dunn.1
/dʌn/, U.S. /dən/ 1. Originally: a horse of a dun colour. Now specifically: a horse with a coat of a greyish-yellow or sandy colour, typically with a darker stripe along the back and a dark mane and tail; (by extension) any horse having these distinctive markings, but on a coat of a different colour. Cf. dun adj. 1b.In earlier use often used as a proper name for a horse of this colour, and recorded earliest in dun is in the mire at Phrases 1; see also the devil upon dun at Phrases 3.In the modern use also modified by an adjective to distinguish the different colours of coat and markings that are found (see, e.g., quot. 1990, yellow-dun n. 3). This use is now frequently limited to horses possessing the particular gene (the Dun gene) which produces this pattern of markings.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > colour or marking > [noun] > grey or dun horse
dunc1405
greya1500
iron-grey?1530
grizzlea1620
yellow-dun1767
grullo1903
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Manciple's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 5 Ther gan oure hoost for to iape and pleye And seyde sires, what, Don is in the Myre.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 24 Gif Don, thyne hors, a wisp of hay!
1587 L. Mascall First Bk. Cattell ii. 170 Next vnto him is the Dunne with a blacke liste on the backe.
1653 J. Taylor Short Relation Long Journey 15 I procured a brace of Boyes to goe two miles to cut grasse for my Dun.
1760 ‘T. Bobbin’ Let. 8 Apr. in Toy-shop (1763) 150 Whether this Dun must be a Horse, a Mare, or a Gelding?
1892 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads 77 The Colonel's son has taken a horse, and a raw rough dun was he.
1928 Times 10 Apr. 8/4 E. F. Tenison's John Dun, a dun by Merry Saint, was the winner.
1990 L. D. Van Vleck in J. W. Evans et al. Horse (ed. 2) ii. 51 The Red Dun is just that—red. Body coat may vary from a yellow to a nearly flesh color. Points are dark red. Dorsal stripe must be present.
2017 Vernon Morning Star (Nexis) 24 Jan. 6 The dun has a white stripe on his head.
2. A dun colour; dull greyish-brown. Also as a count noun: a particular shade of this colour. Cf. dun adj. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > brown or brownness > [noun] > dull brown
dun1542
1542 T. Elyot Bibliotheca at Rauus A dulle or sadde colour, a dunne.
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. iii. 111 They will certainly change the colour of their coat to a whitish-dun.
1735 J. Moore Columbarium 39 A very great Variety of Colours in its Plumage, as blacks, blues,..Duns.
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto II xcii. 165 Baptized in molten gold, and swathed in dun.
1894 Superfluous Woman (ed. 4) I. 171 Silvery grays and duns.
1955 Irish Times 7 Nov. 5/8 You..become aware of the undertones of colour in the duns and fawns.
2016 M. Gallagher Youngblood xxx. 204 We drove west, the countryside melting into shades of dun.
3. Angling. Any of various artificial flies used as a lure in imitation of dusky-coloured natural flies, esp. a mayfly in the subimago stage; (hence also) used in names for such natural flies, esp. a mayfly subimago. Frequently with distinguishing word.blue dun, olive dun, prime dun, whirling dun, yellow dun: see the first element.Compare also dun fly n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > artificial fly > types of
moor flylOE
drake-flya1450
dub-flya1450
dun cut1496
dun fly1496
louper1496
red fly1616
moorish fly1635
palmer1653
palmer fly1653
red hackle1653
red palmer1653
shell-fly1653
orange fly1662
blackfly1669
dun1676
dun hackle1676
hackle1676
mayfly1676
peacock fly1676
thorn-tree fly1676
turkey-fly1676
violet-fly1676
whirling dun1676
badger fly1681
greenfly1686
moorish brown1689
prime dun1696
sandfly1700
grey midge1724
whirling blue1747
dun drake?1758
death drake1766
hackle fly1786
badger1787
blue1787
brown-fly1787
camel-brown1787
spinner1787
midge1799
night-fly1799
thorn-fly1799
turkey1799
withy-fly1799
grayling fly1811
sun fly1820
cock-a-bondy1835
brown moth1837
bunting-lark fly1837
governor1837
water-hen hackle1837
Waterloo fly1837
coachman1839
soldier palmer1839
blue jay1843
red tag1850
canary1855
white-tip1856
spider1857
bumble1859
doctor1860
ibis1863
Jock Scott1866
eagle1867
highlander1867
jay1867
John Scott1867
judge1867
parson1867
priest1867
snow-fly1867
Jack Scott1874
Alexandra1875
silver doctor1875
Alexandra fly1882
grackle1894
grizzly queen1894
heckle-fly1897
Zulu1898
thunder and lightning1910
streamer1919
Devon1924
peacock1950
1676 C. Cotton Compl. Angler vii. 57 In case of a frost and snow, you are to Angle only with the smallest Gnats, Browns and Duns you can make.
?1720 Husbandman's Jewel 36 The Badgers-fly, the Wasp-fly, the little white dun, the black Hackle, the black brown dun, the Shell-fly.
1760 J. Hawkins in Walton's & Cotton's Compl. Angler i. xvii. (note) Ash-coloured duns of several shapes and dimentions.
1799 tr. Laboratory (ed. 6) II. x. 290 The little-dun. The dubbing of a bear's dun-hair, whirled upon yellow silk.
1833 J. Rennie Alphabet Sci. Angling 36 Various species of day flies known to anglers by the various names of duns, drakes, and may flies.
1890 E. Hamilton River-side Naturalist xx. 344 The July Dun..is the sub-imago of Ephemera marginata.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 449/1 Two of the best grayling flies are a very small apple-green dun and the red tag.
1973 Times Lit. Suppl. 10 Aug. 937/1 The most common nymphs, duns and spinners..are illustrated.
2015 P. Dorsey Colorado Guide Flies i. 4/1 (caption) This thick-bodied rainbow trout was caught on a Mathews' Sparkle Dun.
4. Coal Mining (English regional). A dark-coloured stratum of rock; rock occurring in such a stratum. Cf. dun-row adj. at dun adj. Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1765 Ann. Reg. 1764 142 It is made up of several strata, consisting of coal, of dun, which is an imperfect coal.
a1843 R. Southey Common-place Bk. (1851) 4th Ser. 407/2 A thin stratum near the coal, called duns.
1880 Geol. Mag. Nov. 521 Comparing the analysis of duns and shale from the district.
1900 Notts. Guardian 15 Sept. 3/3 Deceased was..standing underneath some ‘duns,’ from which the coal had been previously taken.
