English
hern
Hern comes from Old English hyrne ‘corner’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘horn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-‘horn’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hurnijō‘projecting point, corner, angle’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hyrne‘corner’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herne
- Englishtodayhern
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-‘horn’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*hurnijō‘projecting point, corner, angle’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150hyrne‘corner’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herne
- Englishtodayhern
The story
Further related to horn.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- ‘horn’
hart, horn, grail, cheer, cerebral, migraine, crater, carotid, corny, procrastinate, cranium, cornea, cairn, cornet, cerebellum, keratin, cerebrum, rother, 51 more
Another origin of hern
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500hiren
- Englishtodayhern
The -n was added (especially in the speech of the Midlands and Southern England, starting in the 1300s) by analogy with mine and thine. (Compare ourn.)
Today it means
noun Corner, nook.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- / hern