churn

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /t͡ʃɝn/ UK /tʃɜːn/ See IPA manual

Freq #27709

Meanings

1

verb
To move or stir something, especially liquid, with great force and motion.

The storm made the sea churn and crash against the rocks.
2

verb
To stir cream forcefully in order to make butter.

In the past, farmers churned fresh cream by hand to make butter.
3

verb
To stop being a customer of a company or stop using its service.

The phone company lost money as more subscribers churned each month.
4

noun
A container in which cream is stirred to make butter.

The old farmhouse still had a wooden butter churn in the kitchen.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to move or stir something,... boil roil

4 noun · a container in which cream... butter churn

Word family

Forms churnedchurningchurns

Derived forms churn-staffchurnablechurnalistchurnalizechurnerchurnfulchurninglychurnoverchurnygut-churningrechurnstomach-churning

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

butter churn
a container or machine that turns cream into butter by repeatedly agitating it

Noun + noun

Etymology

Noun from Middle English chyrne, cherne, kyrne ( > Scots kirn), from Old English ċyrn, ċyrin, ċirin (“churn”), from Proto-Germanic *kirnijǭ (“churn”); verb from Middle English chyrnen from Old English ċernan, from Proto-Germanic *kirnijaną (“to churn, stir”), of unknown origin. Cognate with West Frisian tsjerne, Dutch karn, Walloon serene, German Karn, Kirne, Norwegian Bokmål kjerne, Danish kærne, Swedish kärna, Icelandic kirna.

chyrne Middle English ċyrn Old English *kirnijǭ Proto-Germanic chyrnen Middle English ċernan Old English *kirnijaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# churn

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /t͡ʃɝn/
**IPA (UK):** /tʃɜːn/
**Frequency rank:** 27709

## Meanings
1. To move or stir something, especially liquid, with great force and motion.
2. To stir cream forcefully in order to make butter.
3. To stop being a customer of a company or stop using its service.
4. A container in which cream is stirred to make butter.

## Examples
- The storm made the sea churn and crash against the rocks.
- In the past, farmers churned fresh cream by hand to make butter.
- The phone company lost money as more subscribers churned each month.
- The old farmhouse still had a wooden butter churn in the kitchen.

## Derived Forms
- churn-staff
- churnable
- churnalist
- churnalize
- churner
- churnful
- churningly
- churnover
- churny
- gut-churning
- rechurn
- stomach-churning

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: chyrne
- Root: ċyrn
- Root: *kirnijǭ
- Root: chyrnen
- Root: ċernan
- Root: *kirnijaną

## Etymology
Noun from Middle English chyrne, cherne, kyrne ( > Scots kirn), from Old English ċyrn, ċyrin, ċirin (“churn”), from Proto-Germanic *kirnijǭ (“churn”); verb from Middle English chyrnen from Old English ċernan, from Proto-Germanic *kirnijaną (“to churn, stir”), of unknown origin. Cognate with West Frisian tsjerne, Dutch karn, Walloon serene, German Karn, Kirne, Norwegian Bokmål kjerne, Danish kærne, Swedish kärna, Icelandic kirna.

## AI Etymology
Churn is traced through noun from Middle English chyrne, cherne, kyrne ( > Scots kirn), from Old English ċyrn, ċyrin, ċirin (“churn”), from Proto-Germanic *kirnijǭ (“churn”); verb from Middle English chyrnen from Old English ċernan, from Proto-Germanic *kirnijaną (“to churn, stir”), of unknown origin. Cognate with West Frisian tsjerne, Dutch karn, Walloon serene, German Karn, Kirne, Norwegian Bokmål kjerne, Danish kærne, Swedish kärna, Icelandic kirna. In present-day use, it can mean to move or stir something, especially liquid, with great force and motion, or to stir cream forcefully in order to make butter. Derived formations include churn-staff, churnable, churnalist, churnalize, and churner.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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