Where does “tern” come from?
tern (Romanian) comes from French terne, from Middle French terne, from Old French terne, from Latin ternas, from Latin terni, from Latin ter, from Latin terr, from Old Latin tris.
tern (Romanian): matte, lackluster, dull lacking gloss
Definitions
- matte, lackluster, dull lacking gloss
Ancestry of “tern”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | terne | dull; colourless; drab; trinity, gathering of... |
| 2 | Middle French | 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 | — |