gaunt
See also: Gaunt
English
Etymology
From Middle English gawnt, gawnte (“lean, slender”), from Old French, probably from a Scandinavian source, related to Old Norse gandr (“magic staff, stick”), from Proto-Germanic *gandaz (“stick, staff”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- (“to beat, hit, drive”). Cognate with Icelandic gandur (“magic staff”), Norwegian gand (“tall pointed stick; tall, thin man”), Danish gand, gan, Norwegian gana (“cut-off tree limbs”), Bavarian Gunten (“a kind of wedge or peg”). Related also to Old English gūþ (“battle”), Latin dēfendō (“ward off, defend”). Compare also Swedish dialectal gank (“a lean, emaciated horse”).
Pronunciation
- enPR: gônt, IPA(key): /ɡɔːnt/
- (some accents) enPR: gänt, IPA(key): /ɡɑːnt/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɔːnt, -ɑːnt
Adjective
Translations
lean, angular and bony
|
haggard, drawn and emaciated
References
- “gaunt” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.
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