don

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɒn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /dɑn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophones: Don, dawn (with cot-caught merger)
• Rhymes: -ɒn

Etymology 1

From Latin dominus (“lord, head of household”), akin to Italian don, Sicilian don, Spanish don; from domus (“house”). Doublet of dom, domine, dominie, and dominus.

Noun

don (plural dons)

2. A university professor, particularly one at Oxford or Cambridge.
   • 1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], chapter I, in Tom Brown at Oxford: , part 1st, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC, page 12:

     No one feeds at the high table except the dons and the gentlemen-commoners, who are undergraduates in velvet caps and silk gowns[.]

   • 1876, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XVI, in Daniel Deronda, volume I, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book II (Meeting Streams), page 321:

     The truth is, unless a man can get the prestige and income of a Don and write donnish books, it’s hardly worth while for him to make a Greek and Latin machine of himself and be able to spin you out pages of the Greek dramatists at any verse you’ll give him as a cue.

3. An employee of a university residence who lives among the student residents.
4. A mafia boss.
5. A (usually Spanish or Italian) title of respect to a man, especially a lord or nobleman.

   Coordinate term: donna

   • 1845 September, Charles F. Ellerman, “Reminiscences of the Island of Cuba”, in Simmonds’s Colonial Magazine, volume VI, number 21, London, chapter VIII (Mrs. Smith seized with furor scribendi, writes a lengthy Epistle to her dear Cousin Mrs. Margery Stubbs), page 79:

     Wo often of an evening go and hear the band in the square opposite the captin-giniral’s palace—it is here were the dons and donnas and all the fashionables assemble, and I must say it’s amusing.

   • 1906 August, Harry H. Dunn, “Afoot in California”, in Western Field, volume 9, number 1, San Francisco, Calif., page 481, column 1:

     Time was when the walker amid California vales could stop at some cool cellar hid in these western hills and pour from great flagons a shimmering glass of cool red wine. Nowadays, the hand of the law has stepped in and spoiled all this, because the hordes of wanderers who have come west have made of these resting places questionable resorts—made of them places that the Spanish dons and donnas never dreamed of.

   • 2019, Caleb Stewart Rossiter, “Taking the Handles: Debating History and Morality”, in The Turkey and the Eagle: The Struggle for America’s Global Role, New York, N.Y.: Algora Publishing, →ISBN, page 283:

     A sustained media campaign against American domination would require the support of just a few dot-com dons and donnas or hedge fund phenoms who want to head straight for structural change and skip the reformist way stations supported by philanthropic business leaders like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Ben Cohen, Gary Hirshberg, and the later[ ]Paul Newman’s family.

6. (MLE) Any man, bloke, dude.
   • 2017 October 31, Loski (lyrics and music), “Olympic Chinging”‎, from 1:55:

     I’m confused like who’s this don
     .22 bells and that who’s on

Derived terms

• donnish
• donny (“bloke”)

Related terms

• donzel

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English don (“to put on”), from Old English dōn on. Compare also doff, dup, dout.

Verb

don (third-person singular simple present dons, present participle donning, simple past and past participle donned)

1. (transitive) To put on clothing; to dress (oneself) in an article of personal attire.

   Synonyms: put on, clothe, dight, enrobe; see also Thesaurus:clothe

   Antonym: doff

   To don one's clothes.

   • 1886-88, Richard Francis Burton, The Supplemental Nights to the Thousand Nights and a Night:

     Now when he had reached the King's capital wherein was Alaeddin, he alighted at one of the Kháns; and, when he had rested from the weariness of wayfare, he donned his dress and went down to wander about the streets, where he never passed a group without hearing them prate about the pavilion and its grandeur and vaunt the beauty of Alaeddin and his lovesomeness, his liberality and generosity, his fine manners and his good morals.

   • 2022 March 23, Paul Bigland, “HS2 is just 'passing through'”, in RAIL, number 953, page 41:

     Having donned our PPE, we walk through the site to the prefab that controls access to the tunnel.

Derived terms

• donner

Translations

See also

• put on
• wear

See also

• ram-don (etymologically unrelated)

Anagrams

• NOD, ODN, nod

Albanian

Alternative forms

• do (Standard Albanian)

Etymology

Gheg variant of Standard Albanian do (“(it) wants, needs, loves, likes”) and do (“you want, need, love, like”).

