earn
verbEtymology
Probably either: * from Middle English erne, ernen (“to coagulate, congeal”) (chiefly South Midlands) [and other forms], a metathetic variant of rennen (“to run; to coagulate, congeal”), from Old English rinnan (“to run”) (with the variants iernan, irnan) and Old Norse rinna (“to move quickly, run; of liquid: to flow, run; to melt”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to move, stir; to rise, spring”); or * a back-formation from earning (“(Britain regional, archaic) rennet”).
Definitions
To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work.
- You can have the s'mores: you earned them, clearing the walkway of snow so well.
- With their hard work and dedication, they earned respect and a seat at the table.
To receive payment for work or for a role or position held (regardless of whether effort…
To receive payment for work or for a role or position held (regardless of whether effort was applied or whether the remuneration is deserved or commensurate).
- He earns seven million dollars a year as CEO. My bank account is only earning one percent interest.
- She earns more than forty thousand dollars a year in passive income from her parents' investments — that's what she gets before she even gets out of bed or lifts a finger.
To receive payment for work.
- Now that you are earning, you can start paying me rent.
›+ 9 more definitionsshow fewer
To cause (someone) to receive payment or reward.
- My CD earns me six percent!
- In that era, all their long, hard, dangerous labor in the mines barely earned them even enough to eat!
- '[T]hough I earned her a lot of money, I have nothing but regrets for what I did.'
To achieve by being worthy of.
- to earn a spot in the top 20
To curdle (milk), especially in the cheesemaking process.
Of milk
Of milk: to curdle, especially in the cheesemaking process.
To strongly long or yearn (for something or to do something).
- And ever as he rode, his hart did earne / To prove his puissance in battell brave.
To grieve.
- [M]y manly heart doth erne. […] Boy, briſsle thy Courage vp: For Falſtaffe hee is dead, and wee muſt erne therefore.
Alternative form of erne
- They gleamed on many a dusky tarn , Haunted by the lonely earn
Initialism of European Academic and Research Network
Initialism of European Academic and Research Network: a former computer network connecting universities and research institutions across Europe.
A river in Perth and Kinross council area, Scotland, which flows into the tidal River Tay.
The neighborhood
Derived
earnable, earn a crust, earn a living, earner, earnful, earnings, earn one's corn, earn one's crust, earn one's keep, earn one's spurs, earn one's stripes, earn one's wings, earn out, earnout, hard-earned, nonearning, outearn, outourn, overearn, pay as you earn, re-earn, reearn, underearn, unearn, unearned, unearning
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at earn. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at earn. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
9 hops · closes at earn
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA