Pawnable

pawn ¹  (pôn)

n.

1. Something given as security for a loan; a pledge or guaranty.

2. The condition of being held as a pledge against the payment of a loan: jewels in pawn.

3. A person serving as security; a hostage.

4. The act of pawning.

tr.v. pawned, pawn·ing, pawns

1. To give or deposit (personal property) as security for the payment of money borrowed.

2. To risk; hazard: pawn one's honor.

Phrasal Verb:

pawn off

To dispose or get rid of deceptively: tried to pawn off the fake gemstone as a diamond.

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[Middle English paun, from Old French pan, of Germanic origin .]

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pawna·ble adj.

pawnage n.

pawner (pônr), pawnor (-nôr) n.

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pawn ²  (pôn)

n.

1. Abbr. P Games A chess piece of lowest value that may move forward one square at a time or two squares in the first move, capture other pieces only on a one-space diagonal forward move, and be promoted to any piece other than a king upon reaching the eighth rank.

2. A person or an entity used to further the purposes of another: an underdeveloped nation that was a pawn in international politics.

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[Middle English, from Old French pedon, paon, from Medieval Latin ped, pedn-, foot soldier, from Late Latin, one who has wide feet, from Latin ps, ped-, foot; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]