Meanings
plural awns
- The bristle or beard of barley, oats, grasses, etc., or any similar bristlelike appendage; arista.
In one exotic genus, Aristida, the awn is compound, having three forks or branches; another exotic genus, Pappophorum, is remarkable in having the flowering glume armed with a dozen or more awns.
1909, William Hutchinson, Handbook of Grasses, page 12
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂eḱ-“sharp”
- Proto-Indo-European*aḱanā
- Proto-Germanic*aganō
- Old Norseǫgn
- Middle Englishaw(u)ne
- Englishawn
Inherited from Middle English aw(u)ne, agune, from Old Norse ǫgn (compare Danish avne), from Proto-Germanic *aganō, *ahanō (“chaff”) (compare Old English agnu, Dutch agen, German Ahne, Agen), from Proto-Indo-European *aḱanā (compare Latin agna (“ear of wheat”), Lithuanian ašni̇̀s (“edge, blade”), 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.
More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀθήρ
- ἀθήρ (athḗr)the bristle or beard of certain plants
Arabic سَفَاة
- سَفَاة (safāh)the bristle or beard of certain plants
Bulgarian осил
- осил (osil)the bristle or beard of certain plants
Chinese Mandarin 芒
- 芒 (máng)the bristle or beard of certain plants
Czech osina
- osinathe bristle or beard of certain plants
Dutch kafnaald
- kafnaaldthe bristle or beard of certain plants
Esperanto aristo
- aristothe bristle or beard of certain plants
Estonian ohe
- ohethe bristle or beard of certain plants
Finnish vihne
- vihnethe bristle or beard of certain plants
French barbe
- barbethe bristle or beard of certain plants
German Granne
- Grannethe bristle or beard of certain plants
Greek αθέρας, άγανο
- αθέρας (athéras)the bristle or beard of certain plants
- άγανο (ágano)the bristle or beard of certain plants
Hungarian toklász
- toklászthe bristle or beard of certain plants
Icelandic týta
- týtathe bristle or beard of certain plants
Irish colg
- colgthe bristle or beard of certain plants
Italian arista, resta
- aristathe bristle or beard of certain plants
- restathe bristle or beard of certain plants
Korean 까끄라기
- 까끄라기 (kkakkeuragi)the bristle or beard of certain plants
Latin arista
- aristathe bristle or beard of certain plants
Norwegian snerp
- snerpthe bristle or beard of certain plants
Persian دازه, تزه
- دازه (dâze)the bristle or beard of certain plants
- تزه (taze)the bristle or beard of certain plants
Polish ość, wąs
- ośćthe bristle or beard of certain plants
- wąsthe bristle or beard of certain plants
Portuguese arista
- aristathe bristle or beard of certain plants
Russian ость
- ость (ostʹ)the bristle or beard of certain plants
Slovak osť, ostina
- osťthe bristle or beard of certain plants
- ostinathe bristle or beard of certain plants
- osinathe bristle or beard of certain plants
- ôstiethe bristle or beard of certain plants
- fúzythe bristle or beard of certain plants
Spanish arista
- aristathe bristle or beard of certain plants
Swedish borst
- borstthe bristle or beard of certain plants
Turkish kılçık
- kılçıkthe bristle or beard of certain plants
Welsh col
- colthe bristle or beard of certain plants
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with awn
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
awn. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/awn
“awn.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/awn. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “awn,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/awn.
Source: awn on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.