lawn

¹

[lawn]

noun

1. a stretch of open, grass-covered land, especially one closely mowed, as near a house, on an estate, or in a park.

2. Archaic.,  a glade.

lawn

²

[lawn]

noun

1. a thin or sheer linen or cotton fabric, either plain or printed.

lawn

¹

/ lɔːn /

noun

1. a flat and usually level area of mown and cultivated grass

2. an archaic or dialect word for glade

lawn

²

/ lɔːn /

noun

1. a fine linen or cotton fabric, used for clothing

Other Word Forms

• lawny adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lawn¹

1250–1300; Middle English launde < Middle French lande glade < Celtic; compare Breton lann heath. See land

Origin of lawn²

1375–1425; late Middle English lawnd, laun, perhaps named after Laon, where linen-making once flourished

Word History and Origins

Origin of lawn¹

C16: changed form of C14 launde, from Old French lande, of Celtic origin; compare Breton lann heath; related to _land

Origin of lawn²

C15: probably from Laon, a town in France where linen was made

Example Sentences

Parts of Memphis boast mansions and broad, manicured lawns festooned with elaborate Halloween decorations.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Beneath a fan on the veranda I nursed a gin and tonic, gazing across the manicured lawns to the exuberant tropical gardens.

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Their front yard was pathetic: basically 1,500 square feet of weeds and parched patches of Bermuda lawn.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In 1993, to raise awareness about breast cancer, she made plaster casts of hundreds of women’s torsos and placed them in a cemetery-like installation on a lawn.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Gsell has been inundated with offers by homeowners and businesses hoping to have the biggest lawn decoration on the block.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• backyard 
• garden 
• grass 
• green 
• park 
• terrace 
• yard