awn

[ awn ]

nounBotany.

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.

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, adjective
awnless, adjective
un·awned, adjective

Words Nearby awn

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

Origin of awn

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

Derived forms of awn

awned, adjective
awnless, adjective

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.

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