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.

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