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Webster 1913 Edition

Stun

Stun

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Stunned
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Stunning
.]
[OE.
stonien
,
stownien
; either fr. AS.
stunian
to resound (cf. D.
stenen
to groan, G.
stöhnen
, Icel.
stynja
, Gr. [GREEK], Skr.
stan
to thunder, and E.
thunder
), or from the same source as E.
astonish
. √168.]
1.
To make senseless or dizzy by violence; to render senseless by a blow, as on the head.
One hung a poleax at his saddlebow,
And one a heavy mace to
stun
the foe.
Dryden.
2.
To dull or deaden the sensibility of; to overcome; especially, to overpower one’s sense of hearing.
And
stunned
him with the music of the spheres.
Pope.
3.
To astonish; to overpower; to bewilder.
William was quite
stunned
at my discourse.
De Foe.

Stun

,
Noun.
The condition of being stunned.

Webster 1828 Edition

Stun

STUN

,
Verb.
T.
[The primary sense is to strike or to stop, to blunt, to stupefy.]
1.
To make senseless or dizzy with a blow on the head; as, to be stunned by a fall, or by a falling timber.
One hung a pole-ax at his saddle bow, and one a heavy mace to stun the foe.
2.
To overpower the sense of hearing; to blunt or stupefy the organs of hearing. To prevent being stunned, cannoneers sometimes fill their ears with wool.
3.
To confound or make dizzy by loud and mingled sound.
--An universal hubbub wild of stunning sounds and voices all confusd.

Definition 2024

stun

stun

English

Verb

stun ‎(third-person singular simple present stuns, present participle stunning, simple past and past participle stunned)

  1. (transitive) To incapacitate; especially by inducing disorientation or unconsciousness.
    Bill tried to stun the snake by striking it on the head.
    In many European countries cattle have to be stunned before slaughtering.
  2. (transitive) To shock or surprise.
    The celebrity was stunned to find herself confronted with unfounded allegiations on the front page of a newspaper.
    He stood there stunned, looking at the beautiful, breath-taking sunrise.
  3. (snooker, billiards) To hit the cue ball so that it slides without topspin or backspin (and with or without sidespin) and continues at a natural angle after contact with the object ball

Translations

Noun

stun ‎(uncountable)

  1. The condition of being stunned.
  2. (Newfoundland) A person who is deemed to be unintelligent.
  3. (billiard, snooker, pool) The effect on the cue ball where the ball is hit without topspin, backspin or sidespin.
    Williams will need a lot of stun to avoid going in the middle pocket‎

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

From Middle English stunien, stonien, stounien, from Old English stunian ‎(“to crash, make a loud sound, resound, roar, strike with a loud sound, dash, impinge, knock, confound, astonish, stupefy”), from Proto-Germanic *stunōną, *stunjaną ‎(“to sound, crash, bang, groan”), from Proto-Germanic *stenaną ‎(“to moan, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tona-, *(s)tena- ‎(“to thunder, roar, groan”). Cognate with Middle Low German stonen ‎(“to groan”), Middle High German stunen, stunden ‎(“to drive, push, knock, strike”), Swedish stöna ‎(“to moan, groan”), Russian стонать, стена́ть ‎(stonatʹ, stenátʹ, “to moan, groan”), Icelandic stynja ‎(“to moan”). Related also to Dutch stenen ‎(“to groan”), German stöhnen ‎(“to groan, moan”), German staunen ‎(“to be astonished, be amazed, marvel at”). See also Occitan estonar, Old French estoner.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /stʌn/
  • Rhymes: -ʌn

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