1985 I. W. Farmer Coal Mine Structures i. 29 The typical shiny slickensided appearance of shear zones is reflected in British coal mining terminology by the use of various local names ranging from..‘clunch’ to ‘duns’.
2014 A. Gorova et al. in V. Bondarenko et al. Progressive Technol. 94/2 The composition of rocks is represented by the mudstones, siltstones, coal duns, and hard coal.
Phrases
In proverbial phrases. P1. dun is in the mire and variants.† a. Things are at a standstill; there is an impasse or deadlock. Later also to draw dun out of the mire and variants: to resolve an impasse or deadlock. Obsolete.With reference to a horse and cart being mired (cf. sense 1).
ΚΠ
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Manciple's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) Prol. l. 5 Ther gan oure hoost for to iape and pleye And seyde sires, what, Don is in the Myre.
c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Katherine (Arun. 396) (1893) ii. l. 1046 (MED) For as wyth me, dun is in the myre, She hath me stoyned and brought me to a bay. She wil not wedde, she wil be stylle a may!
1541 Schole House of Women sig. Biv One and other lytell ye care..Though dun, and the packe lye in the myre.
1599 R. Tofte tr. E. Tasso Of Mariage & Wiuing sig. E4v She hath made Iacke a Gentleman, and hath drawne Dunne out of the mire.
1640 J. Shirley St. Patrick i. iii. sig. D3 Then draw Dun out o'th mire: And throw the clog into the fire.
1702 F. Bugg Narr. Conf. at Sleeford v. 114 Still all will not help Dun out of the Mire.
b. A traditional Christmas parlour game in which a heavy log, representing a cart horse stuck in the mire, is lifted, manoeuvred, and eventually carried off by the players (see quot. 1816 for a fuller description). Also called drawing dun out of the mire. Now historical.Examples after the early 19th cent. are typically from historical novels.
ΚΠ
1655 W. Winstanley Muses Cabinet 11 Having leap'd as much as they would do, To drawing Dun out of the mire they go, But presently they left that sport againe, And then they fell into a drinking vaine.
1816 W. Gifford in B. Jonson Wks. VII. 283 (note) Dun is in the mire! then, is a Christmas gambol, at which I have often played. A log of wood is brought into the midst of the room: this is Dun, (the cart-horse), and a cry is raised, that he is stuck in the mire. Two of the company advance, either with or without ropes, to draw him out. After repeated attempts, they find themselves unable to do it, and call for more assistance.—The game continues till all the company take part in it, when Dun is extricated of course; and the merriment arises from the awkward and affected efforts of the rustics to lift the log, and from sundry arch contrivances to let the ends of it fall on one another's toes. This will not be thought a very exquisite amusement; and yet I have seen much honest mirth at it.
1887 E. Gilliat Forest Outlaws 252 Merry games at barley-break and dun-in-the-mire.
1904 M. E. Francis Lychgate Hall xv. 162 Loud laughter proceeded from a merry company that were playing Drawing Dun out of the Mire.
a1974 G. Heyer My Lord John (1977) i. iii. 55 It was dull at Bytham... Kyle-pins, closh, quoits, and even Dun-is-in-the-mire..palled.
P2. dun's the mouse: used as advice or exhortation to be quiet or still and not draw attention to oneself.Not current since the 17th century; the use in quot. 2006 is a deliberate archaism from a historical novel set in 1541.
ΚΠ
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. iv. 40, 41 The game was nere so faire and I am done. Tut dun's the mouse, the Cunstables old word, If thou beest Dun, weele draw thee from the mire.
1620 I. C. Two Merry Milke-maids sig. B4v Why then 'tis done, and dun's the Mouse, and vndone all the Courtiers.
1674–9 Merry Wives of Wapping (single sheet) A proper young Seaman came into my house, I need say no more, but Dun is the Mouse: But when in the dark I turn'd him out a door, Some of our bad Neighbours said, I was a w——.
2006 C. J. Sansom Sovereign iv. 55 ‘We should restrain our curiosity, just get on with our business.’ ‘Dun's the mouse.’ ‘Exactly.’
P3. the devil upon dun (also the devil on dun's back): the devil riding a horse; used as a type or emblem of imminent disaster or impending doom.
ΚΠ
1634 T. Heywood & R. Brome Late Lancashire Witches ii. sig. D The Divell on Dun is rid this way.
1665 J. Phillips tr. P. Scarron Typhon iii. 96 All the Gods did run, As if the Devil upon Dun Was at their posterns.
1680 tr. J.-B. Tavernier Coll. Several Relations & Treat. i. 87 All will out, there will be the Devil upon Dun when my Husband comes home.
1694 P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais Pantagruel's Voy.: 4th Bk. Wks. iv. xxxiii. 132 There will be the Devil upon Dun. This is a worse Business than that t'other Day.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
dunn.2
/dʌn/, U.S. /dən/ 1. A creditor who makes insistent or repeated demands for repayment of a debt; (also) an agent employed by a creditor to collect a debt; a debt collector.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > [noun] > collecting debts > person
dun1628
debt-collectora1852
the mind > language > speech > request > one who requests > [noun] > importunately > as a creditor, etc.
dun1628
dunner?c1654
ferret1699
1628 J. Earle Micro-cosmogr. liv. sig. K1 A Vniuersitie Dunne..Hee is an inferiour Creditor of some ten shillings or downwards... Hee is a sore beleaguerer of Chambers.
1657 tr. F. de Quevedo Life & Adventures of Buscon 183 He discovered a certain Dun..who had often haunted him for some small trifling debt.
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull in his Senses iv. 21 To be pull'd by the Sleeve by some Rascally Dun.
1778 J. Warner in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1844) III. 314 I shall have the satisfaction at last of finding something that I am fit for,—a setter, a dun, a catchpole, or a bum-bailiff, to recover bad debts.
1811 W. Combe Schoolmaster's Tour in Poet. Mag. Mar. 186 I've just enough the duns to pay.
1881 W. Besant & J. Rice Chaplain of Fleet I. x. 211 Here I live free of duns and debt.
1912 Lippincott's Monthly Mag. July 2 The postman was..an emissary, as a rule, from the dark country of the duns and lawyers.
2003 Country Life 22 May 120/3 He and Lady Blessington eventually holed up in Gore House, their scandalous existence harried by duns at the door.
2. A demand for payment of a debt. Sometimes also more generally: an insistent request for something.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > [noun] > collecting debts
levy1463
dun1673
debt-collecting1897
1673 F. Kirkman Unlucky Citizen 210 [To] endure the frequent Duns of his Creditors.
1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle III. xcii. 290 The debtor,..finding himself waked with such a disagreeable dun.
