awn

[ awn ]

/ ɔn /

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noun Botany.

a bristlelike appendage of a plant, especially on the glumes of grasses.

such appendages collectively, as those forming the beard of wheat, barley, etc.

any similar bristle.

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Origin of awn

1250–1300; Middle English aw(u)n, agune, agene, probably <Scandinavian; compare Old Norse ǫgn,Old Danish aghn husk; replacing and cognate with Old English ægnan; cognate with Gothic ahana,Old High German agana (German Agen, Ahne), Dutch, Frisian agen; OL agna ear of grain, Czech osina awn; Greek ákaina thorn, bristle, ákhnē chaff (< a pre-Hellenic substratum language); <Indo-European *Haeḱ- sharp

OTHER WORDS FROM awn

awned, adjectiveawnless, adjectiveun·awned, adjective

Words nearby awn

awless, awl-shaped, awl snail, awlwort, awmous, awn, awner, awning, awning deck, awning window, awnless bromegrass

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use awn in a sentence

This awn is sensitive to changes in the moisture of the air.
The Romance of Plant Life|G. F. Scott Elliot
"You go awn and start something—and you'll wisht you hadn't," they heard him croak from the big gate, and chuckled over his wrath.
Flying U Ranch|B. M. Bower
Go awn and tell him a good, stiff lie, Andy—just to keep him interested while us fellers make a gitaway.
Flying U Ranch|B. M. Bower
She used to say, "Lawd, chile, you don't know how soovin' it is to jest bust out awn 'casions lake dese!"
As Seen By Me|Lilian Bell

Seeds of hermaphrodite flowers quadrangular, crowned by one long awn, and the rudiment of another.
The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines|T. H. Pardo de Tavera

British Dictionary definitions for awn

awn

/ (ɔːn) /

noun

any of the bristles growing from the spikelets of certain grasses, including cereals

Derived forms of awn

awned, adjectiveawnless, adjective

Word Origin for awn

Old English agen ear of grain; related to Old Norse ögn chaff, Gothic ahana, Old High German agana, Greek akōn javelin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for awn

awn

[ ôn ]

A slender, bristlelike appendage found on the spikelets of many grasses.