tern (redirected from Terns)

tern ¹  (tûrn)

n.

Any of various sea birds of the genus Sterna and related genera, related to and resembling the gulls but characteristically smaller and having a forked tail.

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[Of Scandinavian origin.]

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tern ²  (tûrn)

n.

1. Games A set of three, especially a combination of three numbers that wins a lottery.

2. A three-masted schooner.

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[Middle English terne, from Old French, from ternes, from Latin terns, accusative pl. of tern, three each, from ter, thrice; see trei- in Indo-European roots.]

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tern¹

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any aquatic bird of the subfamily Sterninae, having a forked tail, long narrow wings, a pointed bill, and a typically black-and-white plumage: family Laridae (gulls, etc.), order Charadriiformes

[from Old Norse therna; related to Norwegian terna, Swedish tärna]

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tern²

n

1. (Transport / Nautical Terms) a three-masted schooner

2. Rare a group of three

[from Old French terne, from Italian terno, from Latin ternī three each; related to Latin ter thrice, trēs three]

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Tern set of three; trio; triplet; a group of three stanzas in poetry, 1856.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

tern - small slender gull having narrow wings and a forked tail larid - long-winged web-footed aquatic bird of the gull family Sterninae, subfamily Sterninae - terns sea swallow, Sterna hirundo - common tern of Eurasia and America having white black and grey plumage

Translations

tern [tɜːn] N → golondrina f de mar
common tern → charrán m común

tern

n (Zool) → Seeschwalbe f