pun

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

pun

Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: pŭn, IPA^(key): /pʌn/
• (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): /pʊn/
• Rhymes: -ʌn

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English ponnen, ponen, punen, from Old English punian, pūnian (“to pound, beat, bray, bruise, crush, grind”), from Proto-Germanic *punōną (“to break to pieces, pulverize”). See pound. As a kind of word play, from the notion of "beating" the words into place.

Verb

pun (third-person singular simple present puns, present participle punning, simple past and past participle punned)

1. (transitive) To beat; strike with force; to ram; to pound, as in a mortar; reduce to powder, to pulverize.
   • c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     He would pun thee into shivers with his fist.

2. (intransitive) To make or tell a pun; to make a play on words.

   We punned about the topic until all around us groaned.

Noun

pun (plural puns)

1. A joke or type of wordplay in which similar definitions or sounds of two words or phrases, or different definitions of the same word, are deliberately confused.

   Synonyms: paronomasia, play on words

   Hypernym: joke

   Hyponym: antanaclasis

   The pun is the lowest form of wit.

   • 1814 July, [Jane Austen], chapter VI, in Mansfield Park: , volume I, London: T Egerton, , →OCLC, page 124:

     "Certainly, my home at my uncle's brought me acquainted with a circle of admirals. Of Rears, and Vices, I saw enough. Now do not be suspecting me of a pun, I entreat."

     Austen was likely referring to flogging or spanking, then common naval punishments, known as le vice anglais.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From the McCune-Reischauer romanization of Korean 분 (bun), from Chinese 分 (“fen”).

Noun

pun (plural puns or pun)

1. (Korean units of measure) Alternative form of bun: a Korean unit of length equivalent to about 0.3 cm.

Anagrams

• N-up, NPU, UPN, nup

Chuukese

Conjunction

pun

1. because

Dalmatian

Alternative forms

• puan
• pen (Ragusan dialect)

Etymology

From Latin pānis, pānem.

Noun

pun m

1. (Vegliot) bread

Iban

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *puhun (compare Malay pohon), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *puqun, from Proto-Austronesian *puqun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

pun

1. tree (large woody plant)

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay pun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: pun

Adverb

pun

1. also, too

   Synonym: juga

2. even, though, although, nevertheless

   Synonyms: biar, meski, kendati, saja

3. besides
4. any, every

Further reading

• “pun” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Kapampangan

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Philippine *puqun, Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *puqun, from Proto-Austronesian *puqun. Compare Tagalog puno, Malay pohon, Indonesian pohon.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpun/,

Noun

pun

1. trunk of a tree
2. origin, source

   Synonym: ibat

See also

Malay

Alternative forms

• pon (informal, slang)

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (Johor-Selangor) IPA^(key): /pon/
• (Riau-Lingga) IPA^(key): /pʊn/
• Rhymes: -on
• Rhymes: -un

Adverb

pun (Jawi spelling ڤون)

1. also
2. even

Synonyms

• juga

Related terms

• -pun

Descendants

• Indonesian: pun

Further reading

• “pun” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

Romanian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Etymology 1

Verb

pun

1. inflection of pune:
   1. first-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. third-person plural present indicative

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin punicus.

Noun

pun m (plural puni)

1. Punic, Carthaginian

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *pьlnъ, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *pílˀnas, from Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pûn/

Adjective

pȕn (definite pȕnī, Cyrillic spelling пу̏н)

1. full, filled
   • 1980s, Max Vincent AKA Miša Mihajlović (lyrics and music), “Beogradska Devojka”:

     Tako drska i obesna si ti / ti si puna ljubavi

     You are so arrogant and rude / you are full of love

2. fleshy, plump
3. full, complete
4. occupied (of room)

Declension

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpun/
• Rhymes: -un
• Syllabification: pun

Noun

pun m (uncountable)

1. (onomatopoeia) the sound of discharging a firearm

   Synonym: pum

2. (onomatopoeia, vulgar) the sound of flatulence

Further reading

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

Tausug

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *puqun.

Noun

pūn

1. origin
2. beginning