fun
English
Etymology
From fonne, fon (“foolish, simple, silly”) or fonnen (“make a fool of”), probably of North Germanic origin, related to Swedish fånig (“foolish”), Swedish fåne (“a fool”). Compare also Norwegian fomme, fume (“a fool”). More at fon, fond.
As a noun, fun is recorded from 1700, with a meaning "a cheat, trick, hoax", from a verb fun meaning "to cheat, trick" (1680s). The meaning "diversion, amusement" dates to the 1720s. The older meaning is preserved in the phrase "to make fun of" (1737) and in usage of the adjective funny. The use of fun as adjective is newest and is due to reanalysis of the noun; this was incipient in the mid-19th century.
Alternative etymology connected Middle English fonne with Old Frisian fonna, fone, fomne, variant forms of Old Frisian fāmne, fēmne (“young woman, virgin”), from Proto-Germanic *faimnijǭ (“maiden”), from Proto-Indo-European *peymen- (“girl”), *poymen- (“breast milk”). If so, then cognate with Old English fǣmne (“maid, virgin, damsel, bride”), West Frisian famke (“girl”), Saterland Frisian fone, fon (“woman, maid, servant," also "weakling, simpleton”).
Pronunciation
- (US, UK) enPR: fŭn, IPA(key): /fʌn/
- (Northern England) IPA(key): /fʊn/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ʌn
Noun
fun (uncountable)
Synonyms
- (enjoyment, amusement): amusement, diversion, enjoyment, a laugh, pleasure
- (playful, often noisy, activity): boisterousness, horseplay, rough and tumble
Derived terms
- for the fun of it
- fun and games
- fun IS AJ
- funfair
- funfest
- fun-loving
- Video games, fun-maker
- funny
- fun run, fun runner, fun running
- funster
- good fun
- great fun
- have fun
- have fun with
- in fun
- like fun
- make fun of
- poke fun at
Translations
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Adjective
fun (comparative more fun or funner, superlative most fun or funnest)
- (informal) enjoyable, amusing
- We had a fun time at the party.
- He is such a fun person to be with.
- 2016 January 11, Tom Bateman, quoted in Nigel Hunt, "Jekyll and Hyde, TV revamp of Robert Louis Stevenson classic, debuts on CBC-TV" CBC News, Canada:
- He's the liberated character that everyone wants to be, so he was very fun to play
- (informal) whimsical, flamboyant
- This year's fashion style is much more fun than recent seasons.
Usage notes
- Note that, prescriptively, the adjectival use of fun is often considered unacceptable in formal contexts. This includes censure of the comparative and superlative funner and funnest, but equally constructions such as very fun (rather than, say, a lot of fun). For more, see Quinion's discussion.
Translations
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Verb
fun (third-person singular simple present funs, present participle funning, simple past and past participle funned)
- (colloquial) To tease, kid, poke fun at, make fun of.
- Hey, don't get bent out of shape over it; I was just funning you.