dun

See also: Appendix:Variations of "dun"

Contents

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dʌn/
• Rhymes: -ʌn

Etymology 1

From Middle English dun, dunne, from Old English dunn (“dun, dingy brown, bark-colored, brownish black”), from Proto-Germanic *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), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰews- (compare Old Saxon dosan (“chestnut brown”)). More at dusk.

Noun

dun (usually uncountable, plural duns)

1. A brownish grey colour.

   dun colour:  

Translations

colour

• Bulgarian: сиво-кафяв (sivo-kafjav)
• Finnish: harmaanruskea (fi)
• French: brun (fr) grisâtre
• Georgian: მონაცრისფრო-ყვითელი ფერი (monacrispro-q̇viteli peri)
• Greek: καστανόφαιο (kastanófaio)
• Icelandic: grámórautt n
• Irish: donn (ga)
• Italian: bigio (it) m, grigio (it) m, grigiastro (it) m, grigio brunastro (it) m
• Japanese: 焦げ茶色 (こげちゃいろ, kogechairo)

• Norwegian: gråbrunt n
• Persian: دیزه‎‎ (fa) (dize)
• Portuguese: pardo (pt) m
• Russian: серова́то-кори́чневый (ru) m (serováto-koríčnevyj) (цвет)
• Serbo-Croatian: sivosmeđ
• Spanish: pardo (es)
• Swedish: gråbrun, gråbrunt
• Turkish: kula (tr)

Adjective

dun (not comparable)

1. Of a brownish grey colour.
   • 1609, William Shakespeare, Sonnet 130:

     If ſnow be white, why then her breſts are dun

   • 1827, John Keble, The Christian Year, London: Walter Scott, OCLC 65605495, Twenty-third Sunday after Trinity:

     glows the setting sun [...] and chill and dun / Falls on the moor the brief November day.

Translations

of a brownish grey colour

• Bulgarian: сиво-кафяв (sivo-kafjav)
• Czech: šedohnědý, plavý (cs) (horse)
• Dutch: grijsbruin (nl)
• Finnish: harmaanruskea (fi)
• Georgian: მონაცრისფრო-ყვითელი (monacrispro-q̇viteli)
• Hungarian: fakó (hu)
• Italian: grigio brunastro (it) m

• Norwegian: gråbrun
• Portuguese: pardo (pt)
• Russian: серова́то-кори́чневый (ru) (serováto-koríčnevyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: odhar
• Spanish: pardo (es)
• Swedish: gråbrun

Derived terms

• dun-bar
• dunnock
• donkey (possibly)

See also

• bawn
• durmast oak
• Appendix:Colors

Etymology 2

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.

Noun

dun (plural duns)

1. (countable) A collector of debts.
   • 1889 [1712], John Arbuthnot, The History of John Bull, London: Cassell & Co., OCLC 6255586, page 71:

     Look ye, gentlemen, I have lived with credit in the world, and it grieves my heart never to stir out of my doors but to be pulled by the sleeve by some rascally dun or other.

   • 1933, George Orwell, Down and Out in Paris and London, Ch. 18:

     Melancholy duns came looking for him at all hours.

   • 1970, John Glassco, Memoirs of Montparnasse, New York 2007, p. 102:

     ‘Frank's worried about duns,’ she said as the butler went away.

2. An urgent request or demand of payment.
   • 1842, A.B.G., “Errata”, in Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate, volume 13, OCLC 10193591, page 251:

     Miss Hoppin received a dun for volume 9 1840–1 which Mr. James McConnell, (who now pays the above) is sure was paid.

Translations

a collector of debts

• Finnish: perijä (fi), velkoja (fi)

Verb

dun (third-person singular simple present duns, present participle dunning, simple past and past participle dunned)

1. (transitive) To ask or beset a debtor for payment.
   • 1768, Jonathan Swift, The Works of Dr. Jonathan Swift, London: C. Bathurst, OCLC 459163337, Miscellanies in Verse, page 309:

     And hath she sent so soon to dun?

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Folio Society 1973, p. 577:

     Of all he had received from Lady Bellaston, not above five guineas remained and that very morning he had been dunned by a tradesman for twice that sum.

2. (transitive) To harass by continually repeating e.g. a request.
   • 1940, Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely, Penguin 2010, p. 107:

     Rich bitches who had to be dunned for their milk bills would pay him right now.

Translations

to ask for payment

• Dutch: afpersen (nl)
• Finnish: periä (fi), velkoa (fi), karhuta (fi)

• Japanese: 借金の催促 (ja) (しゃっきんのさいそく, shakkin no saisoku)
• Portuguese: cobrar (pt)

to harass by continually repeating a request

• Finnish: tivata (fi), perätä (fi)

Derived terms

• dun letter

Etymology 3

Uncertain; likely from the color.

