adj threefold; triple; consisting of three; ternate.
2. tern ·noun any one of numerous species of long-winged aquatic birds, allied to the gulls, and belonging to sterna and various allied genera.
3. tern ·adj that which consists of, or pertains to, three things or numbers together; especially, a prize in a lottery resulting from the favorable combination of three numbers in the drawing; also, the three numbers themselves.