Verb

don (aorist dashta, participle dashtë) (Gheg forms)

1. you want, need

   A don me shkue? (Gheg) ― Do you want to go?

2. you like

   Rita e don Gjergjin. (Gheg) ― Rita likes/wants George.

3. you love
4. it wants, needs
5. it likes
6. it loves

Conjugation

• Standard Albanian conjugation:

Related terms

Azerbaijani

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Proto-Turkic *tōn. Cognate with Chuvash тум (tum).

Noun

don (definite accusative donu, plural donlar)

1. dress (worn by women)

   Synonym: paltar

2. gown (loose, flowing upper garment)
3. (figurative) raiment, attire, garb, habiliments
4. appearance, look (of a person)

Declension

Derived terms

• donatmaq (“adorn”) (dialectal)
  • donanmaq
• donlu

Related terms

• donanma (“fleet; navy”)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Turkic *doŋ (“frozen; frost”). See Bashkir туң (tuñ) for more cognates.

Adjective

don (comparative daha don, superlative ən don)

1. frozen, congealed

Noun

don (definite accusative donu, plural donlar)

1. frost
2. ice-covered ground, black ice

Derived terms

• donmaq
  • dondurmaq
    • dondurma (“ice-cream”)

Further reading

• “don” in Obastan.com.

Bambara

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

don

1. day

Etymology 2

Verb

don (tone dòn)

1. (intransitive) to enter
2. (transitive) to put (something into something)
3. to put on, wear (of clothing)

Derived terms

• donda

Etymology 3

Predicative

don (tone dòn)

1. marks the predicate

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Breton

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *duβn, from Proto-Celtic *dubnos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰubʰnós.

Adjective

don

1. deep

Casiguran Dumagat Agta

Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *dahun, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *dahun.

Noun

dön

1. leaf (of a plant)

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish don, which is from Latin dominus (“lord”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Rhymes: -on

Noun

don m anim

1. (in Italian environment) (Originally a title of honour of the Pope, later used for all priests and later for aristocrats)

   don Giovanni ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

2. (Spanish noble title)
3. (title of respect in front of Spanish given names)

   don José ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

4. don (maffia boss)
   • 2003, Miroslav Nožina, Mezinárodní organizovaný zločin v České republice, Themis, →ISBN, page 156:

     Roku 1876 mafiánský don Raffaele Palizollo reformoval dosavadní strategii nevměšování se mafie do veřejného života.

     In 1876 mafia don Raffaele Palizollo reformed the previous strategy of mafia not interfering into public affairs.

   • 2012, Hana Pernicová, transl., Kolumbova záhada‎, Ostrava: Domino, translation of original by Steve Berry, →ISBN, page 412:

     Simon se zatvářil stejně jako drogový don před čtyřmi dny.

     Simon had the same expression as the drug mafia don four days ago.

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

• Rejzek, Jiří (2015) “don”, in Český etymologický slovník [Czech Etymological Dictionary] (in Czech), 3rd (revised and expanded) edition, Praha: LEDA, →ISBN, page 153
• "don" in Věra Petráčková, Jiří Kraus et al. Akademický slovník cizích slov. Academia, 1995, ISBN 80-200-0497-1, page 175.
• don in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• don in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Anagrams

• dno

Dupaningan Agta

Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *dahun, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *dahun.

Noun

don

1. leaf (of a plant)

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French don, from Latin dōnum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔ̃/

• Audio (France)

  (file)

• Homophones: dom, dons, dont

Noun

don m (plural dons)

1. gift, talent, knack
2. gift (present)
3. donation

Derived terms

• don de sang
• don du ciel

Derived terms

• faire don

Further reading

• “don”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Galician

Etymology

From Late Latin domnus, from Latin dominus (“lord”). Cognates include Spanish don.

Noun

don m (plural dons, feminine dona, feminine plural donas)

1. sir, mister

Synonyms

• (courtesy treatment): señor

Related terms

• dono

Further reading

• “don” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Irish

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• do’n (superseded)
• ’on (colloquial)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d̪ˠənˠ/
• (Galway) IPA^(key): /ɡənˠ/

Contraction

don

1. Contraction of do an.

   Thug mé don bhuachaill é. ― I gave it to the boy.

