Etymograph

English

Herne

Herne comes from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- ‘horn’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-‘horn’reconstructed
  2. EnglishtodayHerne

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱer-‘horn’reconstructed
  2. EnglishtodayHerne

The story

Suggested by R. Lowe Thompson to derive from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (‘horn’), which would mean it is related to English horn. Others have suggested that it comes from Old English Herian (literally “warrior-leader”), which is a name for Woden. Another theory is that it derives from the surname Horne.disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- ‘horn’

increase, create, crew, increasing, creative, creator, decrease, creature, crescent, cereal, creole, increment, excrement, accretion, croissant, procreation, cru, kore, creat, 26 more

Another origin of Herne

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-‘horn’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hurnijǭ‘horn, corner, angle’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*hurnijā‘corner, angle’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150hyrne‘corner’
  5. EnglishtodayHerne

Another origin of Herne

  1. Old High Germanc. 750–1050Haranni
  2. Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350Hernen
  3. Germanc. 1650–presentHerne
  4. Englishtodaysame form

Today it means

name Herne the Hunter, an English mythological figure; an antlered ghost associated with Windsor Forest and Great Park in the English county of Berkshire.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- / Herne

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