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Dun
Definitions
- 1 Of a brownish grey colour. not-comparable
"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."
- 1 of a dull greyish brown to brownish grey color wordnet
- 1 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.)"
- 1 A river in Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, which flows into the River Kennet.
- 2 A river in Wiltshire and Hampshire, England, which flows into the River Test.
- 3 An alternative name for the River Don in Yorkshire, England.
- 4 A river in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, alternatively named the Glendun River.
- 5 A settlement and parish in Angus council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NO6659).
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- 6 A surname
- 1 A brownish grey colour. uncountable, usually
- 2 A collector of debts, especially one who is insistent and demanding. countable
""The truth is, Mr. Curl, I cannot write when I am plagued about trifles; and a tiresome dun this morning put to flight every idea that I had in the world." "Mr. Maynard," said the bookseller, in a solemn tone, "it is very wrong to run in debt.""
- 3 A newly hatched, immature mayfly; a mayfly subimago. countable
"Also, duns are dull and generally sober colored, whilst spinners are more brightly colored and shining and their wings are clear and transparent."
- 4 An ancient or medieval fortification; especially a hill-fort in Scotland or Ireland.
"Pampedun, or Pandon, was probably a place of residence from the earliest times; its sheltered situation for boats, and proximity to the ancient way over the river, protected perhaps by a dun or camp, on the height above [...] possibly gave origin to the ancient name of the place, Pampedun, from the British pant, a hollow, and dun, a fort or camp, Pant-y-dun."
- 5 A mound or small hill.
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- 6 Alternative form of dhoon (“Himalayan valley”). alt-of, alternative
- 7 a state legislative assembly Malaysia
- 8 horse of a dull brownish grey color wordnet
- 9 An urgent request or demand of payment.
"Miss Hoppin received a dun for volume 9 1840–1 which Mr. James McConnell, (who now pays the above) is sure was paid."
- 10 A fly made to resemble the mayfly subimago. countable
"We have besides for this Month a little Dun call'd a whirling Dun (though it is not the whirling Dun indeed, which is one of the best Flies we have) and for this the dubbing must be of the bottom fur of a Squirrels tail and the wing of the grey feather of a Drake."
- 11 A structure in the Orkney or Shetland islands or in Scotland consisting of a roundhouse surrounded by a circular wall; a broch.
"Smaller than the broch was the dun, another type of stone-built 'roundhouse'."
- 12 a state legislative assembly seat Malaysia
- 13 a color or pigment varying around a light grey-brown color wordnet
- 1 To ask or beset a debtor for payment. transitive
"And hath she sent so soon to dun?"
- 2 Eye dialect spelling of done: past participle of do. alt-of, informal, nonstandard, pronunciation-spelling
"Now, ya dun it!"
- 3 To cure, as codfish, by laying them, after salting, in a pile in a dark place, covered with saltgrass or a similar substance. dated, transitive
"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."
- 4 make a dun color wordnet
- 5 To harass by continually repeating e.g. a request. transitive
"Rich bitches who had to be dunned for their milk bills would pay him right now."
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- 6 Pronunciation spelling of don't: contraction of do + not. alt-of, informal, nonstandard, pronunciation-spelling
"Fwhere's he come from, I dun'no'. French or English, I dun'no'. But a gintleman born, I know."
- 7 cure by salting wordnet
- 8 persistently ask for overdue payment wordnet
- 9 treat cruelly wordnet
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.
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.
Unknown; perhaps a variant of din. Several sources suggest origin from Joe Dun, the name of a bailiff known for arresting debtors, but this is controversial.
Unknown; perhaps a variant of din. Several sources suggest origin from Joe Dun, the name of a bailiff known for arresting debtors, but this is controversial.
Uncertain; likely from the color.
From Irish dún or Scottish Gaelic dùn, from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“fortress”). Cognate with Welsh dinas (“city”). Doublet of town.
See do.
Likely from the color of fish so prepared.
See dune.
Imitative.
Borrowed from Hindustani दून (dūn) / دُون (dūn). False cognate of dun (sense 4) / doon, and dun (sense 7) / dune
* 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."
Borrowed from Malay DUN.
See also for "dun"
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