Noun

dun (plural duns)

1. (countable) A newly hatched, immature mayfly; a mayfly subimago.
   • 1966, John Harris, An Angler's Entomology, New York: Barnes, OCLC 3612670, page 16:

     Also, duns are dull and generally sober colored, whilst spinners are more brightly colored and shining and their wings are clear and transparent.

2. (countable, fishing) A fly made to resemble the mayfly subimago.
   • 1676, Charles Cotton, The Compleat Angler. Being Instructions how to Angle for a Trout or Grayling in a Clear Stream, London: Richard Marriott, and Henry Brome, OCLC 228732346, March, page 59:

     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.

Synonyms

• subimago

Translations

immature mayfly

• Finnish: esiaikuinen, subimago

Etymology 4

From Irish dún or Scottish Gaelic dùn, from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“fortress”). Cognate with Welsh dinas (“city”).

Alternative forms

• doon

Noun

dun (plural duns)

1. An ancient or medieval fortification; especially a hill-fort in Scotland or Ireland.
   • 1858, Henry MacLauchlan, Memoir written during a survey of the Roman Wall, through the counties of Northumberland and Cumberland, in the years 1852-1854, London: Printed for private circulation, OCLC 14866297, page 9:

     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.

2. (archeology) A structure in the Orkney or Shetland islands or in Scotland consisting of a roundhouse surrounded by a circular wall; a broch.
   • 2013, T.J. Clarkson, The Makers of Scotland: Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings, Edinburgh: Birlinn, →ISBN:

     Smaller than the broch was the dun, another type of stone-built 'roundhouse'.

Etymology 5

See do.

Verb

dun

1. (nonstandard, informal) Eye dialect spelling of done: past participle of do

   Now, ya dun it!

   • 1895 May 1, S.L.N. Foote, “Correspondence”, in International Journal of Medicine and Surgery‎^[1], volume 8, retrieved 2016–13–10, page 194:

     ...a wise old lady exclaimed, "Why Mrs. M. warn't you orful skeerd wunst when you seed a dog fight? [...] an that ere big yaller dog bit orf your baby's hand that minit; in cors he dun it, so now that settles it."

2. (nonstandard, informal) Eye dialect spelling of don't: contraction of do + not.
   • 1901, Gilbert Parker, The Right of Way, New York and London: Harper, OCLC 169519:

     Fwhere's he come from, I dun'no'. French or English, I dun'no'. But a gintleman born, I know.

Etymology 6

Likely from the color of fish so prepared.

Verb

dun (third-person singular simple present duns, present participle dunning, simple past and past participle dunned)

1. (transitive, dated) To cure, as codfish, by laying them, after salting, in a pile in a dark place, covered with saltgrass or a similar substance.
   • 1832, James Thacher, History of Plymouth; from its first settlement in 1620, to the year 1832, Boston: Marsh, Capen & Lyon, OCLC 78447431, page 317:

     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.

Etymology 7

See dune.

Noun

dun (plural duns)

1. A mound or small hill.

Etymology 8

Imitative.

Interjection

dun

1. (humorous) Imitating suspenseful music.
   • 2009, Carrie Tucker, I Love Geeks: The Official Handbook, Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, →ISBN:

     How would you deal with that power? (Dun, dun, DUN! Insert dramatic music here.)

References

• dun in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

• DNU, und

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Bambara

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dũ˦]

Verb

dun

1. to eat

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

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Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse dúnn (“down”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /duːn/, [d̥uːˀn]

Noun

dun n (singular definite dunet, plural indefinite dun)

1. down (soft, immature feathers)

Inflection

Declension of dun

neuter gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	dun	dunet	dun	dunene
genitive	duns	dunets	duns	dunenes

See also

• dun on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^da

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Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch dunne, from Old Dutch *thunni, from Proto-Germanic *þunnuz. Cognates with English thin (Compare West-Flemish thinne).

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

dun (comparative dunner, superlative dunst)

1. thin, slender
2. sparse
3. (liquid) runny

Inflection

Inflection of dun
uninflected	dun
inflected	dunne
comparative	dunner
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		dun	dunner	het dunst het dunste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	dunne	dunnere	dunste
	n. sing.	dun	dunner	dunste
	plural	dunne	dunnere	dunste
definite		dunne	dunnere	dunste
partitive		duns	dunners	—

Antonyms

• dicht, dik

Derived terms

• dunnen, verdunnen

Verb

dun

1. first-person singular present indicative of dunnen
2. imperative of dunnen

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Galician

Etymology

From de (“of”) + un (“masculine singular indefinite article”)

Contraction

dun m

1. Contraction of de un. From a; of a

See also

• dunha (feminine form)
• duns (plural form)
• dunhas (feminine plural form)

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German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [duːn]

Adjective

dun (comparative duner, superlative am dunsten)

