dun

Meaning

Noun

A brownish grey colour.

Adj

Of a brownish grey colour.

Verb

1. To ask or beset a debtor for payment.
2. To harass by continually repeating e.g. a request.

Verb

1. (informal) Eye dialect spelling of done: past participle of do
2. (informal) Pronunciation spelling of don't: contraction of do + not.

Verb

To cure, as codfish, by laying them, after salting, in a pile in a dark place, covered with saltgrass or a similar substance.

Intj

Imitating a deep bass note, such as that found in suspenseful music.

Pronounced as (IPA)

/dʌn/

Etymology

From Middle English dun, dunne, from Old English dunn (“dun, dingy brown, bark-colored, brownish black”), from Proto-Germanic *dusnaz (“brown, yellow”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“to smoke, raise dust”). Cognate with Old Saxon dun (“brown, dark”), Old High German tusin (“ash-gray, dull brown, pale yellow, dark”), Old Norse dunna (“female mallard; duck”).
Alternative etymology derives the Old English word from Brythonic (compare Middle Welsh dwnn (“dark (red)”)), from Proto-Celtic *dusnos (compare Old Irish donn and Scottish Gaelic donn (“brown”)), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰews- (compare Old Saxon dosan (“chestnut brown”)). More at dusk.