DUN

dun

(adjective) of a dull greyish brown to brownish grey color; “the dun and dreary prairie”

dun

(noun) horse of a dull brownish grey color

dun, greyish brown, grayish brown, fawn

(noun) a color or pigment varying around a light grey-brown color; “she wore dun”

dun

(verb) make a dun color

dun

(verb) cure by salting; “dun codfish”

dun

(verb) persistently ask for overdue payment; “The grocer dunned his customers every day by telephone”

torment, rag, bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate

(verb) treat cruelly; “The children tormented the stuttering teacher”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Noun

dun (usually uncountable, plural duns)

A brownish grey colour.

Adjective

dun (not comparable)

Of a brownish grey colour.

Etymology 2

Noun

dun (plural duns)

(countable) A collector of debts.

An urgent request or demand of payment.

Verb

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

(transitive) To ask or beset a debtor for payment.

(transitive) To harass by continually repeating e.g. a request.

Etymology 3

Uncertain; likely from the color.

Noun

dun (plural duns)

(countable) A newly hatched, immature mayfly; a mayfly subimago.

(countable, angling) A fly made to resemble the mayfly subimago.

Synonyms

• subimago

Etymology 4

Noun

dun (plural duns)

An ancient or medieval fortification; especially a hill-fort in Scotland or Ireland.

(archeology) A structure in the Orkney or Shetland islands or in Scotland consisting of a roundhouse surrounded by a circular wall; a broch.

Etymology 5

Verb

dun

(non-standard, informal) Eye dialect spelling of done: past participle of do

(non-standard, informal) Eye dialect spelling of don't: contraction of do + not.

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)

(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.

Etymology 7

Noun

dun (plural duns)

A mound or small hill.

Etymology 8

Imitative.

Interjection

dun

(humorous) Imitating suspenseful music.

Anagrams

• DNU, und

Proper noun

Dun

A river in Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, which flows into the River Kennet.

A river in Wiltshire and Hampshire, England, which flows into the River Test.

An alternative name for the River Don in Yorkshire, England.

A river in Antrim, Northern Ireland, alternatively named the Glendun River.

A settlement and parish in Angus council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NO6659).

Anagrams

• DNU, und

Source: Wiktionary

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Dun, n. Etym: [See Dune.]

Definition: A mound or small hill.

Dun, v. t.

Definition: To cure, as codfish, in a particular manner, by laying them, after salting, in a pile in a dark place, covered with salt grass or some like substance.

Dun, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Dunned; p. pr. & vb. n. Dunning.] Etym: [AS. dyne noise, dynian to make a noise, or fr. Icel. dynr, duna, noise, thunder, duna to thunder; the same word as E. din. Din.]

Definition: To ask or beset, as a debtor, for payment; to urge importunately. Hath she sent so soon to dun Swift.

Dun, n.

1. One who duns; a dunner. To be pulled by the sleeve by some rascally dun. Arbuthnot.

2. An urgent request or demand of payment; as, he sent his debtor a dun.

Dun, a. Etym: [AS. dunn. of Celtic origin; cf. W. dwn, Ir. & Gael. donn.]

Definition: Of a dark color; of a color partaking of a brown and black; of a dull brown color; swarthy. Summer's dun cloud comes thundering up. Pierpont. Chill and dun Falls on the moor the brief November day. Keble. Dun crow (Zoöl.), the hooded crow; -- so called from its color; -- also called hoody, and hoddy.

– Dun diver (Zoöl.), the goosander or merganser.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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