dun
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L14779 on Wikidata ↗verb
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L14780 on Wikidata ↗noun
- generic term for an ancient or medieval fort
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /dʌn/ / /dʊn/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English dun, donn, dunne, from Old English dunn (“dun, dingy brown, bark-colored, brownish black”), from Proto-West Germanic *duʀn, from Proto-Germanic *duznaz, *dusnaz (“brown, yellow”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust”). Cognate with Old Saxon dun (“brown, dark”), Old High German tusin (“ash-gray, dull brown, pale yellow, dark”), Old Norse dunna (“female mallard; duck”). Alternative etymology derives the Old English word from Brythonic (compare Middle Welsh dwnn (“dark (red)”)), from Proto-Celtic *dusnos (compare Old Irish donn and Scottish Gaelic donn (“brown”)), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰews- (compare Old Saxon dosan (“chestnut brown”)). More at dusk.
- Of a brownish grey colour.
“Come, thick Night, And pall thee in the dunneſt ſmoake of Hell, That my keene Knife ſee not the Wound it makes, Nor Heauen peepe through the Blanket of the darke, To cry, hold, hold.”
“My Miſtres eyes are nothing like the Sunne, Currall is farre more red, then her lips red, If ſnow be white, why then her breſts are dun: If hairs be wiers, black wiers grow on her head: [...]”
intj
Etymology: Imitative.
- Imitating a deep bass note, such as that found in suspenseful music.
“How would you deal with that power? (Dun, dun, DUN! Insert dramatic music here.)”
“Dun, dun! Dun, dun! As the music continues, the long shot of Griff's walk is broken down into repeating tight shots of his face, his legs, and his shifting point of view of Brockie.”
name
Etymology: * As a Scottish surname, from the placename Dun, Angus, itself probably from Scottish Gaelic dùn (“fortress”). * As an English surname, variant of Dunn. * As a Dutch surname, from the adjective dun (“thin”). * As a Chinese surname, Mandarin form of surname 頓 /顿 meaning "pause" or 敦 meaning "sincere."
- A river in Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, which flows into the River Kennet.
- A river in Wiltshire and Hampshire, England, which flows into the River Test.
- An alternative name for the River Don in Yorkshire, England.
- A river in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, alternatively named the Glendun River.
- A settlement and parish in Angus council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NO6659).
- A surname
noun
Etymology: Borrowed from Hindustani दून (dūn) / دُون (dūn). False cognate of dun (sense 4) / doon, and dun (sense 7) / dune
- Alternative form of dhoon (“Himalayan valley”).
verb
Etymology: Likely from the color of fish so prepared.
- To cure, as codfish, by laying them, after salting, in a pile in a dark place, covered with saltgrass or a similar substance.
“Dun-fish are of a superior quality for the table, and are cured in such a manner as to give them a dun or brownish color. Fish for dunning are caught early in spring, and sometimes February, at the Isle of Shoals.”