dern meaning (obsolete): definition, etymology and quotations

dern

noun

/ˈdɜː(ɹ)n/

Etymology From Middle English dern, derne, from Old English dyrne, dierne (“secret”), from Proto-West Germanic *darnī (“hidden, secret”).

Obsolete A secret; secrecy.

Obsolete A secret place; hiding.

Obsolete An obscure language.

Obsolete Darkness; obscurity.

Derived terms: dernful, in dern

dern

adj

Etymology From Middle English dern, derne, from Old English dyrne, dierne (“hidden, secret, retired, obscure, remote, eluding detection, concealed, deceitful, evil, magical”), from Proto-West Germanic *darnī (“hidden, secret”). Doublet of terne.

Dialectal, Obsolete Hidden; secret; private.

Now with their backs to the den's mouth they sit, / Yet shoulder not all light from the dern pit.1659, Dr. H. More, Immortal, of the Soul:
Through dreary beds of tangled fern, / Through groves of nightshade dark and dern.1819, J. R. Drake, The Culprit Fay:

Derived terms: dernly

dern

verb

Etymology From Middle English dernen, dærnen, from Old English dyrnan, diernan (“to keep secret, conceal, hide, restrain, repress, hide oneself”), from Proto-West Germanic *darnijan (“to conceal”), from *darnī (“hidden, secret”). Cognate with Old Saxon dernian (“to conceal”), German tarnen (“to camouflage, disguise”). See also darn, tarnish.

Obsolete To hide; secrete, as in a hole.

He at length escaped them by derning himself in a fox-earth.1865, Hugh Miller, My schools and schoolmasters:

Obsolete To hide oneself; skulk.

But look how soon they heard of Holoferne / Their courage quail'd, and they began to derne.1584, Thomas Hudson, Judith:

Related terms: darn, tarnish

dern

noun

Etymology Uncertain. Maybe related to door.

UK A gatepost or doorpost.

1855, Charles Kingsley, Westward Ho!, Ch. XIV, How Salvation Yeo Slew the King of the Gubbings So I just put my eye between the wall and the dern of the gate, and I saw him come up to the back door […]

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.