darn
pronunciation
How to pronounce darn in British English:
UK [dɑ:n]
How to pronounce darn in American English:
US [dɑrn]
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- Noun:
- a euphemism for `damn'
- something of little value
- sewing or darning that repairs a worn or torn hole (especially in a garment)
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- Verb:
- repair by sewing
Word Origin
- darn
- darn: English has two distinct words darn. The verb ‘mend with stitches’ [16] may come ultimately from an Old English verb diernan ‘hide’, a derivative of the adjective dierne ‘secret’, which in turn was descended from West Germanic *darnjaz. Darn the mild curse [18], which arose in American English, is usually taken to be a euphemistic alteration of damn, although it has been suggested, not very plausibly, that it too came from dern, the modern English descendant of Old English dierne, in the sense ‘dark, dreary’.
- darn (v.)
- "to mend" c. 1600, perhaps from Middle French darner "mend," from darne "piece," from Breton darn "piece, fragment, part." Alternative etymology is from obsolete dern (see dern). Related: Darned; darning.
- darn (interj.)
- tame curse word, 1781, American English euphemism for damn, said to have originated in New England when swearing was a punishable offense; if so, its spread was probably influenced by 'tarnal, short for Eternal, as in By the Eternal (God), favorite exclamation of Andrew Jackson, among others (see tarnation). Related: darned (past participle adjective, 1806); darndest (superlative, 1844).
Example
- 1. Feel the smell of darn evil bacon .
- 2. But darn it , they do know what they are doing and always end up helping .
- 3. Fischer 's comments are pretty darn outrageous in nearly every facet .
- 4. Who would darn your socks and cook your meals and see to the hens ?
- 5. Or please don 't call me sweetie and just hand me the darn doughnut . Readers , what 's your take on this ?