

Words derived from “ern”

  • ern
  • erne
Every word from Proto-Indo-European er- →