YAWN

yawn, yawning, oscitance, oscitancy

(noun) an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom; “he could not suppress a yawn”; “the yawning in the audience told him it was time to stop”; “he apologized for his oscitancy”

yawn

(verb) utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired; “The child yawned during the long performance”

gape, yawn, yaw

(verb) be wide open; “the deep gaping canyon”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

yawn (third-person singular simple present yawns, present participle yawning, simple past and past participle yawned)

To open the mouth widely and take a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired or bored, and sometimes accompanied by pandiculation.

To say while yawning.

To present a wide opening.

(obsolete) To open the mouth, or to gape, through surprise or bewilderment.

(obsolete) To be eager; to desire to swallow anything; to express desire by yawning.

Noun

yawn (plural yawns)

The action of yawning; opening the mouth widely and taking a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired or bored.

(colloquial) A particularly boring event.

Anagrams

• YNWA, awny, wany, wayn

Proper noun

Yawn (plural Yawns)

A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Yawn is the 12399th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 2507 individuals. Yawn is most common among White (90.79%) individuals.

Anagrams

• YNWA, awny, wany, wayn

Source: Wiktionary


Yawn, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Yawned; p. pr. & vb. n. Yawning.] Etym: [OE. yanien, ýanien, ganien, gonien, AS. ganian; akin to ginian to yawn, ginan to yawn, open wide, G. gähnen to yawn, OHG. ginen, geinon, Icel. gina to yawn, gin the mouth, OSlav. zijati to yawn, L. hiare to gape, yawn; and perhaps to E. begin, cf. Gr. b. Cf. Begin, Gin to begin, Hiatus.]

1. To open the mouth involuntarily through drowsiness, dullness, or fatigue; to gape; to oscitate. "The lazy, yawning drone." Shak. And while above he spends his breath, The yawning audience nod beneath. Trumbull.

2. To open wide; to gape, as if to allow the entrance or exit of anything. 't is now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn. Shak.

3. To open the mouth, or to gape, through surprise or bewilderment. Shak.

4. To be eager; to desire to swallow anything; to express desire by yawning; as, to yawn for fat livings. "One long, yawning gaze." Landor.

Yawn, n.

1. An involuntary act, excited by drowsiness, etc., consisting of a deep and long inspiration following several successive attempts at inspiration, the mouth, fauces, etc., being wide open. One person yawning in company will produce a spontaneous yawn in all present. N. Chipman.

2. The act of opening wide, or of gaping. Addison.

3. A chasm, mouth, or passageway. [R.] Now gape the graves, and trough their yawns let loose Imprisoned spirits. Marston.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 March 2024

FAULTFINDING

(adjective) tending to make moral judgments or judgments based on personal opinions; “a counselor tries not to be faultfinding”


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