bawn

[ bawn ]

/ bɔn /

Save This Word!

noun Newfoundland.

a rocky stretch of foreshore on which caught fish are laid out to dry.

a patch of grassland or meadow near a dwelling.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of bawn

First recorded in 1530–40; Hiberno-English, from Irish bábhún (earlier spelling badhbhdhún, badhún ) “enclosure,” perhaps equivalent to ba, plural of bó “cow” + dún “fort”; see cow¹, town

Words nearby bawn

bawdy, bawdyhouse, bawl, bawling, bawl out, bawn, bawneen, Bax, B-axis, Baxter, bay

How to use bawn in a sentence

I allow ennybody's a bawn fool gits ketched twice runnin' ther same way.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
"Strues I'm bawn, I b'lieve he's done gone to sleep like ole Miss—he's settin' thar so still," she said.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
Ah wuz bawn in slavery, in spir'chual slavery; de good Lawd done riz me to freedom.
Mountain|Clement Wood
The Colleen Bawn is a tissue of improbabilities and extravagances.
The English Stage|Augustin Filon

"Then I shall write to Mr. Dent himself," said Mrs. Bawn indignantly.
The Pastor's Wife|Elizabeth von Arnim