shun
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English shǒnen (“to decline to do, avoid, fear”), from Old English sċunian (“to shun, fear, avoid”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *skū̌hnōn, *skū̌hnijan, *skeuhnēn (“to frighten, fear”), from Proto-Germanic *skuhaz, *skeuhaz (“timid, fearful, shy”).
Alternatively, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewdʰ- (“to cover, wrap, encase”), from *(s)kewH- (“to cover, hide”); if so, cognate with Old English hȳdan (“to hide, conceal, preserve”).
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
shun (third-person singular simple present shuns, present participle shunning, simple past and past participle shunned)
- (transitive) To avoid, especially persistently; ostracize.
- Acrophobes shun mountaineering.
- 2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
- British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.
- (transitive) To escape (a threatening evil, an unwelcome task etc).
- (transitive) To screen, hide.
- (transitive) To shove, push.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
to avoid, ostracize
to escape
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to screen, hide
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
References edit
- “shun”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “shun”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
Anagrams edit
Japanese edit
Romanization edit
shun
Mandarin edit
Romanization edit
shun
- Nonstandard spelling of shǔn.
- Nonstandard spelling of shùn.
Usage notes edit
- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.