Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Hun

Hun

,
Noun.
[L.
Hunni
, also
Chunni
, and
Chuni
; cf. AS.
H[GREEK]nas
,
H[GREEK]ne
, OHG.
H[GREEK]ni
, G.
Hunnen
.]
One of a warlike nomadic people of Northern Asia who, in the 5th century, under Atilla, invaded and conquered a great part of Europe.

Definition 2024


Hun

Hun

See also: Appendix:Variations of "hun"

English

Noun

Hun (plural Huns)

  1. A member of a nomadic tribe, the Huns, most likely of Turkic origin, which invaded Europe in the fourth century from Central Asia.
  2. (figuratively) a vandal, a barbarian, an uncivilized destructive person
  3. (slang, derogatory, Britain) A German (popular in the media since World War I)
  4. (slang, derogatory, Britain, Ireland) A Protestant.

Related terms

Synonyms

Translations

See also

Anagrams

References

  1. Douglas Harper, "Hun", Online Etymology Dictionary

Dutch

Pronunciation

Noun

Hun m (plural Hunnen, diminutive Hunnetje n)

  1. A Hun, member of the nomadic tribe
  2. (figuratively) A barbarian, brute

hun

hun

See also: Appendix:Variations of "hun"

English

Noun

hun (uncountable)

  1. (slang) Affectionate abbreviation of honey. Alternative spelling of hon
  2. A grey partridge.

Anagrams


Breton

Noun

hun ?

  1. sleep

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse hon.

Noun

hun c (singular definite hunnen, plural indefinite hunner)

  1. female, she
  2. hen (female bird)

Inflection

Pronoun

hun (objective case hende, possessive hendes)

  1. (personal) she

See also


Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɦʏn/

Etymology 1

Pronoun

hun (personal)

  1. The dative case of the third-person plural personal pronoun: them, to them.
  2. (proscribed) The accusative case of the third-person plural personal pronoun: them.

hun (dependent possessive) (independent possessive hunne)

  1. The third-person plural possessive pronoun: their.

Usage notes

The difference between hen (as direct object) and hun (as indirect object) does not stem from actual language usage, but was created artificially by the prescriptive grammarian Christiaen van Heule in the 17th century in an attempt to differentiate between the accusative (direct object) and dative case (indirect object); he was inspired by the Latin case system.

In practice, hen and hun have always been used interchangeably and many speakers are not aware or have trouble remembering when to use the one or the other, in part because of the rule's artificiality, in part because the distinction in form between the accusative and dative case is not made anywhere else in the language. As a consequence, it is common to hear sentences like these:

  • Hij heeft hun verraden. (“He has betrayed them.”)
  • Ze zijn met hun uitgegaan. (“They have gone out with them.”)

The inverse is also common:

  • Ik heb het hen gegeven. (“I have given it to them.”)

In an attempt to circumvent this problem, the nominative case can be used for both:

  • Hij heeft ze verraden.
  • Ze zijn met ze uitgegaan.
  • Ik heb het ze gegeven.

In recent years, the interchangeable usage of hen and hun is no longer considered erroneous. For more information, see the article in the Dutch Wikipedia.

Inflection


Related terms

Etymology 2

Likely a replacement of or based on dialectal Dutch hullie or a variant thereof, which is a contraction of hunlieden or hunlui, a compound of hun ("them") + lieden or lui (both meaning "men, people"), which then translates roughly into "them-people". Possibly reinfluenced by or confused with the possessive hun. This etymology explains why usage of hun occurs only when referring to people, never to objects.

Also interestingly is the somewhat parallel evolution in daughter language Afrikaans, where hulle is the normal 3rd person plural pronoun, and which has formed similarly from Dutch hullie. For more information, see the article in the Dutch Wikipedia.

Pronoun

hun (personal)

  1. (proscribed, regiolectal, Netherlands) The nominative case of the third-person plural personal pronoun: they.

Usage notes

  • Only used for people.
  • The use of hun as a subject is considered incorrect or substandard by most speakers, both in written and spoken language, and only occurs in the Netherlands, not in Belgium and Suriname.



Hungarian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈhun]

Adjective

hun (not comparable)

  1. of or relating to Huns

Conjunction

hun

  1. (regional) where (regional variant of hol)

Noun

hun (plural hunok)

  1. Hun

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
singular plural
nominative hun hunok
accusative hunt hunokat
dative hunnak hunoknak
instrumental hunnal hunokkal
causal-final hunért hunokért
translative hunná hunokká
terminative hunig hunokig
essive-formal hunként hunokként
essive-modal
inessive hunban hunokban
superessive hunon hunokon
adessive hunnál hunoknál
illative hunba hunokba
sublative hunra hunokra
allative hunhoz hunokhoz
elative hunból hunokból
delative hunról hunokról
ablative huntól hunoktól
Possessive forms of hun
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. hunom hunjaim
2nd person sing. hunod hunjaid
3rd person sing. hunja hunjai
1st person plural hununk hunjaink
2nd person plural hunotok hunjaitok
3rd person plural hunjuk hunjaik

Label

Etymology

Compare Tolai vudu and Patpatar hudu.

Noun

hun

  1. banana

References

  • Ulrike Mosel, Tolai and Tok Pisin: the influence of the substratum on the development of New Guinea Pidgin (1980)

Malay

Noun

hun

  1. A unit of weight equal to one hundredth of a tahil.

Mandarin

Romanization

hun (Zhuyin ㄏㄨㄣ˙)

  1. Nonstandard spelling of hūn.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of hún.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of hǔn.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of hùn.

Usage notes

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Mizo

Noun

hun

  1. time

North Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian hond. Cognates include Mooring North Frisian hönj and West Frisian hân.

Noun

hun f (plural hunen)

  1. (Föhr-Amrum) (anatomy) hand
    a rocht(er)/lacht(er) hun
    the right/left hand

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse hon.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

hun (accusative henne, genitive hennes)

  1. she

Derived terms

References

See also


Old Portuguese

Article

hun

  1. Alternative form of ũu

Tetum

Noun

hun

  1. bottom, base
  2. beginning
  3. origin

Vietnamese

Etymology

Intentional mispronunciation of hôn, to avoid awkward situations, chiefly in Southern dialects.

Pronunciation

Verb

hun

  1. (Southern Vietnam, slang, especially on the lips) to kiss

Synonyms