Tern vs Ter - What's the difference?
tern | ter |
Any of various sea birds of the family Sternidae that are similar to gulls but are smaller and have a forked tail.
That which consists of, or pertains to, three things or numbers together.
(dated) A lottery prize resulting from the favourable combination of three numbers in the draw.
* Mrs Browning
threefold; triple; consisting of three; ternate
(dialectal)
:1997 , , (w, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) , iv:
::‘Do you mean ter tell me,’ he growled at the Dursleys, ‘that this boy – this boy! – knows nothin’]] [[about, abou’ – about ANYTHING?’
(dialectal)
:1997 , , (w, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone) , iv:
::‘What about that tea then, eh?’ he said, rubbing his hands together. ‘I’d not say no ter summat stronger if yeh’ve got it, mind.’
(dialectal)
As a noun tern
is any of various sea birds of the family Sternidae that are similar to gulls but are smaller and have a forked tail.As an adjective tern
is threefold; triple; consisting of three; ternate.As a particle ter is
eye dialect of lang=en.As a preposition ter is
eye dialect of lang=en.tern
English
Etymology 1
From a Scandinavian language, related to Danish terne'', Swedish '' , ultimately from (etyl)Noun
(en noun)Derived terms
* arctic tern * black tern * common tern * crested tern * greater crested tern * hooded tern * lesser crested tern * marsh tern * river tern * roseate tern * sooty tern * swift ternSee also
* sea swallow * (wikipedia) * (Sternidae) * (Sternidae)Etymology 2
(etyl) terne. See (tern) (adjective).Noun
(en noun)- She'd win a tern in Thursday's lottery.
Adjective
(-)- tern''' flowers; '''tern leaves
- a tern schooner, one with three masts
