What does yawn mean?
Definitions for yawn
yɔnyawn
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word yawn.
Princeton's WordNet
yawn, yawning, oscitance, oscitancyverb
an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom
"he could not suppress a yawn"; "the yawning in the audience told him it was time to stop"; "he apologized for his oscitancy"
yawnverb
utter a yawn, as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired
"The child yawned during the long performance"
gape, yawn, yawverb
be wide open
"the deep gaping canyon"
Wiktionary
yawnnoun
The action of yawning; opening the mouth widely and taking a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired.
yawnnoun
A particularly boring event.
The slideshow we sat through was such a yawn, I was so glad when it finally finished.
yawnverb
To open the mouth widely and take a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired and sometimes accompanied by pandiculation.
I could see my students yawning, so I knew the lesson was boring.
yawnverb
To present an opening that appears able to swallow one up, literally or metaphorically:
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Yawnnoun
Oscitation.
Etymology: from the verb.
Thee, Paridel, she mark’d thee, there
Stretch’d on the rack of a too easy chair;
And heard thy everlasting yawn confess
The pains and penalties of idleness. Alexander Pope, Dunciad.Hence to the borders of the marsh they go,
That mingles with the baleful streams below;
And sometimes with a mighty yawn, ’tis said,
Opens a dismal passage to the dead,
Who, pale with fear, the rending earth survey,
And startle at the sudden flash of day. Addison.To YAWNverb
Etymology: yeonan , Saxon.
The sad-ey’d justice, with his surly hum,
Delivering o’er to executors pale
The lazy, yawning drone. William Shakespeare, Hen. V.In yawning, the inner parchment of the ear is extended. When a man yawneth, he cannot hear so well. Francis Bacon.
At length shook off himself, and ask’d the dame;
And asking yawn’d, for what intent she came? Dryden.To whom the yawning pilot fast asleep,
Me didst thou bid, to trust the treacherous deep? Dryden.The gashes,
That bloodily did yawn upon his face. William Shakespeare.’Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.Now will I dam up this thy yawning mouth,
For swallowing up the treasure of the realm. William Shakespeare.He shall cast up the wealth by him devour’d,
Like vomit, from his yawning entrails pour’d. George Sandys.Hell at last
Yawning receiv’d them whole, and on them clos’d. John Milton.The sword pierc’d his tender sides;
Down fell the beauteous youth; the yawning wound
Gush’d out a purple stream. Dryden.High she rear’d her arm, and with her sceptre struck
The yawning cliff: from its disparted height
Adown the mount the gushing torrent ran. Matthew Prior.The chiefest thing at which lay-reformers yawn, is, that the clergy may, through conformity in condition, be poor as the apostles were. In which one circumstance, if they imagine so great perfection, they must think that church which hath such store of mendicant friars, a church in that respect most happy. Richard Hooker.
Wikipedia
Yawn
A yawn is a reflex lasting 4–7 seconds, and is characterized by a long inspiratory phase with gradual mouth gaping, followed by a brief climax (or acme) with muscle stretching, and a rapid expiratory phase with muscle relaxation. For fish and birds, this is described as gradual mouth gaping, staying open for at least 3 seconds and subsequently a rapid closure of the mouth. Almost all vertebrate animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and even fish, experience yawning. The study of yawning is called chasmology.Yawning (oscitation) most often occurs in adults immediately before and after sleep, during tedious activities and as a result of its contagious quality. It is commonly associated with tiredness, stress, sleepiness, boredom, or even hunger. In humans, yawning is often triggered by the perception that others are yawning (for example, seeing a person yawning, or talking to someone on the phone who is yawning). This is a typical example of positive feedback. This "contagious" yawning has also been observed in chimpanzees, dogs, cats, birds, and reptiles and can occur between members of different species. Approximately twenty psychological reasons for yawning have been proposed by scholars but there is little agreement on the primacy of any one.During a yawn, muscles around the airway are fully stretched, including chewing and swallowing muscles. Due to these strong repositioning muscle movements, the airway (lungs and throat) dilates to three or four times its original size. The tensor tympani muscle in the middle ear contracts, which creates a rumbling noise perceived as coming from within the head; however, the noise is due to mechanical disturbance of the hearing apparatus and is not generated by the motion of air. Yawning is sometimes accompanied, in humans and other animals, by an instinctive act of stretching several parts of the body including the arms, neck, shoulders and back.
ChatGPT
yawn
A yawn is an involuntary reflex action where the mouth is opened wide, and the lungs take in a lot of air. This action is often triggered by tiredness or boredom, and is usually contagious, often spreading to people in the same group or area.
Webster Dictionary
Yawnverb
to open the mouth involuntarily through drowsiness, dullness, or fatigue; to gape; to oscitate
Yawnverb
to open wide; to gape, as if to allow the entrance or exit of anything
Yawnverb
to open the mouth, or to gape, through surprise or bewilderment
Yawnverb
to be eager; to desire to swallow anything; to express desire by yawning; as, to yawn for fat livings
Yawnnoun
an involuntary act, excited by drowsiness, etc., consisting of a deep and long inspiration following several successive attempts at inspiration, the mouth, fauces, etc., being wide open
Yawnnoun
the act of opening wide, or of gaping
Yawnnoun
a chasm, mouth, or passageway
Etymology: [OE. yanien, anien, ganien, gonien, AS. gnian; akin to ginian to yawn, gnan to yawn, open wide, G. ghnen to yawn, OHG. ginn, geinn, Icel. gna to yawn, gin the mouth, OSlav. zijati to yawn, L. hiare to gape, yawn; and perhaps to E. begin, cf. Gr. cheia` a hole. 47b. Cf. Begin, Gin to begin, Hiatus.]
