common tern

noun

See under tern1.

Words nearby common tern

common situs picketing, common snipe, common stock, common sulfur, common tannin, common tern, common time, common topaz, common touch, common touch, the, common variable immunodeficiency

Definition for common tern (2 of 2)

tern 1
[ turn ]
/ tɜrn /

noun

any of numerous aquatic birds of the subfamily Sterninae of the family Laridae, related to the gulls but usually having a more slender body and bill, smaller feet, a long, deeply forked tail, and a more graceful flight, especially those of the genus Sterna, as S. hirundo (common tern), of Eurasia and America, having white, black, and gray plumage.

Origin of tern

1
1670–80; < Danish terne or Norwegian terna; cognate with Old Norse therna

British Dictionary definitions for common tern (1 of 2)

tern 1
/ (tɜːn) /

noun

any aquatic bird of the subfamily Sterninae, having a forked tail, long narrow wings, a pointed bill, and a typically black-and-white plumage: family Laridae (gulls, etc), order Charadriiformes

Word Origin for tern

C18: from Old Norse therna; related to Norwegian terna, Swedish tärna

British Dictionary definitions for common tern (2 of 2)

tern 2
/ (tɜːn) /

noun

a three-masted schooner
rare a group of three

Word Origin for tern

C14: from Old French terne, from Italian terno, from Latin ternī three each; related to Latin ter thrice, trēs three