Also spelled arn and oinin
Meanings
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1
verb
To get money in return for work that you do.
She earns a good salary as an engineer.
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2
verb
To get something you deserve because of your effort or qualities.
He earned everyone's respect through years of hard work.
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3
verb
To produce money as profit or interest.
My savings account earns very little interest these days.
Thesaurus
Common collocations
Etymology
Probably either: * from Middle English erne, ernen (“to coagulate, congeal”) (chiefly South Midlands) [and other forms], a metathetic variant of rennen (“to run; to coagulate, congeal”), from Old English rinnan (“to run”) (with the variants iernan, irnan) and Old Norse rinna (“to move quickly, run; of liquid: to flow, run; to melt”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to move, stir; to rise, spring”); or * a back-formation from earning (“(Britain regional, archaic) rennet”).