tarn
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012noun
-
a department of S France, in Midi-Pyrénées region. Capital: Albi. Pop: 350 477 (2003 est). Area: 5780 sq km (2254 sq miles)
-
a river in SW France, rising in the Massif Central and flowing generally west to the Garonne River. Length: 375 km (233 miles)
Etymology
Origin of tarn
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English terne, tarne, from Old Norse tjǫrn “pond, pool.” Tarn was originally restricted to northern English dialects (where the Danes settled) or in written works about northern England. Tarn entered mainstream English in the works of the Lake Poets ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She said the animal is likely to have been kept at a pet, ending up in the tarn when owners struggled to keep up with its care demands or decided they did not want it.
From BBC
An invasive alligator snapping turtle has been pulled from a Cumbrian tarn.
From BBC
After an additional 2,000 feet of elevation, you’ll reach your destination: meadows with tarns and a view of Glacier Peak.
From Seattle Times
The Alpine Lakes Wilderness, the chunk of national forest in the Central Cascades where you’ll find these shimmering aquatic delights, lives up to its name with more than 700 lakes, ponds and tarns.
From Seattle Times
The area where the afternoon tea was found on Monday, between Great Langdale and Little Langdale, is considered one of the most spectacular of the many Lakeland tarns.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
