Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “tun” come from?

tun (Old English) comes from Proto-West Germanic tūn, from Proto-Germanic tūną, from Gaulish dunum, from Proto-Celtic dūnom, from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- — smoke; mist, haze.

tun (Old English): enclosure, yard; place; dwelling

Definitions

  1. enclosure, yard; place; dwelling

Ancestry of “tun”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanictūnfence
2Proto-Germanictūnąfence; enclosure
3Gaulishdunumfort; hill, hillfort
4Proto-Celticdūnomstronghold, rampart
5Proto-Indo-Europeandʰewh₂-smoke; mist, haze

Words derived from “tun”

  • town
  • Princeton
  • downtown
  • Cotton
  • Thornton
  • Townsend
  • hometown
  • Burlington
  • townspeople
  • Jamestown
  • Chinatown
  • Drayton
  • townsfolk
  • simpleton
  • Waddington
  • Edgerton
  • Freetown
  • singleton
  • Newtown
  • townhouse
  • Warrenton
  • Youngstown
  • Bruton
  • Angleton
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰewh₂- →