Bern

• (UK) enPR: bû(r)n, IPA^(key): /bɜː(ɹ)n/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /bɝn/
• Homophone: burn
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n
• (local) enPR: bârn, IPA^(key): /bɛ(ɹ)n/
• Homophone: bairn
• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)n

From Alemannic German Bärn, of uncertain further origin.

A popular folk etymology says it was named by its founder, Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen, after the first animal he saw in the area, a Bär(in) (“bear”) (compare Berlin, subject to a similar folk etymology).

The name is now thought to be connected to a Celtic word, Proto-Celtic *berna (“cleft”) (from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“to carve out, cut”))^[1][2] and *branos (“raven”) (compare the name ΒΡΕΝΟΔΩΡ (BRENODŌR), on the Bern zinc tablet, which has also been connected with the Gaulish name Brennus). More at Bern.

• Berne

Bern (countable and uncountable, plural Berns)

1. A placename
   1. The capital city of Switzerland; the capital city of Bern canton.
   2. A canton of Switzerland.
2. A surname

• Andres Kristol (ed.), 2005: Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen, Huber, Frauenfeld, p. 143. →ISBN

Abbreviations

• Clipping of Bernard.
• Clipping of Bernadette.
• Clipping of Bernice.

Bern (plural Berns)

1. A unisex given name, variant of Bernie.
   1. A diminutive of the male given name Bernard, variant of Bernie.
   2. A diminutive of the female given names Bernadette or Bernice, variant of Bernie.

• Bren, NBER, Nebr., bren

Bern

1. Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; the capital city of Bern canton)
2. Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

• Berner
• Berns

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɛrn]

Bern m inan (relational adjective bernský)

1. Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; the capital city of Bern canton)
2. Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

• “Bern”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Bern

1. Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; the capital city of Bern canton)
2. Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

Borrowed from German Bern.

• IPA^(key): /bɛrn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Bern
• Rhymes: -ɛrn

Bern n

1. Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; the capital city of Bern canton)
2. Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

First attested as birni in 709. Derived from Proto-Germanic *birnu- (“muck, manure, mud that looks like manure”) with collectivising suffix *-ja-.

• IPA^(key): /bɛrn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Bern
• Rhymes: -ɛrn

Bern n

1. a hamlet in Zaltbommel, Gelderland, Netherlands

• van Berkel, Gerard, Samplonius, Kees (2018) Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN

Bern

1. Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; the capital city of Bern canton)
2. Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

Bern ?

1. Bern (the capital of Switzerland)

• BE (canton; ISO 3166-2:CH)

Borrowed from Alemannic German Bärn.

• IPA^(key): [bɛʁn]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛʁn

Bern n (proper noun, genitive Berns or (optionally with an article) Bern)

1. Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; the capital city of Bern canton)
2. Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

   Synonym: Kanton Bern

• Berner
• bernisch

• “Bern” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “Bern” in Duden online
• “Bern” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon

Bern f (proper noun, genitive singular Bernar)

1. Bern (the capital of Switzerland)

From Alemannic German Bärn.

• IPA^(key): /bêːrn/

Bȇrn m inan (Cyrillic spelling Бе̑рн)

1. Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; the capital city of Bern canton)
2. Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

• “Bern”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

• IPA^(key): [bern]

Bern m inan (genitive singular Bernu, declension pattern of dub)

1. Bern (the capital of Switzerland)

• “Bern”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

• IPA^(key): /bɛ̂ərn/

Bêrn m inan

1. Bern (the capital of Switzerland)

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Masculine inan., hard o-stem
nominative	Bêrn
genitive	Bêrna
	singular
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	Bêrn
genitive (rodȋlnik)	Bêrna
dative (dajȃlnik)	Bêrnu
accusative (tožȋlnik)	Bêrn
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	Bêrnu
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	Bêrnom

• Bêrnčan / Bêrnčanka
• bêrnski

• “Bern”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “Bern”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

From Alemannic German Bärn.

Bern n (genitive Berns)

1. Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; the capital city of Bern canton)
2. Bern (a canton of Switzerland)