   Tá mé ag dul don Spáinn. ― I'm going to Spain.

Usage notes

This contraction is obligatory, i.e. *do an never appears uncontracted. It triggers lenition of a following consonant other than d, s, or t.

Related terms

Etymology 2

From Old Irish don (“misfortune, evil”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d̪ˠɔnˠ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /d̪ˠʌnˠ/

Noun

don

1. misfortune

Usage notes

Used only in a few stock maledictions such as Do dhon is do dhuais ort!, Don is duais ort!, Mo dhon is mo dhograinn ort! (all basically "bad luck to you!") and Don d’fhiafraí ort! (“Don’t be so inquisitive!”).

Derived terms

Mutation

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “don”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Entries containing “don” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “don” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

Italian

Alternative forms

• dom (archaic)

Etymology

From a shortening of an earlier donno, from dom'no (used by Dante), from Latin domnus < dominus. Compare Sicilian don.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɔn/
• Rhymes: -ɔn
• Hyphenation: dòn

Noun

don m (invariable)

1. Father (a title given to priests)
2. a title of respect to a man

Descendants

• → French: dom

Jamaican Creole

Etymology

From English don, particularly in the sense of a crime boss.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdan/
• Hyphenation: don

Noun

don (plural don dem, quantified don)

1. don, leader, community leader, crime boss, head of a garrison (leader)

   Dem figet seh mi a di one don?

   Have they forgotten that I'm the one true leader?

   From di word start go roun' seh him want turn di don, a whole heap a man start pree him and warn him fi be careful.

   As soon as word got around that he wanted to become the community leader, a lot of people took notice of him and warned him to be careful.

Derived terms

• don dada

Japanese

Romanization

don

1. Rōmaji transcription of どん
2. Rōmaji transcription of ドン

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English dōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dōn, from Proto-Germanic *dōną.

Alternative forms

• donne, doyn, do, doon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /doːn/
• Rhymes: -oːn

Verb

don

1. To do, perform (an activity)
2. To complete, finish
3. To make, create
4. To put, place, position, raise
5. To remove, take away
6. To go or move (in a specified direction)
7. To behave (in a specified manner)
8. (auxiliary) To cause (an action or state)
9. (auxiliary) Emphasises the verb that follows it
10. (auxiliary) Stands in for a verb in a dependent clause

Usage notes

As in modern English, several uses of this verb are highly idiomatic.

Conjugation

Derived terms

• doer

Descendants

• English: do
• Geordie English: de, dee, div
• Scots: dae, dee
• Yola: doone, deen

References

• “dọ̄n, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-12.
• Wright, Joseph, and Elizabeth Mary Wright. An Elementary Middle English Grammar, p193. Oxford University Press, 1923.

Etymology 2

From Old English dōn on.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔn/

Verb

don

1. (Late Middle English) to put on

Conjugation

Descendants

• English: don
• Yola: don

References

• “don, v.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Middle Low German

Etymology

From Old Saxon dōn.

Verb

dôn

1. to do

Conjugation

Irregular: present 1sg dô, 2sg deist (dôst, dṏst), 3sg deit (dôt, dṏt), pl. dôn, dôt, dṏt, preterit 1sg dede, 2sg dêdest, 3sg dede, pl. dêden, past participle gedân, dân

Nigerian Pidgin

Etymology

From English done.

Verb

don

1. have (perfect aspect auxiliary)

   Wi don chop. ― We have eaten.

Northern Kurdish

Alternative forms

• dihn, dohin, dohn, duhn, dwîn

Etymology

From Arabic دُهْن (duhn). But compare Turkish donyağı, don yağı (“tallow”), which is said to be from the root of donmak (“to freeze”).

Noun

don m

1. (melted) fat, grease

   Synonym: bez

   Bîne nanê genimî, duhn bide, bêxe leşê min, ezê sax bim. ― Bring wheat bread, spread it with fat, put it on my body and I shall be cured .

References

• Chyet, Michael L. (2020) “don”, in Ferhenga Birûskî: Kurmanji–English Dictionary (Language Series; 1), volume I, London: Transnational Press, page 201b
• Gülensoy, Tuncer (1994) “don”, in Kürtçenin Etimolojik Sözlüğü [Etymological Dictionary of Kurdish]‎ (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, page 65

Northern Sami

Etymology 1

From Proto-Samic *tonë.

