# Bern
## English
### Pronunciation

* (UK) enPR: bû(r)n, IPA: /bɜː(ɹ)n/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (US) IPA: /bɝn/
* Homophone: burn
* Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n
* (local) enPR: bârn, IPA: /bɛ(ɹ)n/
* Homophone: bairn
* Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)n

### Etymology 1

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”)) 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.

#### Alternative forms

* Berne

#### Proper noun

Bern (countable and uncountable, plural Berns)
* A placename
** The capital city of Switzerland; capital city of Bern canton.
** A canton of Switzerland.
* A surname

##### Derived terms

* Bernese
* New Bern

##### Translations
#### See also

* Aargau
* Appenzell Inner Rhodes
* Appenzell Outer Rhodes
* Basel-Landschaft
* Basel-Stadt
* Bern
* Fribourg
* Geneva
* Glarus
* Grisons
* Jura
* Lucerne
* Neuchâtel
* Nidwalden
* Obwalden
* Schaffhausen
* Schwyz
* Solothurn
* St. Gallen
* Thurgau
* Ticino
* Uri
* Valais
* Vaud
* Zug
* Zurich

#### References

* Andres Kristol (ed.), 2005: Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen, Huber, Frauenfeld, p. 143. →ISBN
* ↑ Müller, Wulf; Tremp, Ernst (13 November 2013). "Üchtland". Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
* ↑ Andres Kristol (ed.): Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen. Huber, Frauenfeld 2005, p. 143.

### Etymology 2

Abbreviations
* Clipping of Bernard.
* Clipping of Bernadette.
* Clipping of Bernice.

#### Proper noun

Bern (plural Berns)
* A unisex given name, variant of Bernie.
** A diminutive of the male given name Bernard, variant of Bernie.
** A diminutive of the female given names Bernadette or Bernice, variant of Bernie.

### Anagrams

* Bren, NBER, Nebr., bren

## Afrikaans
### Proper noun

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

#### Derived terms

* Berner
* Berns

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈbɛrn]

### Proper noun

Bern m inan (relational adjective bernský)
* Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; capital city of Bern canton)
* Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

#### Declension
### Further reading

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

## Danish
### Proper noun

Bern
* Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; capital city of Bern canton)
* Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

## Dutch
### Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Bern.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛrn/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: Bern
* Rhymes: -ɛrn

#### Proper noun

Bern n
* Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; capital city of Bern canton)
* Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

### Etymology 2

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

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bɛrn/
* Audio:(file)
* Hyphenation: Bern
* Rhymes: -ɛrn

#### Proper noun

Bern n
* A hamlet in Zaltbommel, Gelderland, Netherlands

### References

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

## Estonian
### Proper noun

Bern
* Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; capital city of Bern canton)
* Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

## Faroese
### Proper noun

Bern ?
* Bern (the capital of Switzerland)

## German
### Alternative forms

* BE (canton; ISO 3166-2:CH)

### Etymology

Borrowed from Alemannic German Bärn.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [bɛʁn]
* Audio:(file)
* Audio (Switzerland):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛʁn

### Proper noun

Bern n (proper noun, genitive Berns or (optionally with an article) Bern)
* Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; capital city of Bern canton)
* Bern (a canton of Switzerland)
    Synonym: Kanton Bern

#### Derived terms

* Berner
* bernisch

### See also

* Aargau
* Appenzell Ausserrhoden
* Appenzell Innerrhoden
* Basel-Landschaft
* Basel-Stadt
* Bern
* Freiburg
* Genf
* Glarus
* Graubünden
* Jura
* Luzern
* Neuenburg
* Nidwalden
* Obwalden
* Schaffhausen
* Schwyz
* Solothurn
* St. Gallen
* Tessin
* Thurgau
* Uri
* Waadt
* Wallis
* Zug
* Zürich

### Further reading

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

## Icelandic
### Proper noun

Bern f (proper noun, genitive singular Bernar)
* Bern (the capital of Switzerland)

#### Declension
## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

From Alemannic German Bärn.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /bêːrn/

### Proper noun

Bȇrn m (Cyrillic spelling Бе̑рн)
* Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; capital city of Bern canton)
* Bern (a canton of Switzerland)

#### Declension
### References

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

## Slovak
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [bern]

### Proper noun

Bern m inan (genitive singular Bernu, declension pattern of dub)
* Bern (the capital of Switzerland)

### References

* “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

## Swedish
### Etymology

From Alemannic German Bärn.

### Proper noun

Bern n (genitive Berns)
* Bern (the capital city of Switzerland; capital city of Bern canton)
* Bern (a canton of Switzerland)