Wednesday, April 18, 2012

earn, urn, erne

Earn or earn means to obtain through work or service, as salary or wages--
She wants to earn more than the minimum wage.
If you finish school, you will earn more money.
How much interest will my bank deposit earn?

Urn or urn ( rhymes with earn ) means  sort of jar or vase, often used to hold the ashes of someone who has been cremated--
The urn on the table holds the ashes of my late uncle.
His favorite poem was "Ode on a Grecian Urn".

Erne or erne ( also spelled ern, rhymes with earn ) means a sea eagle--a kind of bird--
They climbed over  the rocks to the cliff, hoping to see an erne.
He sat watching the erne flying over the ocean.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"When I earn enough money, I will buy the antique urn with an erne in flight painted on it."

Note--the money we earn, or that our money in the bank earns,  is called "earnings"--
His earnings for the year added up to a large sum.

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