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈton/

Pronoun

don

1. you (singular)

Inflection

See also

Further reading

• Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎, Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈtoːn/

Determiner

dōn

1. accusative/genitive singular of dōt

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin dōnum.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn)

  (file)

Noun

don m (plural dons)

1. gift (something given to another voluntarily)
2. gift (a talent or natural ability)
3. donation (a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause)

Related terms

• dar
• donar

Old English

Alternative forms

• doan — Anglian
• doa — Mercian, Northumbrian
• doæ, doe — Northumbrian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *dōn (“to do”). The exact development of past tense forms dyde, dydest, and dydon is unexplained, for such forms have -y- instead of expected *-e- (*dede, *dedest, *dedon) from Proto-Germanic past stem *ded-/*dēd-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /doːn/

Verb

dōn

1. to do

   Hwæt dēst þū?

   What are you doing?

   • c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English

     Iċ dyde swā iċ meahte.

     I did what I could.

   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 17:12

     Hīe dydon swā hwæt swā hīe woldon.

     They did whatever they wanted.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 41:55

     Gangaþ tō Iosepe and dōþ swā hwæt swā hē ēow seċġe.

     Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.

   • c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English

     Ǣte þū tōdæġ? Iċ dyde.

     Did you eat today? I did.

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "Sermon on the Beginning of Creation"

     Þæt ċild wēox swā swā ōðru ċildru dōþ.

     The child grew as other children do.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 3:8

     Þā behȳdde Adam hine, and his wīf ēac swā dyde, fram Godes ġesihte.

     Then Adam hid himself from God's sight, and his wife did so too.

2. to make, cause
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Passion of St. Bartholomew the Apostle"

     Þū dydest mīnne brōðor his god forlǣtan.

     You made my brother renounce his god.

   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 3:3

     Ġeġearwiaþ Dryhtnes weġ, dōþ his sīðas rihte.

     Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 4:19

     Folgiaþ mē, and iċ dō þæt ġit bēoþ manna fisċeras.

     Follow me, and I'll make you fishers of people.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 42:36

     Þā cwæþ Iācōb heora fæder, "Bearnlēasne ġē habbaþ mē ġedōnne. Næbbe iċ Iōsēp and Simeon is on bendum; nū ġē nimaþ Beniamin æt mē."

     Then Jacob, their father, said, "You have made me childless. I don't have Joseph and Simeon is in chains; now you're taking Benjamin from me."

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Nativity of St. Andrew the Apostle"

     Swā swā hī ǣr mid nette fixodon on sǣlicum yðum, swa dyde Crist þæt hī siððan mid his heofonlican lāre manna sawla gefixodon; forðan ðe hī ætbrudon folces menn fram flæsclicum lustum, and fram woruldlicum gedwyldum to staðolfæstnysse lybbendra eorðan, þæt is to ðam ecan eðle, be ðam cwæð se witega þurh Godes Gast, "Ic asende mine fisceras, and hī gefixiað hī; mine huntan, and hī huntiað hī of ælcere dune and of ælcere hylle."

     As they before with a net had fished on the sea waves, so Christ caused them afterwards by his heavenly lore to fish for the souls of men; for they withdrew the people from fleshly lusts, and from worldly errors to the stability of the earth of the living, that is, to the eternal country, of which the prophet, through God's Spirit, said, "I will send my fishers, and they shall fish for them; my hunters, and they shall hunt them from every down and from every hill."

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Memory of the Saints"

     Se feorða leahtor is ira þæt is on englisc weamodnyss. Seo deð þæt se man nah his modes ġeweald and macað manslihtas and mycele yfelu.

     The fourth sin is Ira, that is in English, Anger; it causeth that a man have no power over his mind, and bringeth about manslaughters and many evils.

3. to put
   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Mark 7:33

     Hē dyde his fingras on his ēaran.

     He put his fingers in his ears.

   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 26:52

     Þā cwæþ sē Hǣlend tō him, "Dō þīn sweord eft on his sċēaðe."

     Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back in its sheath."

