Where does “terne” come from?
terne (Norwegian Nynorsk) comes from Old Norse þerna, from Old Saxon thiorna, from Proto-West Germanic *þewernā.
terne (Norwegian Nynorsk): a tern
Ancestry of “terne”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | þerna | tern; maid servant |
| 2 | Old Saxon | thiorna | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *þewernā | — |