1. (colloquial) drunk

Declension

Positive forms of dun

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist dun	sie ist dun	es ist dun	sie sind dun
strong declension (without article)	nominative	duner	dune	dunes	dune
	genitive	dunen	duner	dunen	duner
	dative	dunem	duner	dunem	dunen
	accusative	dunen	dune	dunes	dune
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der dune	die dune	das dune	die dunen
	genitive	des dunen	der dunen	des dunen	der dunen
	dative	dem dunen	der dunen	dem dunen	den dunen
	accusative	den dunen	die dune	das dune	die dunen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein duner	eine dune	ein dunes	(keine) dunen
	genitive	eines dunen	einer dunen	eines dunen	(keiner) dunen
	dative	einem dunen	einer dunen	einem dunen	(keinen) dunen
	accusative	einen dunen	eine dune	ein dunes	(keine) dunen

Comparative forms of dun

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist duner	sie ist duner	es ist duner	sie sind duner
strong declension (without article)	nominative	dunerer	dunere	duneres	dunere
	genitive	duneren	dunerer	duneren	dunerer
	dative	dunerem	dunerer	dunerem	duneren
	accusative	duneren	dunere	duneres	dunere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der dunere	die dunere	das dunere	die duneren
	genitive	des duneren	der duneren	des duneren	der duneren
	dative	dem duneren	der duneren	dem duneren	den duneren
	accusative	den duneren	die dunere	das dunere	die duneren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein dunerer	eine dunere	ein duneres	(keine) duneren
	genitive	eines duneren	einer duneren	eines duneren	(keiner) duneren
	dative	einem duneren	einer duneren	einem duneren	(keinen) duneren
	accusative	einen duneren	eine dunere	ein duneres	(keine) duneren

Superlative forms of dun

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist am dunsten	sie ist am dunsten	es ist am dunsten	sie sind am dunsten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	dunster	dunste	dunstes	dunste
	genitive	dunsten	dunster	dunsten	dunster
	dative	dunstem	dunster	dunstem	dunsten
	accusative	dunsten	dunste	dunstes	dunste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der dunste	die dunste	das dunste	die dunsten
	genitive	des dunsten	der dunsten	des dunsten	der dunsten
	dative	dem dunsten	der dunsten	dem dunsten	den dunsten
	accusative	den dunsten	die dunste	das dunste	die dunsten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein dunster	eine dunste	ein dunstes	(keine) dunsten
	genitive	eines dunsten	einer dunsten	eines dunsten	(keiner) dunsten
	dative	einem dunsten	einer dunsten	einem dunsten	(keinen) dunsten
	accusative	einen dunsten	eine dunste	ein dunstes	(keine) dunsten

Further reading

• dun in Duden online

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Kiput

Etymology

From Proto-North Sarawak *daqun, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *dahun (compare Malay daun).

Noun

dun

1. leaf

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Mandarin

Romanization

dun

1. Nonstandard spelling of dūn.
2. Nonstandard spelling of dún.
3. Nonstandard spelling of dǔn.
4. Nonstandard spelling of dùn.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse dúnn

Noun

dun f, m (definite singular duna or dunen, indefinite plural duner, definite plural dunene)
dun n (definite singular dunet, indefinite plural dun, definite plural duna or dunene)

1. down (soft, fine fluffy feathers)

References

• “dun” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “dun” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse dúnn

Noun

dun f (definite singular duna, indefinite plural duner, definite plural dunene)
dun n (definite singular dunet, indefinite plural dun, definite plural duna)

1. down (soft, fine fluffy feathers)

References

• “dun” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Old English

Etymology

Apparently from a Celtic source; compare Old Irish dún (“hill, hill-fort”), Welsh din.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /duːn/

Noun

dūn f

1. hill, mountain

Declension

Declension of dun (strong ō-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	dūn	dūna, dūne
accusative	dūne	dūna, dūne
genitive	dūne	dūna
dative	dūne	dūnum

Derived terms

• ofdune

Descendants

• English: down

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Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse dúnn (“down”).

Noun

dun n

1. down, what grows on young birds

Declension

Declension of dun
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	dun	dunet	dun	dunen
Genitive	duns	dunets	duns	dunens

Related terms

dunboll dunbolster dunbädd dunig dunighet dunjacka

dunkudde dunlätt dunmjuk duntäcke dununge dunört

ejderdun gåsdun

References

• dun in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)

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Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from German tun and English do.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dun/

Noun

dun (plural duns)

1. deed, action, act, doing

Declension

declension of dun

	singular	plural
nominative	dun	duns
genitive	duna	dunas
dative	dune	dunes
accusative	duni	dunis
vocative 1	o dun!	o duns!
predicative 2	dunu	dunus

• ¹ status as a case is disputed
• ² in some later, non-classical Volapük only

Derived terms

• dunön