Etymology: Common Germanic: Old English undern, = Old Frisian unden, ond (older North Frisian undern; modern unnern-e, ünjern, onner-n, önner), Old Saxon undorn, undern (Middle Low German undern, Low German unden, unner; Middle Dutch onderen, -ern, -er, Dutch dialect onder), Old High German untarn, -orn, undorn (Middle High German undarn, -ern, German dialect undern, untern, unnern, onnern, etc.), Old Norse undorn, undarn (Norwegian dialect undonn, ondaan, undaal, etc., Swedish dialect undarn, -dun, Danish dialect unden, unnen), Gothic undaurn- (in undaurnimatsἄριστον); the relationships of the stem are doubtful. In all the Germanic languages the meaning shows a parallel development to that traceable in English; where the word survives it usually denotes either midday or afternoon or a meal taken at these times. With some variation of form, undern is common in Old English and Middle English down to the 15th cent.; in later use it is restricted to dialects of the north-midland and northern counties and the south-west of Scotland. In addition to the forms given above, some northern dialects exhibit (from the 17th cent.) variants with a prefixed d- , as downdrens , daundren , downder , etc. ( Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. Downdrins). The Old English ǽr undern also survived in dialect use, and appears as earnder , eender , etc. (see yeender n.), while Old English ofer undern appears in the 15th cent. as orendron, ornedrone, in the 17th as orndorn, arndern, and later as ournder, orntren, etc. ( Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. Undern). Both of these have equivalents in modern North Frisian (dialect of Sylt), viz. īrönner, īrner forenoon and aurönner, aurner afternoon.

Etymology: Old English undyrne : see dern adj.