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- Other Translations
Old English earnian
to earn ( third-person singular simple present earns , present participle earning , simple past earned , past participle earned ); "earnt" is incorrect
gain through applied effort or work
transitive: receive (money) for working
deserve
intransitive: receive money for working
earn
From Germanic *arn- , from Indo-European *er-, *or- , eagle, large bird. Cognate with Old Saxon arn (Dutch arend ), Old High German aro (German Aar ), Old Norse ǫrn (Swedish örn , Danish ørn ), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌰 ; and, outside the Germanic languages, with Greek ὄρνις , Armenian oror , gull, Old Irish irar (Irish iolar ), Lithuanian erēlis , eagle, Old Church Slavonic orlьlъ (Russian орёл , eagle)