darn
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Darning
See also: darń
English
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /dɑɹn/
- (New England) IPA(key): /daːn/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /dɑːn/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)n
Etymology 1
A minced oath of damn.
Adjective
darn (not comparable)
- (euphemistic) Damn.
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:damned
Derived terms
Translations
damn — see damn
Adverb
darn (not comparable)
- (degree, euphemistic) Damned.
- 1948, Cole Porter (lyrics and music), “Too Darn Hot”:
- But I ain't up to my baby tonight / 'Cause it's too darn hot
- 2021 September 6, Zack Handlen, “Rick And Morty ends its fifth season looking for an escape hatch”, in AV Club:
- Of the two episodes, “Mortshall” is slightly weaker, while still being pretty darn good. I spent a lot of this season bemoaning the weaker entries, and like I said last time, it’s shit like this that makes me complain when stuff gets super dumb.
Interjection
darn
- (euphemistic) Damn.
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:dammit
Derived terms
Translations
Translations
Verb
darn (third-person singular simple present darns, present participle darning, simple past and past participle darned)
Synonyms
Translations
damn — see damn
Noun
darn (plural darns)
- (euphemistic) damn.
- His opinion isn't worth a darn.
Etymology 2
From Middle English dernen (“to keep secret, hide, conceal (a hole)”), from Old English diernan (“to hide, conceal”), from Proto-West Germanic *darnijan, from Proto-West Germanic *darnī (“hidden, secret”). Related to Old English dyrne, dierne (“secret”, adjective).
Verb
darn (third-person singular simple present darns, present participle darning, simple past and past participle darned)
- (transitive, sewing) To repair by stitching with thread or yarn, particularly by using a needle to construct a weave across a damaged area of fabric.
- I need to darn these socks again.
- a. 1746 (date written), Jonathan Swift, “An Essay on the Fates of Clergymen”, in Thomas Sheridan and John Nichols, editors, The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, , new edition, volume V, London: J Johnson, , published 1801, →OCLC, page 116:
- He spent every day ten hours in his closet, in reading his courses, dozing, clipping papers, or darning his stockings; which last he performed to admiration.
- 1920 August 27, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “The Wind Blows”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 141:
- Does Mother imagine for one moment that she is going to darn all those stockings knotted up on the quilt like a coil of snakes ? She's not.
Usage notes
Predominantly used to describe repairs to stockings or socks. The frequency of references to both follows their general prominence, references to stockings being more historically prominent, references to socks being more recently prominent.
Related terms
Translations
stitch with thread
|
Noun
darn (plural darns)
- A place mended by darning.
Further reading
Anagrams
Welsh
Etymology
From Middle Welsh darn, from Proto-Brythonic *darn, from Proto-Celtic *darnos, *darnā, from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to split, separate”). Cognate with Cornish darn, Breton darn, French darne (“piece of fish”) and, more distantly, Polish darń (“sod”).
Pronunciation
Noun
darn m or f (plural darnau)
- a piece, a fragment, a patch
- Synonym: pisyn
- Wyt ti eisiau darn arall o gacen?
- Do you want another piece of cake?
- Rwy wedi prynu darn o dir coedig.
- I've bought a patch of wooded land.
- a part
- Mae eisiau darn newydd i'r car.
- The car needs a new part.
- a coin
- Synonym: darn arian
- Oes gen ti ddarn punt?
- Have you got a pound coin?
- a passage
- Darllenwch y darn cyn ateb y cwestiynau.
- Read the passage before answering the questions.
Derived terms
- tear to pieces (verb)
Mutation
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
| darn | ddarn | narn | unchanged |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||
References
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “darn”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
- Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 90-1