lawn1
[lawn]
- 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.
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Origin of lawn1
1250–1300; Middle English launde < Middle French lande glade < Celtic; compare Breton lann heath. See land
lawn2
[lawn]
- a thin or sheer linen or cotton fabric, either plain or printed.
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Origin of lawn2
1375–1425; late Middle English lawnd, laun, perhaps named after Laon, where linen-making once flourished
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for lawn
Contemporary Examples
In 2007, a Dorset man brought a lawn statute featuring a recognizable Egyptian headdress to an expert for evaluation.
A yellow hazardous material bin placed out on the lawn, just beyond some red tape reading “Danger Do Not Enter,” left no doubt.
So say the Secret Service nabs him on the lawn, in plain sight of tourists with cameras.
Though it would mow your lawn at International Space Station orbital speed—17,000 mph.
If you fertilized your lawn today, you have led a more productive life than Tori Spelling.
Historical Examples
"I wish you were entirely independent of Austin," said Viviette, walking with him up the lawn.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
There were tables under the trees on the lawn, and a new sign on the gate.
KMary Roberts Rinehart
Catherine and Sidney remained on the lawn; the rest followed the host.
Night and Morning, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
And such is life-love on the lawn and settlements in the parlour.
Night and Morning, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
They were to dine on the lawn, in a large marquee, and to dance in the evening.
Alice, or The Mysteries, CompleteEdward Bulwer-Lytton
lawn1
- a flat and usually level area of mown and cultivated grass
- an archaic or dialect word for glade
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Word Origin
C16: changed form of C14 launde, from Old French lande, of Celtic origin; compare Breton lann heath; related to land
lawn2
- a fine linen or cotton fabric, used for clothing
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Word Origin
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.
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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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper