Where does “Sternidae” come from?
Sternidae (Translingual) comes from Translingual Sterna, from New Latin sterna, from English Stern, from English tern, from Middle English terne, from Old French terne, from Latin ternas, from Latin terni.
Ancestry of “Sternidae”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Translingual | Sterna | — |
| 2 | New Latin | sterna | — |
| 3 | English | Stern | — |
| 4 | English | tern | Any of various sea birds of the family Sternidae... |
| 5 | Middle English | terne | — |
| 6 | Old French | terne | dull, dim |
| 7 | Latin | ternas | accusative feminine plural of terni |
| 8 | Latin | terni | three each; three at a time |
| 9 | Latin | ter | thrice |
| 10 | Latin | terr | — |
| 11 | Old Latin | tris | — |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | trēs | three |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | *tréyes | — |