Monday word: dern
Oct. 7th, 2013 11:16 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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1word1daydern, adj.
1. Hidden; concealed; secret.
2. Solitary; sad.
Etymology: Middle English dierne, secret.
As a noun, it can mean 'a secret', 'an obscure place', or 'obscurity'.
As a verb, it means 'to hide'.
I ran across this word in Johnson's Dictionary: a Modern Selection, which I just picked up at a library book sale.
Currently, the word is only used in some UK dialects. Does anyone reading this have any modern real-world examples?
"She cunningly stole away,
And derned herself behind the broom
To hear what her true love would say."
- from an Irish song called "The Broomfield Wager"
1. Hidden; concealed; secret.
2. Solitary; sad.
Etymology: Middle English dierne, secret.
As a noun, it can mean 'a secret', 'an obscure place', or 'obscurity'.
As a verb, it means 'to hide'.
I ran across this word in Johnson's Dictionary: a Modern Selection, which I just picked up at a library book sale.
Currently, the word is only used in some UK dialects. Does anyone reading this have any modern real-world examples?
"She cunningly stole away,
And derned herself behind the broom
To hear what her true love would say."
- from an Irish song called "The Broomfield Wager"
