Awn Definition

ôn
noun
A slender bristle, especially one at the tip of a glume or lemma in a grass spikelet.
American Heritage
Any bristlelike fiber or fibers, as on the head of barley, oats, or wheat; beard.
Webster's New World

The bristle or beard of barley, oats, grasses, etc., or any similar bristlelike appendage; arista.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Awn

Noun

Singular:
awn
Plural:
awns

Origin of Awn

  • Middle English aw(u)ne, agune, agene, from Old Danish aghn (compare modern avne), from Proto-Germanic *aganō, *ahanō 'chaff' (compare Old English ægnan, Frisian/Dutch agen, German Ahne, Agen), from Proto-Indo-European *aḱanā (compare Old Latin agna 'ear of wheat', Lithuanian ašnìs, Czech osina, Ancient Greek ἄκαινα (ákaina, “spike, prick”), ἄκανος (ákanos, “pine-thistle”), Sanskrit अशनि (aśáni, “thunderbolt, arrow tip”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ (“sharp”). More at edge.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English awne from Old Norse ögn or from Old English agen ak- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

Find Similar Words

Find similar words to awn using the buttons below.

Words Starting With

Words Ending With

Unscrambles

awn