awn
/ɔːn/noun
awn is spelled A-W-N: 3 letters. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,980th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, awn means “The bristle or beard of barley, oats, grasses, etc., or any similar bristlelike appendage; arista” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of awn is awns.
How many letters and syllables are in awn?
| Letters | 3: A-W-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 74,980th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is awn?
Awn appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,980th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce awn?
- /ɔːn/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-awn.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with awn?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as awn.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: wan, naw.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of awn
- awns plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does awn mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The bristle or beard of barley, oats, grasses, etc., or any similar bristlelike appendage; arista.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Awn in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense the bristle or beard of certain plants:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does awn come from?
Inherited from Middle English aw(u)ne, agune, from Old Norse ǫgn (compare Danish avne), from Proto-Germanic *aganō, *ahanō (“chaff”) (compare Old English agnu, Dutch agen, German Ahne, Agen), from Proto-Indo-European *aḱanā (compare Latin agna (“ear of wheat”), Lithuanian ašni̇̀s (“edge, blade”), Czech osina, Ancient Greek ἄκαινα (ákaina, “spike, prick”), ἄκανος (ákanos, “pine-thistle”), Sanskrit अशनि (aśáni, “thunderbolt, arrow tip”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”). More at edge.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).