Wiktionary

fun

See also: Appendix:Variations of "fun"

English edit

Etymology edit

From Middle English fonne, fon (“foolish, simple, silly”) or fonnen (“make a fool of”), from Middle English fonne (“a fool, dupe”), probably of North Germanic origin, related to Swedish fånig (“foolish”), Swedish fåne (“a fool”). Compare also Norwegian fomme, fume (“a fool”). More at fon, fond.

As a noun, fun is recorded from 1700, with a meaning “a cheat, trick, hoax”, from a verb fun meaning “to cheat, trick” (1680s). The meaning “diversion, amusement” dates to the 1720s. The older meaning is preserved in the phrase to make fun of (1737) and in usage of the adjective funny. The use of fun as adjective is newest and is due to reanalysis of the noun; this was incipient in the mid-19th century.

Alternative etymology connected Middle English fonne with Old Frisian fonna, fone, fomne, variant forms of fāmne, fēmne (“young woman, virgin”), from Proto-West Germanic *faimnijā, from Proto-Germanic *faimnijǭ (“maiden”), from Proto-Indo-European *peymen- (“girl”), *poymen- (“breast milk”). If so, then cognate with Old English fǣmne (“maid, virgin, damsel, bride”), West Frisian famke (“girl”), Saterland Frisian fone, fon (“woman, maid, servant," also "weakling, simpleton”).

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

fun (uncountable)

  1. Amusement, enjoyment or pleasure.
    Synonyms: amusement, diversion, enjoyment, a laugh, pleasure
    • 2000, Robert Stanley, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Adobe Photoshop 6, Alpha Books, page 377:
      Grafting your boss's face onto the hind end of a donkey is fun, but serious fun is when you create the impossible and it looks real.
  2. Playful, often noisy, activity.
    Synonyms: boisterousness, horseplay, rough and tumble

Derived terms edit

With prefixes
With suffixes
Blends
Terms derived from fun (noun), with this term at the beginning
Terms derived from fun (noun), with this term in the middle or at the end

Translations edit

Adjective edit

fun (comparative more fun or funner, superlative most fun or funnest)

  1. (informal) Enjoyable or amusing.
    We had a fun time at the party.
    He is such a fun person to be with.
  2. (informal) Whimsical or flamboyant.
    This year's fashion style is much more fun than recent seasons.

Usage notes edit

  • Note that, prescriptively, the adjectival use of fun, instead of funny as in a funny movie, is often considered unacceptable in formal contexts. This includes censure of the comparative and superlative funner and funnest, but equally constructions such as very fun (rather than, say, a lot of fun). For more, see Quinion's discussion.

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

Verb edit

fun (third-person singular simple present funs, present participle funning, simple past and past participle funned)

  1. (colloquial) To tease, kid, poke fun at, make fun of.
    Hey, don't get bent out of shape over it; I was just funning you.

Translations edit

See also edit

etymologically unrelated multiword terms containing "fun"

Anagrams edit

Chibcha edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

fun

  1. Alternative form of bun

References edit

  • Gómez Aldana D. F., Análisis morfológico del Vocabulario 158 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Grupo de Investigación Muysccubun. 2013.

French edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from English fun.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

fun (invariable)

  1. (colloquial) fun
    C’était juste pour le fun.
    It was just for fun.

Galician edit

Etymology 1 edit

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb edit

fun

  1. first-person singular preterite indicative of ir

Etymology 2 edit

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb edit

fun

  1. first-person singular preterite indicative of ser

Japanese edit

Romanization edit

fun

  1. Rōmaji transcription of ふん
  2. Rōmaji transcription of フン

Tboli edit

Noun edit

fun

  1. owner

Yoruba edit

Verb edit

fún

  1. give
  2. choke, squeeze, strangle, throttle
  3. scatter, strew
  4. sew

Preposition edit

fún

  1. for, on behalf of
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