1847 A. M. Gilliam Trav. Mexico (new ed.) 149 The..crowd let us pass to our rooms, without our receiving a single dun for alms.
1895 Postal Rec. Aug. 174/3 'Rastus Perkins gets a dun From Peltenham & Pack Ms' ev'ry week an' sometimes twice For his wife's sealskin saque.
1983 A. Holleran Nights in Aruba (1984) v. 155 They did not know who wrote me the letters I received in Jasper (which my mother envied; she received nothing but duns).
2001 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 15 Jan. c1 ‘The outstanding balance of your debt is due today, in full.’ This is called the initial dun.
Compounds
With past participles, forming adjectives designating people, esp. penniless writers or scholars, who are persistently harried by creditors or debt collectors, as dun-chased, dun-haunted, etc. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1840 G. Darley in Wks. of Beaumont & Fletcher I. Introd. p. xiv As fast as a dun-driven poet.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xv. 13 Dun-haunted students.
1861 G. W. Thornbury Brit. Artists I. v. 128 I would almost sooner be poor, drunken, dun-tormented Sherwin.
1909 Bellman 31 July 906/2 A poverty-stricken school, with its..dun-chased principal.
1955 Spectator 14 Oct. 479/2 A number of well-known writers, are—to put it mildly—not dun-haunted.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
dunn.3
/dʌn/, /duːn/, U.S. /dən/, /dun/, Scottish English /dun/, Irish English /ðuːn/ Archaeology.
A type of small fort or fortified dwelling used in the Scottish Highlands and Ireland from the latter part of the 1st millennium b.c. to the early Middle Ages, typically consisting a stone wall around a large house and agricultural buildings; any similar defensive structure, such as a broch or rath; (sometimes also) a hill fort; a promontory fort.Modern archaeological use typically distinguishes precisely between dun, broch, and rath (cf. broch n.1, rath n.1), but in earlier writing dun is often used more loosely.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > fort or fortified town > [noun] > hill-fort
rath1434
dun1703
hill fort1833
royalty1893
1703 M. Martin Descr. W. Islands Scotl. 8 There are several natural and artificial Forts in the Coast of this Island, which are call'd Dun.
1794 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XIII. 334 There are several duns in this parish, most of which were built by the Danes.
1851 D. Wilson Archæol. & Prehistoric Ann. Scotl. iii. iii. 410 This class of strongholds, or duns, as they are locally termed, pertain to a people whose arts were still in their infancy.
1873 E. O'Curry Manners Anc. Irish III. 3 The Dun was of the same form as the Rath, but consisting of at least two concentric circular mounds or walls, with a deep trench full of water between them.
1939 J. R. Reinhard tr. M. Conglinne in Mediaeval Pageant xxiii. 109 The dun was guarded by nine ranks of soldiers.
2014 Stirling Observer (Nexis) 31 Dec. 20 It is the site of an Iron Age hill fort and dun.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
dunadj.
/dʌn/, U.S. /dən/α. Old English–early Middle English dunn, Old English– dun, Middle English donn, Middle English dune, Middle English–1500s don, Middle English–1500s donne, Middle English–1600s dunne, 1500s doune, 1500s–1600s doon, 1800s dumb (Newfoundland, only in sense 4); Scottish pre-1700 done, pre-1700 doune, pre-1700 downe, pre-1700 dune, pre-1700 dvn, pre-1700 dwn, pre-1700 dwne, pre-1700 1700s– dun.
β. Scottish pre-1700 dine, pre-1700 dinne, pre-1700 dyn, pre-1700 1700s dinn, pre-1700 1700s– din.
1.
a. Of a dull or dingy brown colour; spec. of a dull greyish-brown colour, typical of the coats of donkeys, mice, and numerous other animals.The specific sense is predominant in modern English, but application to other shades of brown, esp. where dullness or dinginess is the salient characteristic, can be widely found until at least the 19th cent. On uses in Old English, see the discussion in the etymology.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > brown or brownness > [adjective] > dull brown
duneOE
dunned1430
dunnisha1529
dunnya1529
drab-coloured1715
drab1775
eOE Bounds (Sawyer 449) in W. de G. Birch Cartularium Saxonicum (1887) II. 448 On þone dunnan stan.
OE Ælfric Old Test. Summary: Kings (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1881) I. 390 Ða namon þa deofolgildan þone dunnan oxan, bewurpon mid wudu, on heora wisan to offrunga.
c1350 Nominale (Cambr. Ee.4.20) in Trans. Philol. Soc. (1906) 22* Fauf vache motee et toor, Donn doddyd cove and bole.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 1213 She was not broune ne dunne of hewe [Fr. qui nestoit ne brune ne bise].
1434 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 98 My Don Bullok.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) viii. ix. 26 A dun lyonys skyn with nalys of gold.
1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. B.ii The dun Asse hath trode on both thy feete.
1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 182 The three upright leaves are not so smoakie, yet of a dun purple colour.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 118 A Buffola is of a Dun Colour.
1709 J. Addison Tatler No. 148. ⁋1 Guy Earl of Warwick, who is well known to have eaten up a Dun Cow.
1753 London Evening Post 30 Jan. A large strong Greyhound, never enter'd, of a Dun or Cream Colour.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. ii. 37 Among the herds of dun deer that feed in the glades.
1830 W. Scott Lett. Demonol. & Witchcraft iv. 132 Her colour..is now of a dun leaden hue.
1912 Times of India 8 Feb. 3 (advt.) Peshawar Hounds. Four males and one female. Dun colour.
1959 P. O'Brian Unknown Shore vii. 149 There were pumas, tawny lion-like beasts almost invisible against the dun terrain.
2013 A. Fraser Wife he never Forgot i. 16 Everything was the same dun colour: the tents; her uniform; the Jeeps.
b. Of a horse: (originally) having a coat of any of various shades of brown; (later) having a coat of a greyish-yellow or sandy colour, with a darker stripe along the back and a dark mane and tail. Cf. dun n.1 1.In quot. OE translating post-classical Latin baius, variant of classical Latin badius bay adj.
ΚΠ
OE Prognostics (Tiber.) (2007) 311 Equo baio sedere, expeditionem s[ignifico] : on horse dunnan sittan ferðrunge g[etacnað].
1347 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1836) I. 35 Duos equos.., unus niger et alius dunne.
a1400 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 258 (MED) He rod on a dun hors.
1555 J. Wilkinson tr. L. de Avila y Cuñiga Comm. Wars in Germany sig. P.iiiiv The Emperour rode vpon a darke dun Spanishe horse.
