earn

Etymology 1

From Middle English ernen, from Old English earnian, from Proto-West Germanic *aʀanōn, from Proto-Germanic *azanōną. This verb is denominal from the noun *azaniz (“harvest”).

verb

1. (transitive) To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work.
   You can have the s'mores: you earned them, clearing the walkway of snow so well.
   England will not be catapulted among the favourites for Euro 2012 as a result of this win, but no victory against Spain is earned easily and it is right they take great heart from their efforts as they now prepare to play Sweden at Wembley on Tuesday. November 12, 2011, “International friendly: England 1-0 Spain”, in BBC Sport
2. (transitive) To receive payment for work.
   He earns seven million dollars a year as CEO.  My bank account is only earning one percent interest.
3. (intransitive) To receive payment for work.
   Now that you are earning, you can start paying me rent.
4. (transitive) To cause (someone) to receive payment or reward.
   My CD earns me six percent!
   '[T]hough I earned her a lot of money, I have nothing but regrets for what I did.' 1965, James Holledge, What Makes a Call Girl?, London: Horwitz Publications, page 99
5. (transitive) To achieve by being worthy of.
   to earn a spot in the top 20

Etymology 2

Probably either: * from Middle English erne, ernen (“to coagulate, congeal”) (chiefly South Midlands) [and other forms], a metathetic variant of rennen (“to run; to coagulate, congeal”), from Old English rinnen (“to run”) (with the variants iernan, irnan) and Old Norse rinna (“to move quickly, run; of liquid: to flow, run; to melt”), both from Proto-Germanic *rinnaną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to move, stir; to rise, spring”); or * a back-formation from earning (“(Britain regional, archaic) rennet”).

verb

1. (transitive, archaic) To curdle (milk), especially in the cheesemaking process.
2. (intransitive, obsolete) Of milk: to curdle, espcially in the cheesemaking process.

Etymology 3

A variant of yearn.

verb

1. (transitive, obsolete) To strongly long or yearn (for something or to do something).
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To grieve.

Etymology 4

noun

1. Alternative form of erne