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awning

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

6 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "awning", 6-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "awning" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "awning" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

awning is aEnglishnoun. It means: A rooflike cover, usually of canvas, extended over or before any place as a shelter from the sun, rain, or wind. Pronounced /ˈɔːnɪŋ/. Often confused with aging and asking.

Key facts for awning
PropertyValue
Headwordawning
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɔːnɪŋ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#41,518
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of awning in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for awning is 6 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈɔːnɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #41,518 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for awning, with forms such as "anwing", "awinng", and "awnign". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "aging", "asking", "acting", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 1615-25 (nautical sense only); from *awn + -ing, reduction of Middle French auvans (“sloping roof”), from Old French anvant (1180), from Gaulish *an(de)bannā (“eaves”) (compare Occitan ambans (“parapet”)), form of *ande- (intensive prefix) (compare Welsh an… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is awning, spelled A-W-N-I-N-G, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    A rooflike cover, usually of canvas, extended over or before any place as a shelter from the sun, rain, or wind.
  2. 2
    That part of the poop deck which is continued forward beyond the bulkhead of the cabin.

Etymology

1615-25 (nautical sense only); from *awn + -ing, reduction of Middle French auvans (“sloping roof”), from Old French anvant (1180), from Gaulish *an(de)bannā (“eaves”) (compare Occitan ambans (“parapet”)), form of *ande- (intensive prefix) (compare Welsh an-, Old Irish ind-) + *bandā (“horn; peak”) (compare Welsh ban, Irish beann).

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: anwing,awinng,awnign,awningg,awninng,awnnig,awnning,awwning

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for awning

Misspelling Variants of "awning"

anwing6awinng6awnign6awningg7awninng7awnnig6awnning7awwning7
Misspelling Variants of "awning"

Frequency rank: #41,518 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "awning"?
"awning" is spelled A-W-N-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɔːnɪŋ/.
What does "awning" mean?
As a noun, "awning" means: A rooflike cover, usually of canvas, extended over or before any place as a shelter from the sun, rain, or wind.
What words are commonly confused with "awning"?
"awning" is commonly confused with "aging", "asking", "acting". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "awning"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "awning" is /ˈɔːnɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "awning"?
1615-25 (nautical sense only); from *awn + -ing, reduction of Middle French auvans (“sloping roof”), from Old French anvant (1180), from Gaulish *an(de)bannā (“eaves”) (compare Occitan ambans (“parapet”)), form of *ande- (intensive prefix) (compar... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter A in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.