1610 G. Markham Maister-peece i. xxxi. 60 It is most incident to white and dunne horse.
1651 Perfect Diurnall No. 97. 1388 (advt.) A dun Gelding with a black List and black Main.
1722 London Gaz. No. 6087/4 A bright dun manag'd Stone Horse..has been standing at John Hambrow's.
1790 Calcutta Chron. 7 Jan. An excellent dun Saddle Horse, warranted sound and free from vice.
1842 R. H. Barham Smuggler's Leap in Ingoldsby Legends 2nd Ser. 165 Smuggler Bill, he looks behind, And he sees a Dun horse come swift as the wind, And his nostrils smoke and his eyes they blaze Like a couple of lamps on a yellow post-chaise!
1917 Harper's Mag. May 774/2 He bought a horse, a dun stallion with high, peaked withers.
1976 K. Reddick Horses 64 The Criollo stands about 14 hands and is normally dun.
2009 F. Lynghaug Official Horse Breeds Standards Guide 193/1 When examining the color pigment in the hair shafts of both Buckskin and dun horses, the pigment deposits are arranged very much the same.
2. Dark in colour; spec. characterized by or causing a lack of light; murky, gloomy; (of light) dim, obscure. Cf. brown adj. 1a.On uses in Old English, see the discussion in the etymology.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > darkness or gloom > [adjective]
duneOE
thestera900
thestria900
wana1000
darkfulOE
fadec1290
obscurousa1492
black-faced1562
murkyc1590
gloomy1594
tenebrous1599
solemn1604
overcast1616
mungy1632
shady1746
sombrous1754
sombre1760
gloomyish1821
gloomfula1849
ebonine1881
eOE Leiden Gloss. (1906) 11/1 Lapides onichinos, dunnę.
OE Will of Wynflæd (Sawyer 1539) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 14 Hio becwið..Eadgyfe..hyre betstan dunnan tunecan & hyre beteran mentel.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 22510 Þe sun þat es sa bright..It sal becum..Dune [Gött. dim] and blak sum ani hair.
a1450 (?1420) J. Lydgate Temple of Glas (Tanner) (1891) l. 30 Certein skyes donne.
c1500 (?a1475) Sir Landeval (Rawl. C. 86) (1889) l. 470 (MED) The quene and othir ladyes..to her were allso donne As the mone-lyght to the sonne.
1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne ix. lxii. 171 The horrid darknes and the shadowes dunne Dispersed he with his eternall wings.
1637 J. Milton Comus 5 'Tis onely day-light that makes Sin Which these dun shades will ne're report.
1700 R. Blackmore Paraphr. Job iii. 11 Impenetrable Darkness, such as dwelt On the Dun Visage of Primeval Night.
1786 S. Henley tr. W. Beckford Arabian Tale 22 He beheld nothing but a thick, dun cloud, which he took for the most direful of omens.
1851 H. W. Longfellow Golden Legend v. 255 Athwart the vapours, dense and dun.
1922 T. Hardy Late Lyrics & Earlier 6 Hemmed by city walls That outshut the sunlight, In a foggy dun light.
1958 J. Dos Passos Great Days xi. 186 The housefronts that face the harbor under the low dun sky.
2012 West Briton (Nexis) 12 Jan. (Sport section) The sun broke through the dun cloud bank.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > abstraction, absent-mindedness > [adjective]
in one's musesa1500
abstract1509
abstracteda1586
absent1631
thoughtful1656
vacant1680
lost in thought1681
withdrawn1713
dreamy1794
dun1797
preoccupied1801
absent-minded1824
pebble-beached1890
the mind > emotion > suffering > dejection > melancholy > seriousness or solemnity > [adjective]
seinec1330
sober1362
unfeastlyc1386
murec1390
unlaughter-milda1400
sadc1400
solemnyc1420
solemned1423
serious1440
solemnc1449
solenc1460
solemnel?1473
moy1487
demure1523
grave1549
staid1557
sage1564
sullen1583
weighty1602
solid1632
censoriousa1637
(as) grave (also solemn, etc.) as a judge1650
untriumphant1659
setc1660
agelastic1666
austere1667
humourless1671
unlaughing1737
smileless1740
untriflinga1743
untittering1749
steady1759
dun1797
antithalian1818
dreich1819
laughterless1825
unsmiling1826
laughless1827
unfestive1844
sober-sided1847
gleeless1850
unfarcical1850
mome1855
deedy1895
button-down1959
buttoned-down1960
straight-faced1975
1797 A. Seward Lett. (1811) V. 11 Frowning like herself, in dun cogitation.
1860 C. Heavysege Count Filippo iv. iii. 72 In these volumes no Still nook of dun abstraction have I found, Though sedulously sought.
1896 Savoy Apr. 168 Here is a zany with a hatful of dun thoughts formed to make one meditate on one's tomb for a week!
1913 C. E. Montague Morning's War xx. 242 There must, anyhow, have been discord between their dun thoughts and their acted genialities.
4. Canadian regional (chiefly Newfoundland). Of preserved codfish: discoloured (typically brown) due to faulty drying or curing, and thus unsuitable for export. Now historical.Cf. slightly earlier dunfish n. 2.
ΚΠ
1806 in E. R. Delderfield Torbay Story (1951) 82 [1,147 Portuguese quintals of Newfoundland fish] 661 Qtls large, 208 Qtls small, 278 Qtls dumb, wet and broken.
1819 L. A. Anspach Hist. Island Newfoundland xv. 440 It [sc. codfish] may become dun, if left too long in the pile, which happens sometimes from want of sufficient store-room and of an opportunity to ship it off in proper time.
1877 Friend 7 Jan. 163/1 They [sc. codfish] are first ‘culled’, or assorted, into different kinds, known as ‘merchantable’, ‘Madeira’, ‘West India’, and ‘Dun’, or broken fish... The fourth, which is incapable of keeping, is used at home.
1988 L. Abbott Coast Way 34/2 The fish had to be turned at intervals..so that it would not spoil, or go dun.
Compounds
C1.
a. Modifying adjectives and nouns of colour, indicating a shade of the colour that is dull and has a greyish or brownish element, as dun-brown, dun-grey, dun-red, dun-yellow, etc.Compare Old English dunfealu: see discussion in etymology.
ΚΠ
?c1450 in Anglia (1896) 18 330 (MED) Fumiter is erbe..Dun-red is his flour.
a1500 in G. Henslow Med. Wks. 15th Cent. (1899) 124 (MED) Loke þi coloure be noȝt to ȝalow of þe saffroun, but lete it be a donne ȝalowe.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Rousette A certaine ruddie, or dunne-red bird.
