/tɜːn/, /tɝn/
OriginBorrowed from French terne, from Middle French, from Old French terne (“dim, dull”), from Frankish *darnī (“concealed, hidden; secret”); further etymology unknown, perhaps related to Proto-West Germanic *derk (“dark; dirty”), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰerg- (“to darken, dim”). Doublet of dern.
- also, attributive, countable, uncountableAn alloy coating made of lead and tin (or, more recently, zinc and tin), often with some antimony, used to cover iron or steel.
- countable, uncountableSynonym of terneplate (“thin iron or steel sheeting coated with this alloy”).
Formsmore terne(comparative) · most terne(superlative) · ternes(plural)