Hun
(hŭn)n.
1. A member of a group of Central Asian nomadic pastoralist peoples who invaded Europe in the fourth and fifth centuries ad and were defeated in 455.
2. often hun A barbarous or destructive person.
3. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a German, especially a German soldier in World War I.
[From Late Latin Hunnī, the Huns, of Central Asian origin; akin to Sogdian xwn, Sanskrit hūṇaḥ, and Middle Chinese xuawŋ-nɔ (source of Mandarin Xiōngnú), a member of various Central Asian peoples or multiethnic confederations that conquered and raided the Eurasian steppes in late antiquity, probably from their self-designation .]
Hun·nic adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Hun
(hʌn)n
1. (Peoples) a member of any of several Asiatic nomadic peoples speaking Mongoloid or Turkic languages who dominated much of Asia and E Europe from before 300 bc, invading the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries ad
2. informal (esp in World War I) a derogatory name for a German2
3. informal a vandal
[Old English Hūnas, from Late Latin Hūnī, from Turkish Hun-yū]
ˈHunˌlike adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Hun
(hʌn)n.
1. a member of a pastoral people of the Eurasian steppes, who in the late 4th century a.d. began a course of alternating conflict and alliance with their Iranian and Germanic neighbors and the Roman Empire: they reached the height of their power in Europe under Attila in the 5th century, and then disappeared from history.
2. (often l.c.) a barbarous, destructive person; vandal.
3. Extremely Disparaging and Offensive.
a. (a contemptuous term used to refer to a German soldier in World War I or II.)
b. (a contemptuous term used to refer to a German.)
[before 900; singular of Huns, Old English Hūnas; akin to Late Latin Hunnī]
usage: The meanings represented by definitions 3a and 3b, though appearing mostly in historical contexts, are used with disparaging intent and are perceived as highly insulting, since the Germans are likened to the barbarous, warlike, destructive Huns of the 4th and 5th centuries.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  Hun - a member of a nomadic people who invaded Europe in the 4th centurynomad - a member of a people who have no permanent home but move about according to the seasons |
| 2. | Hun - offensive term for a person of German descent jargon, lingo, patois, argot, vernacular, slang, cant - a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves); "they don't speak our lingo" German - a person of German nationality |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
hunnisakemanni
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