Talk:wren
Latest comment: 8 years ago by Equinox
Noun
[edit]Wren is also a term used for a woman employed in a naval base.
- See Wren with capital W. Equinox ◑ 11:53, 27 August 2016 (UTC)
Etymology
[edit]WREN is from Middle English WRENNE[9], from Old English WRENNA[9], WRÆNNA[8]; and compare Cornish GWRANNEN[7] id. and more remotely, Icelandic RINDILL[4], has been compared by Skeat. Root unknown; although The (New) Gresham English Dictionary, around 1910, compares it with Old English WRÆNE[3] (playful). The Cornish form being borrowed[1] from English is ridiculous, since wrens are also indigenous in Cornwall and its morphology is older than that of the Germanic forms that are quite likely all substrates[6].
[0] means 'Absolutely not; [1] means 'Exceedingly unlikely'; [2] means 'Very dubious'; [3] means 'Questionable'; [4] means 'Possible'; [5] means 'Probable'; [6] means 'Likely'; [7] means 'Most Likely' or *Unattested; [8] means 'Attested'; [9] means 'Obvious' - only used for close matches within the same language or dialect, at linkable periods.