yawn

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) 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.

Synonyms

gape

yawning

oscitance

oscitancy

open mouth

sigh

gaping

open wide

yaw

last name

rowboat

🚣

shallop

belch

tire

chasma

feel sleepy

gawp

open one’s mouth

breakfast

be drowsy

open one’s mouth wide

open the mouth

skiff

boat

⛵

canoe

🛶

cutter

deficient

dinghy

evaporate

gig

gondola

Translations

bâiller

gähnen

bâillement

bostezar

sbadigliare

geeuwen

bocejar

gapen

χασμουριέμαι

sbadiglio

bailler

badallar

bostezo

geeuw

Pronounced as (IPA)

/jɔːn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: yanen

Inherited from Old English: ġinian

Inherited from Middle English: gonen

Inherited from Old English: gānian

Cognate with Northern Frisian: jåne

Cognate with Saterland Frisian: jaanje

Cognate with Middle Dutch: genen

Cognate with German: gähnen

Cognate with Swedish: gana

Cognate with Norwegian: gina

Cognate with Church Slavic: зѣѭ

Cognate with Russian: зи́нуть

Cognate with Tokharian A: śew

Cognate with Tokharian B: kāyā

Cognate with Lithuanian: žioti

In summary

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)