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 9:23

     Hwæt þā Sēm and Iapheth dydon ānne hwītel on heora sċuldran and ēodon underbæc.

     So then Shem and Japheth put a blanket on their shoulders and walked backwards.

4. to add
   • c. 1011, Byrhtferth, Manual‎:

     Blōtmōnaþ hæfþ seofon rēgulārēs. Dō þrītiġ þǣr tō, þonne bēoþ þæt seofon and þrītiġ.

     November has seven regulares. Add thirty to that, and it is thirty-seven.

5. to take off, remove
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Exodus 3:5

     Dō þīn ġesċȳ of þīnum fōtum! Sōðlīċe sēo stōw þe þū on stentst is hālgu eorðe.

     Take your shoes off your feet! The place you're standing on is holy ground.

6. to treat someone (+ dative) a certain way
   • c. 973, Æthelwold, translation of the Rule of Saint Benedict

     XXXV. Be þām þæt man eallum munucum ġelīċe dōn sċyle.

     35. On how all monks should be treated equally.

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Ēalā hū yfele mē dōþ maniġe weoroldmenn mid þām þæt iċ ne mōt wealdan mīnra āgenra þēawa.

     Many worldly people treat me so badly, I'm not allowed to use my own strengths.

   • c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Luke 16:19

     Nū iċ neom wierðe þæt iċ bēo þīn sunu nemned. Dō mē swā ānne of þīnum ierðlingum.

     I don't deserve to be called your son anymore. Treat me as one of your fieldworkers.

7. to give (+dative)
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Chair of Saint Peter"

     ...Næbbe ic seolfor ne gold, ic þē dō þæt ic hæbbe...

     ...I have neither silver nor gold, I give thee that I have...

Conjugation

Derived terms

Descendants

• Middle English: don, donne, doyn, do, doon
  • English: do
  • Geordie English: de, dee, div
  • Scots: dae, dee
  • Yola: doone, deen

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “don”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old French

Alternative forms

• dun

Etymology

From Latin donum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dun/

Noun

don oblique singular, m (oblique plural dons, nominative singular dons, nominative plural don)

1. gift

Descendants

• French: don
• → Middle English: done

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Etymology 1

Univerbation of di (“of/from”) +‎ in (“the sg”)

Article

don

1. of/from the sg

Alternative forms

• dond, dont, dun, dund

Etymology 2

Univerbation of do (“to/for”) +‎ in (“the sg”)

Article

don

1. to/for the sg

Alternative forms

• dond, dont, dun, dund

Etymology 3

Noun

don (gender unknown)

1. misfortune, evil

Descendants

• Irish: don

Mutation

Old Saxon

Alternative forms

• doan, dūan, duon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *dōn.

Verb

dōn

1. to do

Conjugation

Descendants

• Middle Low German: dôn
  • Low German: deoen (Paderbornisch), dohn (Münsterländisch); doon

Old Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /(ˈ)don/

Etymology 1

From Late Latin dom, from domnus (“master, sir”), from Latin dominus, from domus (“a house”).

Noun

don m (plural dones)

1. (honorific) sir, master; a title prefixed to male given names
   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 1r:

     [R]emont por la gracia de dios. arçobispo de Toledo. a don almeric. arçidiano de antiochia con grant amor ſalut ⁊ amidtad.

     Remont, by the Grace of God archbishop of Toledo, to master Almerich, archdeacon of Antioch, with great love, haleness and goodwill.

Descendants

• Spanish: don (see there for further descendants)

Etymology 2

From Latin dōnum (“a gift”), from dō (“I give”).

Noun

don m (plural dones)

1. gift, talent
   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 65r:

     eſtonces el rey dio grandes dones adaniel e diol ſennoria ſobre ſos ſabios e la cibdat de babilonia […]

     Then the king gave Daniel great gifts and gave him rulership over his wise men and the city of Babylon

Descendants

• Spanish: don

Etymology 3

Shortening of dont.

Adverb

don

1. Apocopic form of dont; where
   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 56r:

     Euino el ppħa iſaẏas e dixo al reẏ ezechias dõ uinieron eſtos barones. ⁊ q̃ te dixieron dixo el de tierra de luen uinieron de babilonia.

     And the prophet Isaiah came and said to king Hezekiah, “Where did these men come from, and what did they say to you?” He said, “From a distant land. They came from Babylon”.

