Adjacent Words

Fawn definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FAWN, n. A young deer; a buck or doe of the first year.
FAWN, v.i. To bring forth a fawn.
FAWN, v.i. [See Fain.]
1. To court favor, or show attachment to, by frisking about one; as, a dog fawns on his master.
2. To soothe; to flatter meanly; to blandish; to court servilely; to cringe and bow to gain favor; as a fawning favorite or minion.
My love, forbear to fawn upon their frowns.
FAWN, n. A servile cringe or bow; mean flattery.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a color or pigment varying around a light grey-brown color; "she wore dun" [syn: dun, greyish brown, grayish brown, fawn]
2: a young deer v
1: show submission or fear [syn: fawn, crawl, creep, cringe, cower, grovel]
2: try to gain favor by cringing or flattering; "He is always kowtowing to his boss" [syn: fawn, toady, truckle, bootlick, kowtow, kotow, suck up]
3: have fawns; "deer fawn"

Merriam Webster's

I. intransitive verb Etymology: Middle English faunen, from Old English fagnian to rejoice, from fζgen, fagan glad — more at fain Date: 13th century 1. to show affection — used especially of a dog 2. to court favor by a cringing or flattering manner • fawner noun • fawningly adverb Synonyms: fawn, toady, truckle, cringe, cower mean to behave abjectly before a superior. fawn implies seeking favor by servile flattery or exaggerated attention <waiters fawning over a celebrity>. toady suggests the attempt to ingratiate oneself by an abjectly menial or subservient attitude <toadying to his boss>. truckle implies the subordination of oneself and one's desires or judgment to those of a superior <truckling to a powerful lobbyist>. cringe suggests a bowing or shrinking in fear or servility <a cringing sycophant>. cower suggests a display of abject fear in the company of threatening or domineering people <cowering before a bully>. II. noun Etymology: Middle English foun, from Anglo-French feun, foon young of an animal, from Vulgar Latin *feton-, feto, from Latin fetus offspring — more at fetus Date: 14th century 1. a young deer; especially one still unweaned or retaining a distinctive baby coat 2. kid 1 3. a light grayish brown • fawny adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n., adj., & v. --n. 1 a young deer in its first year. 2 a light yellowish brown. --adj. fawn-coloured. --v.tr. (also absol.) (of a deer) bring forth (young). Phrases and idioms: in fawn (of a deer) pregnant. Etymology: ME f. OF faon etc. ult. f. L fetus offspring: cf. FOETUS 2. v.intr. 1 (often foll. by on, upon) (of a person) behave servilely, cringe. 2 (of an animal, esp. a dog) show extreme affection. Derivatives: fawner n. fawning adj. fawningly adv. Etymology: OE fagnian, fægnian (as FAIN)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fawn Fawn, n. A servile cringe or bow; mean flattery; sycophancy. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fawn Fawn, n. [OF. faon the young one of any beast, a fawn, F. faon a fawn, for fedon, fr. L. fetus. See Fetus.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) A young deer; a buck or doe of the first year. See Buck. 2. The young of an animal; a whelp. [Obs.] [The tigress] . . . followeth . . . after her fawns. --Holland. 3. A fawn color.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fawn Fawn, a. Of the color of a fawn; fawn-colored.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fawn Fawn, v. i. [Cf. F. faonner.] To bring forth a fawn.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Fawn Fawn, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fawned; p. pr. & vb. n. Fawning.] [OE. fawnen, fainen, fagnien, to rejoice, welcome, flatter, AS. f[ae]gnian to rejoice; akin to Icel. fagna to rejoice, welcome. See Fain.] To court favor by low cringing, frisking, etc., as a dog; to flatter meanly; -- often followed by on or upon. You showed your teeth like apes, and fawned like hounds. --Shak. Thou with trembling fear, Or like a fawning parasite, obeyest. --Milton. Courtiers who fawn on a master while they betray him. --Macaulay.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(fawns, fawning, fawned) 1. Fawn is a pale yellowish-brown colour. ...a light fawn coat. COLOUR 2. A fawn is a very young deer. The fawn ran to the top of the ridge. N-COUNT 3. If you say that someone fawns over a powerful or rich person, you disapprove of them because they flatter that person and like to be with him or her. People fawn over you when you're famous... Nauseatingly fawning journalism that's all it is. VERB: V over/on/around n, V-ing [disapproval]

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fon.

See DEER.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. Young deer. II. v. n. Crouch, cringe, bow, stoop, kneel, creep, dangle, fall on one's knees, curry favor, play the sycophant.

Moby Thesaurus

Cape elk, Virginia deer, abase, antelope, apple-polish, be confined, bear, bear a child, bear young, beige, bend the knee, birdling, blandish, bootlick, bow, bow and scrape, brown, brownish, brownish-yellow, brunet, buck, butter up, cajole, calf, calve, camel, camelopard, caribou, cast, cater to, catling, cave, chick, chickling, chicky, chocolate, cinnamon, coax, cocoa, cocoa-brown, coffee, coffee-brown, colt, cotton, court, cower, crawl, creep, cringe, crouch, cub, curry favor, dance, debase, deer, deerlet, defer, demean, doe, dogie, drab, dromedary, drop, duckling, dun, dun-brown, dun-drab, ecru, eland, elk, fallow deer, farrow, fawn-colored, flatter, fledgling, foal, fryer, fuscous, gazelle, giraffe, give birth, gnu, gosling, grege, grovel, hart, hartebeest, have, have a baby, have young, hazel, hind, invite, kaama, khaki, kid, kit, kitten, kneel, kowtow, labor, lamb, lambkin, lick the dust, lickspittle, lie in, litter, lurid, make up to, moose, mule deer, musk deer, nest, nestling, nut-brown, okapi, olive-brown, olive-drab, pander to, piglet, pigling, polliwog, pullet, pup, puppy, red deer, reindeer, roe, roe deer, roebuck, seal, seal-brown, sepia, shoat, slaver, snuff-colored, sorrel, springbok, stag, stoop, submit, suck up to, tadpole, tan, taupe, tawny, throw, toadeat, toady, toast, toast-brown, travail, truckle, umber, umber-colored, walnut, walnut-brown, weaner, wheedle, whelp, wildebeest, woo, yean, yeanling, yellowish-brown, yield