Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian -ern (in fiā-ern barn for livestock, cattle shed), Old Icelandic rann , Gothic razn and perhaps further with raising n.¹, perhaps ultimately < the same Indo-European base as rest n.¹The usual form of the word shows metathesis of r . Forms without metathesis (see β. forms) are attested only in (rare) Old English compounds, as renþegn ‘house officer’ (compare thegn n.), renweard (apparently) ‘house guardian’ (compare ward n.¹). As the second element in compounds, the word frequently appears in phonologically reduced form as -ern , -ren , etc. For a formation suggesting currency in Middle English outside established compounds compare showern n. Also attested in place names, as Crucern, Somerset (11th cent. in a copy of a charter of the late 9th cent.; now Crewkerne), Waldrene, Sussex (1086; now Waldron), Colerne, Wiltshire (1086), Poterne, Wiltshire (1086; now Potterne), Askerne, West Riding, Yorkshire (c1170; now Askern), Shyterne (field name), Devon (1299), etc.; see further Vocab. Eng. Place-names at ærn.

Etymology: Probably < earn v.¹ (compare earn v.¹ 4).

Etymology: Cognate with Old Dutch arnon to obtain as a reward for labour (Middle Dutch arnen to expiate, pay), Middle Low German ernen to harvest, reap, Old High German arnōn to harvest, reap, to redeem, redress, to obtain as a reward for labour, to acquire (Middle High German arnen ) < the same Germanic base as Old English -ern (in the compound Rugern , apparently lit. ‘rye harvest’, the name of a month, August or September), Old Frisian ern , erne , arn , arne , Middle Dutch arn , arne , Middle Low German ārn , ērn , ārne , ērne , arnde , Old High German aran , arn (Middle High German arn , ern , erne , ernde , German Ernte ), Gothic asans , chiefly in senses ‘harvest, harvest time, summer’, and probably also Old Icelandic ǫnn , Norwegian ann , onn , Old Swedish an , and (Swedish and ), all in senses ‘labour, field-labour, harvest’ < the same Indo-European base as Old Church Slavonic esenĭ autumn, jesenĭskŭ , ωsenĭnŭ (adjectives) of autumn, Old Prussian assanis autumn, and also the second element of ancient Greek ὀπώρα late summer, fruit time, fruit (see oporice n.). Compare i-earn v.Compare from the same Germanic base Old Frisian esna wages, Old Saxon asna tax, levy, and also Old English esne man of servile or low social status, servant, hireling, youth, man (see esne n. and forms in other Germanic languages cited at that entry). The β. forms show the development of a palatal on-glide (compare e.g. β. forms at ear n.¹, β. forms at earl n., β. forms at earth n.¹, etc.), although some instances may show forms of i-earn v. Forms with a glide occur already in Old English; however, it is unclear whether the Old English past participle form gegearnod at β. forms represents the prefixed or the unprefixed verb, i.e. earnian earn v.¹ or geearnian i-earn v. Beside prefixed Old English geearnian i-earn v., compare also ofearnian of-earn v.

Etymology: Apparently a variant of yearn v.¹ Compare earning n.³Compare forms with apparent loss of the initial palatal attested for related words in Old English, e.g. eornfull- at yernful adj. Forms. Earlier currency (in sense 1) is perhaps shown by the following example:a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 157 Ure erde is in houene, if we þer efter erneð.However, this has alternatively been interpreted as showing earn v.¹ in sense ‘to strive after’, a sense apparently already attested in Old English; compare the following (although other interpretations of this example are possible: see Dict. Old Eng. at earnian, sense 2b):lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) iii. 66 Nis..to wenanne þæt ealle men hæbben gelicne wisdom on heofenum; ac ælc hæfð be þam andefnum þe he ær æfter æarnað. With sense 2 compare yearn v.¹ 6. The alternative suggestion that this sense shows a development of erme v. is unlikely on formal grounds (although for similarity of meaning compare e.g. quot. c1386 at erme v. a), and is also unlikely in view of the parallel development shown by yearn v.¹

Etymology: Apparently either (i) the reflex of a metathesized variant of run v. (compare Forms 1(a)(ii) γ. and sense 41 at that entry, and see further discussion at that sense) or (ii) a back-formation < earning n.² Compare earlier yearn v.² and yearning n.²

Etymology: Apparently a variant of yerne adv.; compare earn v.²Compare Old English eorne , variant of yerne adv., and Middle English erne , variant of yern adj.