fawn

fawn · noun, adjective, verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dʰeh₁(y)-“to suckle, nurse”
2. Latin · derived fromfētus“offspring, young”
3. Vulgar Latin · derived from*fētōnem
4. Old French · derived fromfaon, foon, feon
5. Middle English · inherited fromfawne, fowne, foun
6. English todayfawn

From Middle English fawne, fowne, foun, from Old French faon, foon, feon, from Vulgar Latin *fētōnem, from Latin fētus (“offspring, young”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suckle, nurse”). Displaced native Old English hindċealf (literally “deer calf”). Doublet of fetus.

fawn · verb, noun²

1. Old English · inherited fromfagnian
2. Middle English · inherited fromfawnen
3. English todayfawn

From Middle English fawnen, from Old English fagnian, alternative form of fæġnian (“to celebrate”), whence Middle English fainen, English fain. Cognate with Old Norse fagna. See also fain.

Words from the same roots