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definitions

don

2
[don]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR don ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), donned, don·ning.

to put on or dress in: to don one's clothes.

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RELATED WORDS

dress, wear, enrobe

Origin of don

2
1560–70; contraction of do1 + on; cf. doff
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for donning

Contemporary Examples of donning

Historical Examples of donning

  • "I'll walk a bit with you," said his sister, donning her jacket and a cap.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • By donning it again he would at least wear mourning for his manhood.

  • If monsieur feels that the cap fits him, I shall not stay him in the act of donning it.

    St. Martin's Summer

    Rafael Sabatini

  • It was a quarter to eleven, and the men were donning their oilskins, with a view to hauling.

  • In the morning, Stoltzfoos prepared for his trip into Datura by donning his Sunday-best.

    Blind Man's Lantern

    Allen Kim Lang

British Dictionary definitions for donning

don

1

verb dons, donning or donned

(tr) to put on (clothing)

Word Origin for don

C14: from do 1 + on; compare doff

don

2

noun

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

Word Origin for don

C17: ultimately from Latin dominus lord

Don

1

noun

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

Word Origin for Don

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

Don

2

noun

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)
a river in NE Scotland, rising in the Cairngorm Mountains and flowing east to the North Sea. Length: 100 km (62 miles)
a river in N central England, rising in S Yorkshire and flowing northeast to the Humber. Length: about 96 km (60 miles)
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
Word Origin and History for donning

don

n.

1520s, from Spanish or Portuguese don, title of respect, from Latin dominus "lord, master." The university sense is c.1660, originally student slang; underworld sense is 1952, from Italian don, from Late Latin domnus, from Latin dominus (see domain). The fem. form is Dona (Spanish/Portuguese), Donna (Italian).

don

v.

early 14c. contraction of do on (see doff). "After 1650 retained in popular use only in north. dialect; as a literary archaism it has become very frequent in 19th c." [OED]. Related: Donned; donning.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper