Adjacent Words

awn definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: slender bristlelike appendage found on the bracts of grasses

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English agen, from Old Norse ?gn; akin to Old High German agana awn, Old English ecg edge — more at edge Date: 12th century one of the slender bristles that terminate the glumes of the spikelet in some cereal and other grasses • awned adjective • awnless adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a stiff bristle growing from the grain-sheath of grasses, or terminating a leaf etc. Derivatives: awned adj. Etymology: ME f. ON ögn

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Awn Awn, n. [OE. awn, agune, from Icel. ["o]gn, pl. agnir; akin to Sw. agn, Dan. avne, Goth. ahana, OHG. agana, G. agen, ahne, chaff, Gr. ?, AS. egla; prob. from same root as E. acute. See 3d Ear. ?1.] (Bot.) The bristle or beard of barley, oats, grasses, etc., or any similar bristlelike appendage; arista. --Gray.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Bristly appendage (of corn or grass), bristle, beard.