damn
pronunciation
How to pronounce damn in British English:
UK [dæm]
How to pronounce damn in American English:
US [dæm]
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- Noun:
- something of little value
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- Verb:
- wish harm upon; invoke evil upon
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- Adjective:
- used as expletives
- expletives used informally as intensifiers
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- Adverb:
- extremely
Word Origin
- damn
- damn: [13] Damn comes via Old French damner from Latin damnāre, a derivative of the noun damnum. This originally meant ‘loss, harm’ (it is the source of English damage), but the verb damnāre soon spread its application to ‘pronounce judgment upon’, in both the legal and the theological sense. These meanings (reflected also in the derived condemn) followed the verb through Old French into English, which dropped the strict legal sense around the 16th century but has persisted with the theological one and its more profane offshoots.=> condemn, damage, indemnity
- damn (v.)
- late 13c., "to condemn," from Old French damner "damn, condemn; convict, blame; injure," derivative of Latin damnare "to adjudge guilty; to doom; to condemn, blame, reject," from noun damnum "damage, hurt, harm; loss, injury; a fine, penalty," possibly from an ancient religious term from PIE *dap- "to apportion in exchange" [see Watkins]. The Latin word evolved a legal meaning of "pronounce judgment upon." Theological sense is first recorded early 14c.; the optative expletive use likely is as old. Damn and its derivatives generally were avoided in print from 18c. to c. 1930s (the famous line in the film version of "Gone with the Wind" was a breakthrough and required much effort by the studio). The noun is recorded from 1610s; to be not worth a damn is from 1817. The adjective is 1775, short for damned; Damn Yankee, characteristic Southern U.S. term for "Northerner," is attested from 1812. Related: Damning.
Antonym
Example
- 1. Assembling a team is not starting the damn game .
- 2. Of course , the damn thing costs as much as a nice used car , but such is the price of style .
- 3. Although it 's possible to travel for free in a big city , it 's damn difficult .
- 4. It has been said that history is " one damn thing after another . "
- 5. Jeremiah wright 's cries of " god damn america " almost shook the wheels off his campaign in march .