1659 Mercurius Politicus No. 584. 693 (advt.) A Dun yellow Nag, about Eleven or Twelve years old.
1766 C. Bisset Med. Ess. & Observ. 24 The face is of a pale, or dun yellowish hue.
1783 J. Lightfoot in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 75 11 All of one uniform dun-brown colour.
1834 S. Cooper Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 516 It does not exhibit the dun yellow colour of the middle coat.
1882 E. O'Donovan Merv Oasis I. 336 The air is thick with dun-brown dust.
1936 J. G. Horne Flooer o' Ling 33 On sic a dour Din-grey December day.
2003 R. Taylor-Perry God who Comes ii. 34 The Cyprian catsnake, a lovely dun-yellow creature.
2010 Independent (Nexis) 2 Oct. 48 The San Joaquin Valley, dun-grey hills, sandy ranges broken by dust-covered orchards and corn.
b. Parasynthetic, typically with reference to the colouring of animals, as dun-coated, dun-striped, etc. See also dun-coloured adj. at Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1800 J. Hurdis Favorite Village iv. 206 The moon..appears In the dun-belted east.
1893 Fortnightly Rev. June 823 I think a dun-coated goat so sweet.
1908 Outing Feb. 591/1 One team derived this leg striping through the mother, a dun-striped mare.
1995 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 30 May c1/1 Norway rats..are the familiar dun-coated, naked-tailed creatures that thrive in landfills and alleys and sewers.
C2. Angling. In the names of artificial flies used in imitation of dusky-coloured natural flies, such as the mayfly dun or March Brown; sometimes also used as the names for such natural flies. See also dun fly n. 1.Compare similar names for flies formed from modified uses of dun n.1 (see sense 3 at that entry).
dun cut n. now historical
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > artificial fly > types of
moor flylOE
drake-flya1450
dub-flya1450
dun cut1496
dun fly1496
louper1496
red fly1616
moorish fly1635
palmer1653
palmer fly1653
red hackle1653
red palmer1653
shell-fly1653
orange fly1662
blackfly1669
dun1676
dun hackle1676
hackle1676
mayfly1676
peacock fly1676
thorn-tree fly1676
turkey-fly1676
violet-fly1676
whirling dun1676
badger fly1681
greenfly1686
moorish brown1689
prime dun1696
sandfly1700
grey midge1724
whirling blue1747
dun drake?1758
death drake1766
hackle fly1786
badger1787
blue1787
brown-fly1787
camel-brown1787
spinner1787
midge1799
night-fly1799
thorn-fly1799
turkey1799
withy-fly1799
grayling fly1811
sun fly1820
cock-a-bondy1835
brown moth1837
bunting-lark fly1837
governor1837
water-hen hackle1837
Waterloo fly1837
coachman1839
soldier palmer1839
blue jay1843
red tag1850
canary1855
white-tip1856
spider1857
bumble1859
doctor1860
ibis1863
Jock Scott1866
eagle1867
highlander1867
jay1867
John Scott1867
judge1867
parson1867
priest1867
snow-fly1867
Jack Scott1874
Alexandra1875
silver doctor1875
Alexandra fly1882
grackle1894
grizzly queen1894
heckle-fly1897
Zulu1898
thunder and lightning1910
streamer1919
Devon1924
peacock1950
1496 Treat. Fysshynge wyth Angle in Bk. St. Albans (rev. ed.) sig. i.iiiv The donne cutte: the body of blacke wull & a yelow lyste after eyther syde.
1676 C. Cotton Compl. Angler 64 We have then another very killing flie, known by the name of the Dun-Cut.
1882 D. Foster Sci. Angler xiv. 240 The Caterpillar, Dun Cut..and any of the large trout flies contained in the fly-book, will be found most deadly.
2001 A. Herd Fly iii. 130 The flies shown are: an Ant Fly, the Dun Cut, a Palmer, the Great Dun, the Hawthorn fly and the Green Drake.
dun drake n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > artificial fly > types of
moor flylOE
drake-flya1450
dub-flya1450
dun cut1496
dun fly1496
louper1496
red fly1616
moorish fly1635
palmer1653
palmer fly1653
red hackle1653
red palmer1653
shell-fly1653
orange fly1662
blackfly1669
dun1676
dun hackle1676
hackle1676
mayfly1676
peacock fly1676
thorn-tree fly1676
turkey-fly1676
violet-fly1676
whirling dun1676
badger fly1681
greenfly1686
moorish brown1689
prime dun1696
sandfly1700
grey midge1724
whirling blue1747
dun drake?1758
death drake1766
hackle fly1786
badger1787
blue1787
brown-fly1787
camel-brown1787
spinner1787
midge1799
night-fly1799
thorn-fly1799
turkey1799
withy-fly1799
grayling fly1811
sun fly1820
cock-a-bondy1835
brown moth1837
bunting-lark fly1837
governor1837
water-hen hackle1837
Waterloo fly1837
coachman1839
soldier palmer1839
blue jay1843
red tag1850
canary1855
white-tip1856
spider1857
bumble1859
doctor1860
ibis1863
Jock Scott1866
eagle1867
highlander1867
jay1867
John Scott1867
judge1867
parson1867
priest1867
snow-fly1867
Jack Scott1874
Alexandra1875
silver doctor1875
Alexandra fly1882
grackle1894
grizzly queen1894
heckle-fly1897
Zulu1898
thunder and lightning1910
streamer1919
Devon1924
peacock1950
?1758 R. Bowlker Art of Angling Improved 58 The Brown Fly, or Dun Drake... This Fly was formerly made of a dun Drake's Feather.
