Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “yawning” come from?

Yawning derives from Middle English yenen, Old English ēanian, Proto-Germanic ginōną, and Proto-Indo-European h₂egʷnós, a root of uncertain origin whose earliest sense remains unknown.

yawning (English): present participle of yawn; The action of the...

Definitions

  1. present participle of yawn; The action of the...

Ancestry of “yawning”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishyawnTo open the mouth widely and take a long, rather...
2GermanJahn—
3GermanJohannespenis; cock
4LatinJohannesJohn
5Ancient GreekἸωάννης—
6HebrewיוחנןYahweh is gracious
7Hebrewחנוןgracious, merciful, compassionate; passive...
8Moroccan Arabicخنونة—
9Arabicخُنَّة—

Words derived from “yawning”

  • yawningly
Every word from Arabic خُنَّة →