lawn

[lawn]

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noun

a stretch of open, grass-covered land, especially one closely mowed, as near a house, on an estate, or in a park.

Archaic. a glade.

Origin of lawn

1250–1300; Middle English launde < Middle French lande glade < Celtic; compare Breton lann heath. See land

Related formslawn·y, adjective

lawn

[lawn]

noun

a thin or sheer linen or cotton fabric, either plain or printed.

Origin of lawn

1375–1425; late Middle English lawnd, laun, perhaps named after Laon, where linen-making once flourished

Related formslawn·y, adjective

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

Related Words for lawn

yard, garden, park, green, terrace, backyard, grass, plot, grassplot

Examples from the Web for lawn

Contemporary Examples of lawn

In 2007, a Dorset man brought a lawn statute featuring a recognizable Egyptian headdress to an expert for evaluation.
7 Historically Significant Artifacts Rescued by Happenstance
The Daily Beast
October 24, 2014
A yellow hazardous material bin placed out on the lawn, just beyond some red tape reading “Danger Do Not Enter,” left no doubt.
Dallas: A Journal of the Plague City
Pete Freedman
October 17, 2014
So say the Secret Service nabs him on the lawn, in plain sight of tourists with cameras.
Obama, the Coffee Salute, and the Dementia on the Right
Sally Kohn
September 25, 2014
Though it would mow your lawn at International Space Station orbital speed—17,000 mph.
Why Does the USA Depend on Russian Rockets to Get Us Into Space?
P. J. O’Rourke
June 22, 2014
If you fertilized your lawn today, you have led a more productive life than Tori Spelling.
Welcome to Showbiz Sharia Law
P. J. O’Rourke
May 4, 2014

Historical Examples of lawn

"I wish you were entirely independent of Austin," said Viviette, walking with him up the lawn.
Viviette
William J. Locke
There were tables under the trees on the lawn, and a new sign on the gate.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
Catherine and Sidney remained on the lawn; the rest followed the host.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
And such is life-love on the lawn and settlements in the parlour.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
They were to dine on the lawn, in a large marquee, and to dance in the evening.
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for lawn

lawn

noun

a flat and usually level area of mown and cultivated grass

an archaic or dialect word for glade

Derived Formslawny, adjective

Word Origin for lawn

C16: changed form of C14 launde, from Old French lande, of Celtic origin; compare Breton lann heath; related to land

lawn

noun

a fine linen or cotton fabric, used for clothing

Derived Formslawny, adjective

Word Origin for lawn

C15: probably from Laon, a town in France where linen was made

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 lawn

n.1

"turf, stretch of grass," 1540s, laune "glade, open space between woods," from Middle English launde (c.1300), from Old French lande "heath, moor, barren land; clearing" (12c.), from Gaulish (cf. Breton lann "heath"), or from its Germanic cognate, source of English land (n.). The -d perhaps mistaken for an affix and dropped. Sense of "grassy ground kept mowed" first recorded 1733.

n.2

"thin linen or cotton cloth," early 15c., probably from Laon, city in northern France, a center of linen manufacture. The town name is Old French Lan, from Latin Laudunum, of Celtic origin.