1891 Baily's Mag. Mar. 149/1 He is called cob-fly in Wales, brown drake in Yorkshire, and dun drake in divers places.
1984 E. J. Malone Irish Trout & Salmon Flies ii. 100 There is an Irish Dun Drake, called the Coughlan.
dun hackle n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > artificial fly > types of
moor flylOE
drake-flya1450
dub-flya1450
dun cut1496
dun fly1496
louper1496
red fly1616
moorish fly1635
palmer1653
palmer fly1653
red hackle1653
red palmer1653
shell-fly1653
orange fly1662
blackfly1669
dun1676
dun hackle1676
hackle1676
mayfly1676
peacock fly1676
thorn-tree fly1676
turkey-fly1676
violet-fly1676
whirling dun1676
badger fly1681
greenfly1686
moorish brown1689
prime dun1696
sandfly1700
grey midge1724
whirling blue1747
dun drake?1758
death drake1766
hackle fly1786
badger1787
blue1787
brown-fly1787
camel-brown1787
spinner1787
midge1799
night-fly1799
thorn-fly1799
turkey1799
withy-fly1799
grayling fly1811
sun fly1820
cock-a-bondy1835
brown moth1837
bunting-lark fly1837
governor1837
water-hen hackle1837
Waterloo fly1837
coachman1839
soldier palmer1839
blue jay1843
red tag1850
canary1855
white-tip1856
spider1857
bumble1859
doctor1860
ibis1863
Jock Scott1866
eagle1867
highlander1867
jay1867
John Scott1867
judge1867
parson1867
priest1867
snow-fly1867
Jack Scott1874
Alexandra1875
silver doctor1875
Alexandra fly1882
grackle1894
grizzly queen1894
heckle-fly1897
Zulu1898
thunder and lightning1910
streamer1919
Devon1924
peacock1950
1676 C. Cotton Compl. Angler viii. 76 A little dun Grashopper, the body slender made of a dun Camlet, and a dun hackle at the top.
1799 tr. Laboratory (ed. 6) II. x. 301 Dun-hackle. Body, dun-coloured silk, with a dun cock's hackle.
1921 Amer. Angler Mar. 550/2 We..were soon driven to paying up to 10s. ($2.50) for a neck of dun hackles.
2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 16 Apr. (Outdoors section) d14 It is a bright orange body ribbed with fine gold wire and a turn or two in front of dun hackle.
C3. † dun codfish n. U.S. regional (New England) Obsolete = dunfish n. 1.† dun cow n. English regional (south-western) Obsolete the shagreen ray, Leucoraja fullonica, which is greyish-brown in colour.† dun cur n. (also dunker) [ < dun adj. + cur n. (compare cur n. 3)] Obsolete the (female) common pochard, Aythya ferina; cf. dunbird n.† dunkite n. Obsolete a bird of prey found in England (not identified in early use; perhaps a harrier or buzzard; in quot. 1880 a buzzard).Cf. dun pickle n. † dun-row adj. English regional (Staffordshire) Obsolete attributive designating dark-coloured strata and rock occurring in them. [Compare earlier dunstone n.]
dunbar n. (also more fully dunbar moth) a Palaearctic noctuid moth, Cosmia trapezina, which is pale to dark brown in colour with a contrasting band on the forewing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Caradrinidae > cosmia trapezina (dun-bar)
dunbar1766
1766 M. Harris Aurelian 23 (heading) The dun-bar... Some of this Kind of Moths differ so much from each other, that they do not appear to be of the same Species.
1890 E. A. Ormerod Man. Injurious Insects (ed. 2) 241 The carnivorous caterpillars of the Dunbar Moth..doing great good in clearing away this attack.
1997 M. Young Nat. Hist. Moths (2002) v. 127 Species like the Dunbar (Cosmia trapezina) can be reared on a purely vegetarian diet, but they routinely feed on other larvae.
2012 @CountrysideKev 11 Aug. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) Aldridge Airport moths: less than y'day 36 Small Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, 3 Lge Y U'wing, 4 Dunbar, 2 Dark Arches & 1 Marbled Beauty.
ΚΠ
1839 Farmer's Monthly Visitor 20 Sept. 133/3 The pork barrel still remains, which, with baked beans on Sunday, and fine dun codfish on Saturday, is the most healthful and the most palatable resort.
1852 Boston Daily Atlas 3 Apr. (advt.) Dun Codfish. 50 Qtls. prime table Codfish, for sale.
1908 J. Foster Ballads of Hills 186 Smoked herring, Dun codfish, mackerel galore, All sat in joint convention Just down the bulkhead door.
dun-coloured adj. of a dull greyish-brown colour; (also of a horse) of a sandy yellow colour; cf. senses 1a, 1b.
ΚΠ
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. lv. 99/2 The outward part is Dun coloured.
1674 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation i. 9 Of the Dun Hound..there are few dun-coloured to be found bad.
1868 C. Darwin Variation Animals & Plants I. ii. 55 The English race-horse..is said never to be dun-coloured.
2013 L. Billings Five Billion Years Solitude viii. 199 The Institute occupies a nondescript building of tinted glass and dun-colored brick.
dun courses n. English regional (Yorkshire) (now rare) beds of magnesian limestone, typically brown in colour. [Compare earlier dunstone n. and dun-row adj.]
ΚΠ
1836 J. Phillips Illustr. Geol. Yorks. II. i. 26 These dun ‘courses’ are said to throw the veins which run east and west, four or five fathoms laterally.
1877 A. H. Green Geol. for Students: Physical Geol. (ed. 2) vii. §2. 276 Ribs of Magnesian Limestone are met with in the Carboniferous L. of Yorkshire where they are known as Dun Courses.
1944 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 100 251 Dolomitization along faults is common in Wharfedale, making ‘dun courses’.
ΚΠ
1818 G. Montagu in Mem. Wernerian Nat. Hist. Soc. 2 423 The Shagreen Ray is discriminated by some of the west country fishermen, and is called Dun-Cow.
1898 F. G. Aflalo Sketch Nat. Hist. Brit. Islands 431 A deep-water species, caught chiefly in the summer months, the Shagreen Ray, ‘Dun Cow’, or ‘French Shagreen Ray’ grows to a length of 3 feet, and is more common on the east coast than in the Channel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > subfamily Merginae (duck) > [noun] > member of genus Aythya (miscellaneous) > aythya ferina (pochard)
pochard1552
dunbird1587
smeath1622
red-headed wigeon1668
smee1668
wigeon1668
gold head1704
dun cur1802
redhead1816
red-headed pochard1824
pochard duck1829
smee-duck1862
well plum1862
1802 G. Montagu Ornithol. Dict. Dunker or Dun-cur, vide Pochard.
1824 J. Latham Gen. Hist. Birds X. 334 Pochards..are known also by other names, as Attile Duck, Red-headed Poker, Great-headed Wigeon, Blue Poker, and Dun Cur.
1905 W. P. Westell Brit. Bird Life 209 Why so many names have been bestowed upon the bird I cannot imagine, but in collecting information the following localisations reached me: Atteal Duck, Attle Duck.., Dun Bird, Dun Cur,..and Vare-headed Wigeon.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > family Accipitridae (hawks, etc.) > [noun] > genus Circus (harrier) > circus aeruginosus (marsh harrier)
pittelOE
dunkite1533
harp1671
moor-buzzard1678
duck-hawk1812
dun pickle1817
marsh harrier1831
harpy1838
moor harrier1840
moor hawk1885
1533 T. Elyot Of Knowl. Wise Man iii. f. 47v Of byrdes the Egle, the dunkyte, the Ospraye, and the Cormorant, whiche do rauyn and deuour that, which is necessary for mans lyuynge.
