kirn

¹

[ kurn; Scots kirn ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to churn.

noun

1. a churn.

kirn

²

[ kurn; Scots kirn ]

noun

, Scot. and North England.

1. a harvest celebration; a feast or party celebrating a successful harvest.
2. the harvesting of the last handful of oats, wheat, or other grain, noting either the end of the harvest season or the winning of a race against other reapers. Compare kemp ¹( def 2 ).
3. the last handful of oats, wheat, or other grain that is gathered in the harvest.

Word History and Origins

Origin of kirn¹

1300–50; Middle English kirne (noun) < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse kirnuaskr a churn; cognate with churn

Origin of kirn²

First recorded in 1770–80; origin uncertain; perhaps akin to corn ¹

Example Sentences

In Lost in the Meritocracy, Kirn charts how the economics of privilege taunt him at every turn in Princeton.

From The Daily Beast

Walter Kirn dismisses critics of this year's campaign for failing to discern the distinction between "theater" and "drama."

From The Daily Beast

But the buzzed-about musical is only part of the country's "Mormon moment," writes Walter Kirn in Newsweek.

From The Daily Beast

Walter Kirn, author of Up in the Air, hailed Bad Dog as "the most touching, original buddy story I've come across in ages."

From The Daily Beast

Kirn is a graduate of Princeton University and attended Oxford on a scholarship from the Keasby Foundation.

From The Daily Beast

"Lang straes are nae motes," quo' the wife when she haul'd the cat out o' the kirn.

From Project Gutenberg

Ye ser'd me as the wife did the cat—coost me into the kirn, and syne harl'd me out again.

From Project Gutenberg

Muriate of soda also, according to Kirn, may be used as a glass flux with advantage.

From Project Gutenberg

Kirn is understood to have enjoyed his instructor's aid in completing the statues in the Tyrol.

From Project Gutenberg

Nae man can seek his marrow i' the kirn sae weel as him that has been in't himsel.

From Project Gutenberg