Meaning

noun a vessel in which cream is agitated to separate butterfat from buttermilk

verb stir (cream) vigorously in order to make butter

verb be agitated

originNoun from Middle English chyrne, cherne, kyrne ( > Scots kirn), from Old English ċyrn, ċyrin, ċirin (“churn”), from Proto-Germanic *kirnijǭ (“churn”); verb from Middle English chyrnen from Old English ċernan, from Proto-Germanic *kirnijaną (“to churn, stir”), of unknown origin. Cognate with West Frisian tsjerne, Dutch karn, Walloon serene, German Karn, Kirne, Norwegian Bokmål kjerne, Danish…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0