yawn

Meaning

Verb

1. To open the mouth widely and take a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired or bored, and sometimes accompanied by pandiculation.
2. To say while yawning.
3. To present a wide opening; gape.
4. (obsolete) To open the mouth, or to gape, through surprise or bewilderment.
5. (obsolete) To be eager; to desire to swallow anything; to express desire by yawning.

Noun

1. The action of yawning; opening the mouth widely and taking a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired or bored.
2. (colloquial) A particularly boring event.

Concepts

yawn

gape

yawning

oscitance

oscitancy

open mouth

gaping

yaw

open wide

sigh

be drowsy

feel sleepy

open the mouth

open one’s mouth

boat

canoe

cutter

dinghy

gig

gondola

rowboat

shallop

skiff

gawp

chasma

tire

evaporate

open one’s mouth wide

belch

breakfast

deficient

last name

Pronounced as (IPA)

/jɔːn/

Etymology

Partly from Middle English yanen, yonen, yenen (“to yawn”), from Old English ġeonian, ġinian (“to yawn, gape”), from Proto-West Germanic *ginōn, from Proto-Germanic *ginōną (“to yawn”); and partly from Middle English gonen (“to gape, yawn”), from Old English gānian (“to yawn, gape”), from Proto-West Germanic *gainōn, from Proto-Germanic *gainōną (“to yawn, gape”); both from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰi-, *ǵʰeyh₁- (“to yawn, gape”).
Cognate with North Frisian jåne (“to yawn”), Saterland Frisian jaanje, joanje (“to yawn”), Middle Dutch genen, ghenen (“to yawn”), German Low German jahnen (“to yawn”), German gähnen (“to yawn, gape”), dialectal Swedish gana (“to gape, gawk”), dialectal Norwegian gina (“to gape”).
Compare also Old Church Slavonic зѣѭ (zějǫ) (Russian зи́нуть (zínutʹ), зия́ть (zijátʹ)), Greek χαίνω (khaínō)), Latin hiō, Tocharian A śew, Tocharian B kāyā, Lithuanian žioti, Sanskrit जेह् (jeh)