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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

fawn.

A young deer.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/fɔːn/Received-Pronunciation/foːn/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/fɔn//fɑn/cot-caught-merger
  1. A young deer.

  2. A pale brown colour tinted with yellow, like that of a fawn.

  3. The young of an animal; a whelp.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English fawne, fowne, foun, from Old French faon, foon, feon, from Vulgar Latin *fētōnem, from Latin fētus (“offspring, young”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suckle, nurse”). Displaced native Old English hindċealf (literally “deer calf”). Doublet of fetus.

adj/fɔːn/Received-Pronunciation/foːn/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/fɔn//fɑn/cot-caught-merger
  1. Of the fawn colour.

    not-comparable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English fawne, fowne, foun, from Old French faon, foon, feon, from Vulgar Latin *fētōnem, from Latin fētus (“offspring, young”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suckle, nurse”). Displaced native Old English hindċealf (literally “deer calf”). Doublet of fetus.

verb/fɔːn/Received-Pronunciation/foːn/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/fɔn//fɑn/cot-caught-merger
  1. To give birth to a fawn.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English fawne, fowne, foun, from Old French faon, foon, feon, from Vulgar Latin *fētōnem, from Latin fētus (“offspring, young”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suckle, nurse”). Displaced native Old English hindċealf (literally “deer calf”). Doublet of fetus.

verb/fɔːn/Received-Pronunciation/foːn/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/fɔn//fɑn/cot-caught-merger
  1. To show devotion or submissiveness by wagging its tail, nuzzling, licking, etc.

    intransitive
  2. To exhibit affection toward someone.

    broadly · figuratively · intransitive
  3. To attempt to please someone.

    broadly · figuratively · intransitive
  4. To seek favour by flattery and obsequious behaviour.

    broadly · derogatory · figuratively · intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English fawnen, from Old English fagnian, alternative form of fæġnian (“to celebrate”), whence Middle English fainen, English fain. Cognate with Old Norse fagna. See also fain.

noun/fɔːn/Received-Pronunciation/foːn/Australia, British, New-Zealand, Southern, Standard/fɔn//fɑn/cot-caught-merger
  1. A servile cringe or bow.

    intransitive · rare
  2. Base flattery.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English fawnen, from Old English fagnian, alternative form of fæġnian (“to celebrate”), whence Middle English fainen, English fain. Cognate with Old Norse fagna. See also fain.

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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.