# tern

> English word · Noun · IPA /tɜːn/ · frequency rank #40,923

## Definitions
1. Any of various seabirds of the subfamily Sterninae (of the family Laridae) that are similar to gulls but are smaller and have a forked tail.

## Etymology
Via an East Anglian dialect, from some Scandinavian (North Germanic) language, related to Danish terne, Norwegian terne, and Swedish tärna, all from Old Norse þerna (“tern; maidservant”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *þewernā (“handmaid, young girl”). First attested in the 1670s.

## Easily confused with
- **TN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tn)
- **try** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-try)
- **ton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-ton)
- **tin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tin)
- **tri** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tri)
- **tor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tor)
- **Tex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tex)
- **tre** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tre)
- **tra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tra)
- **tru** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tru)
- **tun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tun)
- **tet** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tet)
- **TRP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-trp)
- **tur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tur)
- **Tyr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-tyr)
- **than** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-than)
- **then** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-then)
- **turn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-turn)
- **town** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-town)
- **test** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/tern-vs-test)

## Common misspellings (6)
`etrn`, `tenr`, `ternn`, `terrn`, `tren`, `ttern`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/tern