Where does “yawn” come from?
Yawn comes from Middle English yenen, from Old English ēanian, from Proto-Germanic ginōną, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂egʷnós combined with ḱóm and the suffix -nós.
yawn (English): To open the mouth widely and take a long, rather...
Definitions
- To open the mouth widely and take a long, rather...
Ancestry of “yawn”, step by step
yawn traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via German Jahn
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | German | Jahn | — |
| 2 | German | Johannes | penis; cock |
| 3 | Latin | Johannes | John |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | Ἰωάννης | — |
| 5 | Hebrew | יוחנן | Yahweh is gracious |
| 6 | Hebrew | חנון | gracious, merciful, compassionate; passive... |
| 7 | Moroccan Arabic | خنونة | mucus, snot |
| 8 | Arabic | خُنَّة | — |
via Middle English yanen
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | yanen | — |
| 2 | Old English | ġinian | to yawn, gape |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | ginōną | to gape; to yawn |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰh₂-néh₂-ti | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰeh₂- | to yawn; to gape; yawn |