tarn1 (tarn)

[Also tairn (Sc.); Than the gret of the grekes agreit hom all, The corse for to cast in a clere terne , Vndur a syde of the Cité, & synke hit therin. Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), l. 11187. A glen, gray boulder and black tarn . Tennyson, Lance lot and Elaine. as 2. A bog; a marsh; a fen. [Prov. Eng.] tarn2 (tärn), n. Same as tern1. tarnal (tär'nal), a. and adv. [An aphetic form of etarnal, dial. var. of eternal, used (partly a euphemism for infernal ) as a term of emphasis and dislike: see eternal.] An epithet of reprobation: used as a piece of mild profanity. [Vulgar.] My gracious! it's a scorpion thet's took a shine to play with 't. I darsn't skeer the tarnal thing for fear he'd run away with 't. Lowell, Biglow Papers, 1st ser., ii. tarnation (tär-na's hon), a. and adv. [A fusion of darnation, a minced form of damnation, with tarnal.] Same as tarnal. [Vulgar.] And her tarnation hull a-growing rounder! Hood, Sailor's Apology. Bulwer , My Novel, v. 8. A tarnation long word.