SINCE 1828
dictionary
thesaurus
view recents

erne

noun
Save Word
\ ˈərn How to pronounce erne (audio) , ˈern How to pronounce erne (audio) \

Definition of erne

: eagle especially : a long-winged sea eagle (Haliäetus albicilla) with a short white wedge-shaped tail

Did You Know?

What do ernes, crows, finches, wrens, owls, and sparrows have in common (besides feathers and beaks and other avian traits)? Wing your way through one thousand years of ornithological and etymological history, and you will alight on an Old English lexicon wherein these birds had basically the same names as they have now. Their names were spelled a little differently back then: "earn," "crāwe," "finc," "wrenna," "Ūle," and "spearwa." All those avian names are also birds of a feather in that their ancestors are akin to Old High German words: arn, "krāwa," "fincho," "rentilo," "uwila," and "sparo," respectively.

First Known Use of erne

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for erne

Middle English, from Old English earn; akin to Old High German arn eagle, Greek ornis bird

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about erne

Time Traveler for erne

Time Traveler

The first known use of erne was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Listen to Our Podcast about erne

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Statistics for erne

Cite this Entry

“Erne.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/erne. Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.

Style: MLA
MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster

Comments on erne

What made you want to look up erne? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

meticulous

Listen to the pronunciation of meticulous

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

Who Knew?

  • who knew quiz
  • What is a ruelle?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Typeshift

Anagram puzzles meet word search.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games