tern

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a slender seabird related to gulls, typically with long pointed wings and a forked tail

   An Arctic tern hovered over the water before diving for a fish.

Of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish and Norwegian terne and Swedish tärna, all names for the bird. The unrelated rare word tern meaning 'a set of three' has a separate Latin history.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary