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tern

   Also found in: Medical, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
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.
[Of Scandinavian origin.]
tern
Noun
a gull-like sea bird with a forked tail and long narrow wings [Old Norse therna]
Tern set of three; trio; triplet; a group of three stanzas in poetry, 1856.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.terntern - 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


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The booby lays her eggs on the bare rock; but the tern makes a very simple nest with seaweed.
The Voyage of the Beagle by Darwin, Charles View in context
Well, one day when I was not around, one of these people came along -- it was a she one, this time -- and told a tale of the usual pat- tern.
A Connecticut Yankee by Twain, Mark View in context
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