any of numerous aquatic birds of the subfamily Sterninae of the family Laridae, related to the gulls but usually having a more slender body and bill, smaller feet, a long, deeply forked tail, and a more graceful flight, especially those of the genus Sterna, as S. hirundo(common tern), of Eurasia and America, having white, black, and gray plumage.
Origin: 1670–80; < Danish terne or Norwegian terna; cognate with Old Norse therna
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Ternis always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
three winning numbers drawn together in a lottery.
3.
a prize won by drawing these.
Origin: 1300–50; Middle English terne < Middle French < Italian terno < Latin ternus, singular of ternī three each, triad, akin to ter thrice; see three
any aquatic bird of the subfamily Sterninae, having a forked tail, long narrow wings, a pointed bill, and a typically black-and-white plumage: family Laridae (gulls, etc), order Charadriiformes
[C18: from Old Norse therna; related to Norwegian terna, Swedish tärna]
tern2 (tɜːn)
—n
1.
a three-masted schooner
2.
rare a group of three
[C14: from Old French terne, from Italian terno, from Latin ternī three each; related to Latin ter thrice, trēs three]
gull-like shore bird (subfamily Sterninae), 1678, via E.Anglian dialect, from a Scand. source (cf. Dan. terne, Swed. tärna, Færoese terna) related to O.N. þerna "tern," cognate with O.E. stearn "starling."