tern

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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tern

Noun

a gull-like sea bird with a forked tail and long narrow wings [Old Norse therna]

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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