dun.
A brownish grey colour.
Meaning & usage
A brownish grey colour.
Where this word comes from
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.
Where this word comes from
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.
A collector of debts, especially one who is insistent and demanding.
An urgent request or demand of payment.
Where this word comes from
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.
To ask or beset a debtor for payment.
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.
To harass by continually repeating e.g. a request.
Where this word comes from
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.
A newly hatched, immature mayfly; a mayfly subimago.
A fly made to resemble the mayfly subimago.
Where this word comes from
Uncertain; likely from the color.
An ancient or medieval fortification; especially a hill-fort in Scotland or Ireland.
A structure in the Orkney or Shetland islands or in Scotland consisting of a roundhouse surrounded by a circular wall; a broch.
Where this word comes from
From Irish dún or Scottish Gaelic dùn, from Proto-Celtic *dūnom (“fortress”). Cognate with Welsh dinas (“city”). Doublet of town.
To cure, as codfish, by laying them, after salting, in a pile in a dark place, covered with saltgrass or a similar substance.
Where this word comes from
Likely from the color of fish so prepared.
A mound or small hill.
Where this word comes from
See dune.
Imitating a deep bass note, such as that found in suspenseful music.
Where this word comes from
Imitative.
Eye dialect spelling of done: past participle of do.
Now, ya dun it!
Pronunciation spelling of don't: contraction of do + not.
Where this word comes from
See do.
Alternative form of dhoon (“Himalayan valley”).
Where this word comes from
Borrowed from Hindustani दून (dūn) / دُون (dūn). False cognate of dun (sense 4) / doon, and dun (sense 7) / dune
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.