Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Dern

Dern , noun

[Etymol. uncertain.]

A gatepost or doorpost. [Local English] — C. Kingsley

Dern , adjective

[See Dearn, a.]

1.
Hidden; concealed; secret. [Obsolete]
Ye must be full dern. — Chaucer
2.
Solitary; sad. [Obsolete] — Dr. H. More