don

¹

[ don; Spanish, Italian dawn ]

noun

1. (initial capital letter) Mr.; Sir: a Spanish title prefixed to a man's given name.
2. (in Spanish-speaking countries) a lord or gentleman.
3. (initial capital letter) an Italian title of address, especially for a priest.
4. a person of great importance.
5. (in the English universities) a head, fellow, or tutor of a college.
6. (in the Mafia) a head of a family or syndicate.

Don

²

[ don; Russian dawn ]

noun

1. a river flowing generally S from Tula in the Russian Federation in Europe, to the Sea of Azov. About 1,200 miles (1,930 km) long.
2. a river in NE Scotland, flowing E from Aberdeen county to the North Sea. 62 miles (100 km) long.
3. a river in central England, flowing NE from S Yorkshire to the Humber estuary. 60 miles (97 km) long.
4. a male given name, form of Donald.

don

³

[ don ]

verb (used with object)

, donned, don·ning.

1. to put on, as clothing or equipment:

   He donned his best shirt and tie for the interview.

   Donning goggles and fins, they dived off the raft one by one.

2. to assume or adopt, as a particular attitude, responsibility, etc.:

   The actress is all set to don a new role as first-time director of her own film.

Don

⁴

[ dawn ]

noun

, Welsh Mythology.

1. a goddess, the mother of Gwydion and Arianrod: corresponds to the Irish Danu.

don

⁵

[ dohn ]

conjunction

1. (in prescriptions) donec.

don

¹

/ dɒn /

verb

1. tr to put on (clothing)

Don

²

/ don; dɒn /

noun

1. a Spanish title equivalent to Mr : placed before a name to indicate respect

don

³

/ dɒn /

noun

1. a member of the teaching staff at a university or college, esp at Oxford or Cambridge
2. the head of a student dormitory at certain Canadian universities and colleges
3. a Spanish gentleman or nobleman
4. (in the Mafia) the head of a family

Don

⁴

/ dɒn /

noun

1. a river rising in W Russia, southeast of Tula and flowing generally south, to the Sea of Azov: linked by canal to the River Volga. Length: 1870 km (1162 miles)
2. a river in NE Scotland, rising in the Cairngorm Mountains and flowing east to the North Sea. Length: 100 km (62 miles)
3. a river in N central England, rising in S Yorkshire and flowing northeast to the Humber. Length: about 96 km (60 miles)

Word History and Origins

Origin of don¹

First recorded in 1515–25; from Italian, Spanish, from Latin dominus “lord, master”

Origin of don²

First recorded in 1560–70; contraction of do ¹ + on; doff

Origin of don³

By shortening of Latin donec ( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of don¹

C14: from do ¹+ on ; compare doff

Origin of don²

C16: via Spanish, from Latin dominus lord; see don ²

Origin of don³

C17: ultimately from Latin dominus lord

Example Sentences

When they don the jersey of a Tennessee university, they step out of their personal roles and into the role of an ambassador for our state.

From Washington Post

Later, Ligon tossed it in the trash and donned a new Flyers hat instead, a fresh start.

From Washington Post

That differentiates it from the type of gear that professional first responders might don when purposely entering a hot zone.

From Popular-Science

The NBA has tightened those protocols in recent weeks, requiring players to wear masks on the bench before they enter games and to don proximity sensors that track their contacts in the case of a positive test.

From Washington Post

Players across the WNBA started donning those shirts that day, and the “Vote Warnock” message spread on social media.

From Time

We brought in Don Lemon, the year that he wrote his book, and I told that story to the audience that was there.

From The Daily Beast

Nobody knows chaotic living quite like Don Draper, what with juggling high profile clients, his many paramours, and travel.

From The Daily Beast

The Old-Fashioned is the crème of the cocktail crop—according to Don Draper, at least.

From The Daily Beast

She reportedly also had a book collection worth more than €20 million, including a first edition of Don Quixote from 1605.

From The Daily Beast

Don Terry, a senior writer at the Southern Poverty Law Center, doubts it.

From The Daily Beast

"Don Alvar de Mendoce, for example," muttered Alphonse, between his teeth.

From Project Gutenberg

This was when Don Joan Ronquillo, with that great fleet, went out and fought the one that the enemy maintained along these coasts.

From Project Gutenberg

Don Diego beckoned two guards, who immediately drew near their prisoner.

From Project Gutenberg

The same has been said of Don Juan de Alvarado, ex-fiscal, and that is known throughout the country as a public matter.

From Project Gutenberg

You have not delivered into the hands of our chief, Don Emilio Aguinaldo, the money as agreed upon.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dress
• put on
• wear

More About Don

What is a basic definition of don?

Don means to put on or dress in clothing. The word Don is a title for men in Spanish and don is a term for the head of a mafia family. Don has a few other senses as a noun.

When used as a verb, don means to put on clothing. When you don a fancy hat, you place it on your head. Sometimes don is used to indicate that you’re putting on fancy clothes.

• Real-life examples: People don formal clothes to attend weddings. The media is often obsessed with the designer clothing that celebrities have donned for an awards show. It is a good idea to don a helmet when riding a bike.
• Used in a sentence: I don my long winter coat whenever it snows.

In Spanish, the title Don is used like Mr. in English to show respect to a man. Don is used before a man’s first name.

• Real-life example: The fictional Don Juan was a legendary womanizer. The fictional Don Quixote is remembered for battling with windmills.
• Used in a sentence: While in Spain, I met with my good friends Don Emilio and Don Diego.

The word don is also used to refer to the head of a mafia family or syndicate. This sense of don is also sometimes used as a title.

• Real-life examples: Actor Marlon Brando played Vito Corleone, the don of the fictional Corleone family, in the film The Godfather. Carlo Gambino was the don of New York City’s Gambino crime family.
• Used in a sentence: The police arrested several low-ranking members of the crime family but could never get evidence against the don.

Where does don come from?

The first records of the verb don come from around 1560. It is a contraction of the common verb do and the preposition on. The first records of the noun form of don come from around 1515. It ultimately comes from the Latin dominus, meaning “God” or “the Lord.”

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to don?

• donned (past tense verb)

What are some synonyms for don?

• put on
• dress
• wear

What are some words that share a root or word element with don? 

• do

What are some words that often get used in discussing don?

• clothes
• apparel
• honorific
• Spain
• mafia

How is don used in real life?

Don is most often used to mean to put or to wear clothing.

Donning long underwear unironically is a hallmark of my adulthood.

— Alan Bennett Ilagan (@alanilagan) December 7, 2020

Women’s soccer player Sarah Fuller will don a football uniform Saturday for Vanderbilt and is poised to become the first woman to play in a Power 5 game when the Commodores visit Missouri.

— News 19 (@whnt) November 28, 2020

For the first time since last winter, I have donned slippers.

— Ben Rector (@benrector) October 20, 2014

Try using don!

Is don used correctly in the following sentence?

After coming in from the rain, I donned my jacket and hung it in the closet.