1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. iii. xi. f. 111/1 in R. Holinshed Chron. I The Bussarde, the Kite, the Ringtaile Dunkite.
1579 T. Churchyard Gen. Rehearsall Warres sig. M.ij Milkesoppes, whose manhoode and maners differs, as farre from the graue Soldiour, as a Donkite in courage and condition, differs from a Jerfaucon.
1880 Midland Naturalist 3 145 I have seen one or two [English Kite or Glead] about occasionally, up to ten years ago, but now, I fear, they must be considered as extinct in this neighbourhood... The common Buzzard or Dunkite is in the same case.
dunland n. English regional (south-western) a dark brown soil associated with the culm measures (see culm n.1 3).
ΚΠ
1811 J. Taylor Remarks Present State Devon in T. Risdon Chorogr. Surv. Devon (new ed.) p. iv Dun land..is furnished..by the decomposition of the Schistus rock on which it lies.
1900 Cassell's Gazetteer Great Brit. & Ireland 144/2 Petrockstow, pa[rish] and vil[lage], N. Devon..; soil dunland, overlying clay.
2013 Soil Use & Managem. 29 569 (table) Medium-textured soils. Dunland (Culm Measures). Neath, Sannan, Cherubeer.
dun pickle n. (also dun piddle) English regional (south-western) (now chiefly historical) the marsh harrier, Circus aeruginosus. [The origin of the second element is uncertain. Compare earlier dunkite n.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > family Accipitridae (hawks, etc.) > [noun] > genus Circus (harrier) > circus aeruginosus (marsh harrier)
pittelOE
dunkite1533
harp1671
moor-buzzard1678
duck-hawk1812
dun pickle1817
marsh harrier1831
harpy1838
moor harrier1840
moor hawk1885
1817 E. Forster Catalogus Avium in Insulis Britannicis 4 Falco aervginosvs. Moor Buzzard, Duckhawk, Dun-pickle, or Whiteheaded Harpy.
1863 W. Barnes Gram. & Gloss. Dorset Dial. 54 Dun-piddle... The kite or moor buzzard.
1873 C. Swainson Weather Folk-lore ii. 242 It is said in Wiltshire that the marsh harriers or dunpickles..alight in great numbers on the downs before rain.
1907 S. Heath & W. de C. Prideaux Some Dorset Manor Houses i. 4 A similar hawks' head azure forms the crest, and these heads are said to belong to the Dunpiddle, a species of kite, and thus to contain an allusion to the name of the [Pydele] family.
2006 Eastern Daily Press (Norwich) (Nexis) 19 May Marsh harriers, also known as bald buzzards and the dun pickle in various parts of England, were once common in the UK's lowland reedbeds and marshes.
ΚΠ
1665 D. Dudley Mettallum Martis sig. D5v Now for the names of the iron-stone, the first measure is called the Black-row-graines... The second measure is the Dun-row-graines.
1712 F. Bellers in Philos. Trans. 1710–12 (Royal Soc.) 27 542 A hard grey Iron Oar, called the Dun-Row Iron-Stone.
1727 J. Strachey Observ. Different Strata Earths & Minerals 17/1 (table) Dunrow Batt, a black Substance.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
dunv.1
/dʌn/, U.S. /dən/ Now rare.† 1. intransitive. To grow dark or dim; spec. (in Middle English) to become dull in colour; to lose colour, fade. Obsolete.Quot. lOE is from a late copy of a text composed in the late 9th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > brown or brownness > making or becoming brown > become brown [verb (intransitive)] > become dull brown
dunlOE
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. iv. 246 Swa deð eac se mona mid his blacan leohte, þæt þa beorhtan steorran dunniað on þam heofone.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 23695 Flures..Þat neuir mar sal dunne ne dwine.
a1400 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 250 Wonne..þin hew dunnet and þi sennewess starket.
2. † b. U.S. regional (New England). To cure (cod or a similar fish) by means of a process which imparts a distinctive dark reddish-brown colour (for full description of the process see dunfish n. 1). Cf. earlier dunned adj. 2. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To make (something) dun in colour; to darken or dull the colour of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [verb (transitive)] > make dull
dullc1386
dor1601
dullify1657
mortify1711
dun1766
dullen1832
1766 Ann. Reg. 1765 Projects 135/2 Smoke..disfigures the furniture..and duns the complexion.
1841 T. Smihert in Whistle-Binkie 3rd Ser. 103 Afore the Lammas' tide Had dun'd the birken-tree.
1964 P. A. Jamieson in J. J. Graham & T. A. Robertson Nordern Lichts 14 Da Nort wind nöned an oobed, Da grit seas dunned wi tirnrie, And ran trowe da voe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preserving or pickling > pickle or preserve [verb (transitive)] > cure
cure1633
dun1818
kipper1835
gammon1836
1818 Massachusetts Spy 23 Dec. When cod-fish is dunned, it ought not to be boiled at all.
1850 Rep. Gen. Plan for Promotion of Public & Personal Health (Legislature of Massachusetts) App. xxvii. 507 A fine salted article is sometimes cured and ‘dunned’.
1873 C. Thaxter Isles of Shoals 83 The process of dunning, which made the Shoals fish so famous a century ago, is almost a lost art, though the chief fisherman at Star still ‘duns’ a few yearly.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† dunv.2
Obsolete.
intransitive. To echo or be filled with sound; to resound, ring; = din v. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > resonance or sonority > resound [verb (intransitive)]
singc897
shillc1000
warblea1400
resoundc1425
dun1440
reird1508
rolla1522
rerea1525
peal1593
diapason1608
choir1838
alarm1839
to raise (also lift) the roof1845
whang1854
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 135 Dunnyn in sownde, bundo.
a1450 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Caius) l. 3479 + 5 Al þe castel donyd and rong Off here merþe and off here song.
a1450 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (Caius) (1810) l. 4975 The erthe donyd [1448 Arms dyneth, a1500 Douce denyde] hem undyr.
a1500 (?a1475) Guy of Warwick (Cambr. Ff.2.38) l. 11780 (MED) Soche strokys gaf þe knyghtys stowte, That þe hylle donyed all abowte.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
dunv.3
/dʌn/, U.S. /dən/ 1. transitive. To make insistent or repeated demands on (someone), typically for the repayment of a debt. Frequently with for.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > pay debt [verb (transitive)] > collect debt > demand or force to pay debt
dun?1648
to put (also keep) the screw (also screws) on1659
Shylock1930
?1648 Proposalls Comm. regulating Law 4 A Country Solicitor..is wont to dun the Offices with a pitifull importunity.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia To Dun, is a word lately taken up by fancy, and signifies to demand earnestly, or press a man to pay for commodities taken up on trust, or other debt.
