/tahrn/ IPA: /tɑrn/
Noun
1. a mountain lake or pool, particularly one filling a cirque formed by a glacier
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| Grisedale Tarn, Fairfield, England |
Origin: Entered English in 1256, from Old Norse tjǫrn, meaning "a mountain lake without tributaries". Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *terno, which may have carried the meaning of "watering hole". Several spelling variations exist across the Scandinavian languages: Norwegian tjern, Swedish tjärn, and Danish tarn, while the Middle English form is terne or tarne. These cognates all seemingly derived from the same Proto-Germanic root *terno. The present spelling of English tarn indicates that the word-final vowel has been dropped since Middle English, a process which occurred due to the Great Vowel Shift where the word-final vowel was no longer pronounced and therefore eliminated orthographically. The meaning of a mountain lake has been broadened to include a variety of lakes and ponds, such as those in the Lake District of Northern England.
Notes: Tarn is also a region (department) of southern France, which gets its name from the Tarn River, also located in southern France and known for its dangerous flash flooding.
Usage: "Acting upon this idea, I reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled lustre by the dwelling, and gazed down" - Edgar Allan Poe, The Fall of the House of Usher (1839)
Quote of the Day: "A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting." - Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
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