pawn

¹

[pawn]

verb (used with object)

1. to deposit as security, as for money borrowed, especially with a pawnbroker.

   He raised the money by pawning his watch.

2. to pledge; stake; risk.

   to pawn one's life.

noun

1. the state of being deposited or held as security, especially with or by a pawnbroker.

   jewels in pawn.

2. something given or deposited as security, as for money borrowed.

   Synonyms: pledge

3. a person serving as security; hostage.

4. the act of pawning.

pawn

²

[pawn]

noun

1. Chess.,  one of eight men of one color and of the lowest value, usually moved one square at a time vertically and capturing diagonally.

2. someone who is used or manipulated to further another person's purposes.

   Synonyms: dupe, tool, puppet

pawn

¹

/ pɔːn /

verb

1. to deposit (an article) as security for the repayment of a loan, esp from a pawnbroker

2. to stake

   to pawn one's honour

noun

1. an article deposited as security

2. the condition of being so deposited (esp in the phrase in pawn )

3. a person or thing that is held as a security, esp a hostage

4. the act of pawning

pawn

²

/ pɔːn /

noun

1. P. a chessman of the lowest theoretical value, limited to forward moves of one square at a time with the option of two squares on its initial move: it captures with a diagonal move only Compare piece

2. a person, group, etc, manipulated by another

Other Word Forms

• pawnable adjective
• pawner noun
• pawnor noun
• unpawned adjective
• pawnage noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pawn¹

First recorded in 1490–1500; noun from Middle French pan; Old French pan(d), pant, apparently from West Germanic; compare Old Frisian pand, Old Saxon, Middle Dutch pant, German Pfand; verb derivative of the noun

Origin of pawn²

First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English poun(e), paun, from Anglo-French, equivalent to Middle French poon, variant of paon, earlier pe(h)on “foot soldier,” literally, “walker”; peon ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of pawn¹

C15: from Old French pan security, from Latin pannus cloth, apparently because clothing was often left as a surety; compare Middle Flemish paen pawn, German Pfand pledge

Origin of pawn²

C14: from Anglo-Norman poun, from Old French pehon, from Medieval Latin pedō infantryman, from Latin pēs foot

Example Sentences

And is Gabriel a valuable asset or a disposable pawn?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Nick Daniels, the president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said the controllers are being used as political pawns in the political standoff.

Read more on BBC

But many American farmers are still feeling like pawns.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“To use the language of chess,” Khrushchev said of these maneuvers, “the Americans had advanced a pawn, so we protected our position by moving a knight.”

Read more on Literature

Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she wanted to see reforms that would protect both taxpayers and “vulnerable individuals who are being used as pawns to line the pockets of many of these attorneys.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dupe 
• patsy 
• puppet 
• stooge