Hun
[huhn]
- a member of a nomadic and warlike Asian people who devastated or controlled large parts of eastern and central Europe and who exercised their greatest power under Attila in the 5th century a.d.
- (often lowercase) a barbarous, destructive person; vandal.
- Older Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a German, especially a German soldier in World War I or II.
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Origin of Hun
before 900; 1895–1900 for def 3; singular of Huns, Old English Hūnas; cognate with Old Norse Hūnar; akin to Late Latin Hunnī
Usage note
The disparaging and offensive use of this term likens the Germans to the barbarous and warlike Huns of the 4th and 5th centuries. The source of the comparison was a speech by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1900, encouraging German soldiers bound for China to act toward the Chinese just like “the Huns a thousand years ago.”
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for huns
Contemporary Examples
Getting closer to solving an ancient mystery: where did the Huns come from?
In total, 31 Huns were buried in the tombs that were discovered at the foot of Salkhit of Rashaant Soum in Khuvsgul Province.
Historical Examples
She thinks the Huns are waking up and civilisations going under.
The PrisonerAlice Brown
Gave me the butt while the Huns were using the bayonet on me.
The Million-Dollar SuitcaseAlice MacGowan
To her also for the moment the scientific savagery of the Huns was remote.
The Paliser caseEdgar Saltus
The latter is considered to be a likely point of attack on the part of the Huns.
"Huns are moving along the road in X 429 b and c," said a voice.
Pushed and the Return PushGeorge Herbert Fosdike Nichols, (AKA Quex)
Hun
- a member of any of several Asiatic nomadic peoples speaking Mongoloid or Turkic languages who dominated much of Asia and E Europe from before 300 bc, invading the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries a.d
- informal (esp in World War I) a derogatory name for a German (def. 2)
- informal a vandal
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Word Origin
Old English Hūnas, from Late Latin Hūnī, from Turkish Hun-yū
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for huns
Hun
Old English, person from a tribe from central Asia that overran Europe in the 4c. and 5c., from Medieval Latin Hunni, apparently ultimately from Turkic Hun-yü, the name of a tribe (they were known in China as Han or Hiong-nu). Figurative sense of "reckless destroyer of beauty" is from 1806. Applied to the German in World War I by their enemies because of stories of atrocities, but the nickname originally was urged on German soldiers bound for China by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1900, which caused a scandal.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Huns
Note
The British frequently referred to German soldiers as “Huns” during World War I and World War II as a way of emphasizing their supposed brutality.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.