Etymology

hun

H4U1N1

Today it means: A woman perceived as basic, brash, working class and fond of alcohol. Full definition →

Old English Hūnas ← Late Latin Hunni ← Koine Greek Οὗννοι
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hun · noun1

Clipping of honey with pronunciation spelling.

hun · noun2

Clipping of Hungarian partridge.

Hun · noun3

  1. Koine Greek · derived fromΟὗννοι
  2. Late Latin · derived fromHunni
  3. Old English · inherited fromHūnas
  4. English todayHun

From Old English Hūnas, Hūne (both plural), from Late Latin Hunni, from Koine Greek Οὗννοι (Hoûnnoi), borrowed through Middle Iranian. Cognate with Old Norse húnir, Old High German Hunni. See also etymology of Xiongnu. Compare Sogdian 𐼶𐼴𐼻 (xwn), Sanskrit हूण (hūṇa), and 匈奴 (OC *hoŋ-nâ) (c. 318 BCE) > *hɨoŋ-nɑ (Eastern Han), which Schuessler (2014:264) proposes to be transcription of foreign *Hŏna ~ Hŭna. More at Huns. As a derogatory term for Germans popularized by Rudyard Kipling, reacting to Germany's proposal that the Royal Navy be used to collect debts from Venezuela.

Hun · proper noun4

  1. Khmer · borrowed fromហ៊ុន
  2. Khmer · borrowed fromហ៊ុន
  3. English todayHun

Borrowed from Khmer ហ៊ុន (hun).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.