awn

[ awn ]

/ ɔn /

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.

Words nearby awn

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

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, adjectiveawn·less, adjectiveun·awned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for awned

The first glume is lanceolate, acute and awned between two teeth, 7-nerved and scaberulous.
A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses|Rai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar
Scales imbricated in many ranks, awned below the apex, all floriferous.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray
All of them may be awned as in Chloris or only the fourth glume as in Andropogon.
A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses|Rai Bahadur K. Ranga Achariyar
Stamens 10; anthers 2-celled, awned on the back, opening lengthwise.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

The reader is probably acquainted with the Fescue Grass, with its awned flowers arranged in one-sided panicles.
The Sea Shore|William S. Furneaux

British Dictionary definitions for awned

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

Science definitions for awned

awn

[ ôn ]

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