Descendants

• Spanish: do

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• dhan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t̪ɔn̪ˠ/
• Hyphenation: don

Preposition

don (+ dative)

1. (higher register) Contraction of do an.

   Chaidh i don bhùth. ― She went to the shop.

Usage notes

• Like the bare article an, don triggers lenition if the following noun begins with f, c and g.
• In the modern language this form is considered to be high register, with dhan being generally more common.

References

• Colin Mark (2003) “do”, in The Gaelic-English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 235

Sicilian

Alternative forms

• ron

Etymology

From a shortening of an earlier donnu (“master, sir”), from Latin domnus < dominus, from domus (“a house”), from Proto-Indo-European *dṓm (“a house”), from root Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“to build”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔn/ (Standard)
• IPA^(key): /ɾɔn/ (Rhotacized)
• Rhymes: -on
• Hyphenation: don

Noun

don m (inv)

1. (obsolete) sir, master, lord
2. (obsolete) social honorary title referred to men possessing patrimonial assets
3. a title of respect to a man, especially older, prefixed to first names

Coordinate terms

• (gender): donna
• (age): carusu

Related terms

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdon/
• Rhymes: -on
• Syllabification: don

Etymology 1

Inherited from Late Latin dom (“a courtesy title for monks and abbots”), from domnus (“master, sir”), from Classical Latin dominus, from domus (“a house”), from Proto-Indo-European *dṓm (“a house”), from root Proto-Indo-European *dem- (“to build”).

Noun

don m (plural dones, feminine doña, feminine plural doñas)

1. (obsolete) sir, master, lord
2. a title of respect to a man, prefixed to first names
   • 1844, José Zorrilla, Don Juan Tenorio‎, lines 57–58:

     [Y] dime: don Luis Mejías ¿ha venido hoy?

     nd tell me: mister Luis Mejía, did he come today?

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• → Catalan: don
• → Czech: don
• → Tagalog: Don

Etymology 2

From Latin dōnum (“a gift”) (whence English donation), from dō (“to give”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to give”).

Noun

don m (plural dones)

1. gift, present
2. gift, talent, knack

   Cielos, tu tío realmente tiene un don para gastar todo su dinero en el casino, ¿no?

   Yikes, your uncle really has a knack for blowing all his money in the casino, doesn't he?

Usage notes

• Like with the English word "knack", don can be used to describe a positive gift or talent, or a negative one like a bad habit or a neutral tendency to do something.

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

• “don”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From Dutch dom.

Adjective

don

1. stupid

Noun

don

1. stupidity

   Sranan odo: don no abi dresi.

   Surinamese proverb: there is no medicine for stupidity.

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Low German don (“"doing," work, thing”), from Low German don (“do”), which is cognate with English do, German tun.

Noun

don n

1. a tool, an implement

   Synonym: (colloquial) doning

Declension

Derived terms

• don efter person
• dona
• fordon
• gripdon
• skodon
• åkdon

References

• don in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• don in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• don in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• ond

Turkish

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish طون (don), from Proto-Turkic *tōn.

Noun

don

1. underpants
2. jogging pants
3. pants
4. shorts

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish طوڭ (doñ), from Proto-Turkic *toŋ. Cognate with Chuvash тӑм (tăm), also related to Chinese 凍／冻 (dòng).

Noun

don

1. frost

Verb

don

1. second-person singular imperative of donmak

Related terms

• donma
• donmak

References

Uzbek

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian دانه (dāna).

Noun

don

1. grain

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key):
• (Huế) IPA^(key):
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key):

• Audio (Hà Nội)

  (file)

Noun

(classifier con) don

1. Atherurus macrourus, Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine

   Synonym: đon

West Makian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /d̪on̪/

Noun

don

1. a cape, headland

References

• Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎, Pacific linguistics

Yogad

Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *dahun, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *dahun.

Noun

don

1. leaf (of a plant)

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English don, from Old English dōn on.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔn/

Verb

don

1. To put on, as clothes, dress.

   Synonyms: deen, dieeght

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 36

Zazaki

Noun

don

1. kind of bread

Zou

Verb

don

1. drink

References

• http://www.languageinindia.com/feb2013/zouphonologyfinal.pdf