Wikidata
Yawn
A yawn is a reflex of simultaneous inhalation of air and stretching of the eardrums, followed by exhalation of breath. Pandiculation is the act of yawning and stretching simultaneously. Yawning is commonly associated with tiredness, stress, overwork, lack of stimulation and boredom, though recent studies show it may be linked to the cooling of the brain. In humans, yawning is often triggered by others yawning and is a typical example of positive feedback. This "infectious" yawning has also been observed in chimpanzees and dogs. Yawn comes from Old English 'Ginian' and 'Gionian' meaning to "Open the mouth wide, gape," which in turn comes from the Proto-Germanic base gin-.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Yawn
yawn, v.i. to open the jaws involuntarily from drowsiness: to gape: to gape with astonishment.—n. the opening of the mouth from drowsiness.—adj. Yawn′ing, gaping: opening wide: drowsy.—n. act of opening wide or gaping: a modification of the ordinary movements of respiration, in which the inspiration is deeper than usual, accompanied by a kind of spasmodic contraction of the muscles which depress the lower jaw, and by a great elevation of the ribs and to some degree of the shoulder-blades.—adv. Yawn′ingly. [A.S. gánian, to yawn—gínan, pa.t. gán, to gape widely; Ice. gína, to gape, Gr. chainein, to gape.]
Suggested Resources
yawn
The yawn symbol -- In this Symbols.com article you will learn about the meaning of the yawn symbol and its characteristic.
YAWN
What does YAWN stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the YAWN acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
YAWN
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Yawn is ranked #12399 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Yawn surname appeared 2,507 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Yawn.
90.7% or 2,276 total occurrences were White.
4.8% or 122 total occurrences were Black.
2% or 51 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
1% or 27 total occurrences were of two or more races.
0.7% or 18 total occurrences were Asian.
0.5% or 13 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
Anagrams for yawn »
awny
wany
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of yawn in Chaldean Numerology is: 4
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of yawn in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9
Examples of yawn in a Sentence
The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved...the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.
Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.
The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing.
A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn it can be stabbed to death by a joke or worried to death by a frown on the right person's brow.
When the silent majority opens its mouth it is usually to yawn.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for yawn
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- تَثَاؤُب, تَثَاءَبَ, تثاءبArabic
- əsnəməkAzerbaijani
- зяўну́ць, пазяхну́ць, пазяха́ць, зява́цьBelarusian
- зея́, прозявамBulgarian
- হাই, হাই তোলাBengali
- badall, badallarCatalan, Valencian
- zívnutí, zívnout, zívat, zíváníCzech
- cegrythu, dylyfu gênWelsh
- gabe, gabDanish
- GähnenGerman
- χασμουρητό, χασμουριέμαιGreek
- oscedi, oscedoEsperanto
- bostezar, abrirse, bostezoSpanish
- haigutama, haigutusEstonian
- ahozabalkada, aharrausi, aharrausi eginBasque
- خمیازه کشیدن, فاژه, خمیازهPersian
- haukotus, haukotella, ammottaa, haukotteluFinnish
- geispaFaroese
- bâillement, bâiller, béerFrench
- méanfach, lig, déanIrish
- mèaranScottish Gaelic
- פִּהוּק, פִּהֵקHebrew
- जंभनाHindi
- ásítás, ásítHungarian
- հորանջ, հորանջելArmenian
- menguap, kuapIndonesian
- geispi, geispaIcelandic
- sbadigliare, sbadiglioItalian
- 欠伸Japanese
- მთქნარებაGeorgian
- есінеуKazakh
- ស្ងាបKhmer
- 하품, 하품하다Korean
- باوێشک, باوێشک لێدانKurdish
- эстөөKyrgyz
- dehīscō, oscitō, hiō, oscitātiōLatin
- ຫາວLao
- žiovauti, žiovulysLithuanian
- žāvas, žāvātiesLatvian
- зева, проѕевка, се проѕева, зевMacedonian
- menguapMalayalam
- эвшээхMongolian
- uap, kuapMalay
- သမ်းBurmese
- gjespeNorwegian
- geeuwen, gaap, geeuw, gapenDutch
- ziewnąć, ziewać, ziewaniePolish
- bocejo, bocejarPortuguese
- hanyayQuechua
- susdarRomansh
- deschide, cascaRomanian
- зево́к, зева́ние, зева́ть, зево́та, зевну́ть, зия́тьRussian
- cascare, cascŕiSardinian
- зијевати, zev, zijevati, зев, zijev, zevati, зијев, зеватиSerbo-Croatian
- zívnuť, zívaťSlovak
- zehatiSlovene
- hap gojënAlbanian
- gäspning, gäspa, gäspSwedish
- -piga miayo, -enda miayo, miayoSwahili
- ఆవులింత, ఆవులించుTelugu
- хамёза кашиданTajik
- หาวThai
- pallamakTurkmen
- esnemekTurkish
- иснәүTatar
- ئەسنىمەكUyghur, Uighur
- зіва́ти, позіха́ти, зівну́ти, позіхну́тиUkrainian
- esnamoqUzbek
- ngápVietnamese
- cavönVolapük
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"yawn." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/yawn>.
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