WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
ex•tern
(ek′stûrn; for 3 also ik stûrn′),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
- a person connected with an institution but not residing in it, as a doctor or medical student at a hospital.
- Religiona nun of a strictly enclosed order, as the Carmelites, who resides inside the convent but outside its enclosure and who chiefly goes on outside errands.
adj.
- [Archaic.]external;
outer.
- Latin externus, derivative of exter, exterus. See exterior
- 1525–35
'extern' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):