1679 Bacon's Apothegms 59 in T. Tenison Baconiana The advice of the plain old man at Buxton that sold besoms..‘Friend, hast thou no money? borrow of thy back, and borrow of thy belly, they will never ask thee again: I shall be dunning thee every day’.
1707 G. Farquhar Beaux Stratagem iii. 30 I remember the good Days, when we cou'd dun our Masters for our Wages.
1772 London Evening-post 21–23 May You dunned, in a very indecent manner, some persons who had attended your Lectures for their money.
1831 Lincoln Herald 16 Dec. 4/6 Ministers are again dunning the king for more Peers.
1895 Wisconsin Jrnl. Educ. Nov. p. ix/1 The liar whom the editor hates worst of all is the man who, when dunned for a year's subscription, says he only received two or three copies during the year and refuses to pay.
1974 J. A. Michener Centennial xiii. 810 The bank was dunning them to repay a small loan.
2014 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 7 Dec. (Business section) 3 I am now being dunned for $80.63.
2.
a. transitive. To pester or plague (a person) with something unpleasant, esp. repeated arguments or unwanted comments; to assail constantly. Usually with with.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being harassed > harass [verb (transitive)]
tawc893
ermec897
swencheOE
besetOE
bestandc1000
teenOE
baitc1175
grieve?c1225
war?c1225
noyc1300
pursuec1300
travailc1300
to work (also do) annoyc1300
tribula1325
worka1325
to hold wakenc1330
chase1340
twistc1374
wrap1380
cumbera1400
harrya1400
vexc1410
encumber1413
inquiet1413
molest?a1425
course1466
persecutec1475
trouble1489
sturt1513
hare1523
hag1525
hale1530
exercise1531
to grate on or upon1532
to hold or keep waking1533
infest1533
scourge1540
molestate1543
pinch1548
trounce1551
to shake upa1556
tire1558
moila1560
pester1566
importune1578
hunt1583
moider1587
bebait1589
commacerate1596
bepester1600
ferret1600
harsell1603
hurry1611
gall1614
betoil1622
weary1633
tribulatea1637
harass1656
dun1659
overharry1665
worry1671
haul1678
to plague the life out of1746
badger1782
hatchel1800
worry1811
bedevil1823
devil1823
victimize1830
frab1848
mither1848
to pester the life out of1848
haik1855
beplague1870
chevy1872
obsede1876
to get on ——1880
to load up with1880
tail-twist1898
hassle1901
heckle1920
snooter1923
hassle1945
to breathe down (the back of) (someone's) neck1946
to bust (a person's) chops1953
noodge1960
monster1967
1659 H. Neville Shufling, Cutting, & Dealing 5 I am so dun'd with the Spleen, I should think on something else all the while I were a playing.
1711 J. Anderson Countrey-man's Let. to Curat 72 I'm so dunn'd with your Author's demonstrations, that they can take no effect upon me.
1720 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 486 I am dunned with letters upon all hands from London and Edinburgh, urging us to meet, and do somewhat.
1845 Brit. & Foreign Anti-slavery Reporter 19 Mar. 55/1 The planters have for years been dunning us with the affirmation, that wages to free men are a much heavier charge than to keep slaves ever was.
1928 Times of India 17 Mar. 16/1 The pessimists in India and England who have far too long dunned us with jeremiads over the past.
2005 T. F. Godlove in I. Strenski Teaching Durkheim ii. 13 I had been dunned with the standard orthodox drill about Durkheim.
b. transitive. spec. To assail (a person's ears) with constant, wearying noise or chatter, unwanted comments, etc. Frequently with with. Cf. din v. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > make a loud sound or noise [verb (transitive)] > deafen or stun
adinc1275
stonyc1330
astone1340
astony1340
deavea1400
fordeave?1553
blasta1616
stun1621
obtund1664
dunt1672
dun1674
bruit1707
astound1727
steven1862
1674 H. Croft Let. Popish Idolatrie 16 'Tis a main Argument with them, and they are perpetually dunning our ears with it.
1753 School of Man 24 Ismena..concealed her desire, whilst Philemon was dunning everybody's ears with his.
1798 D. Crawford Poems 22 Duns my ears Wi' what was thought could maist defame The Volunteers.
1853 Christian Advocate May 78 These visits..merge at last in the pastor having his ears dunned with the complaints of one party against another, instead of any profitable conversation.
1931 F. Binder Journey in Eng. ii. 19 Our eyes are held up by the headline, our ears are dunned and deafened by advertisement.
2013 F. Dennis Love, of Kind (2014) 6 Our bitter tears and curses dun the ears Of gods gone deaf.
3. transitive. To drive (a particular idea, notion, thought, etc.) into a person's mind by continual or emphatic repetition. Cf. din v. 3.Frequently, esp. in early use, with ears as the prepositional object of into; in these cases the emphasis is sometimes more on the wearying nature of the instruction than on the idea implanted in the mind by it (cf. sense 2b).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > state or declare [verb (transitive)] > continuously
ding1555
to din (something) into (some one's) ears1724
dun1775
ding-dong1818
1775 Strictures, Misc. & Compar. 84 The Protestant and Reformed Boasts of such Churches, for ever and ever dunned into our ears, may very emphatically be alluded to.
1830 Fraser's Mag. June 588/1 Big with the idea of that self-importance which from his earliest years is dunned into his ear.
1880 R. N. Cust Ling. & Oriental Ess. x. 302 The shape of the Continents is so dunned into us at school, that we cannot forget what was beyond and on both sides of the Indus.
1889 J. Thomson Trav. in Atlas & Southern Morocco xxiii. 332 Warnings like these had often been dunned in my ears, but, as before, I remained deaf.
1967 Flying May 73/1 lt methodically tortured innumerable aviation cadets and dunned into their tormented heads the idea that instrument flying had come from Dante's list of infernal punishments for aviators.
2011 N. Rankin Ian Fleming's Commandos ii. 37 ‘Please, God, make me like father’ was the prayer dunned into the boys.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1c1405
n.21628n.31703adj.eOEv.1lOE
v.21440v.3?1648