awn

noun

ˈȯn 

: one of the slender bristles that terminate the glumes of the spikelet in some cereal and other grasses

awned

ˈȯnd 

adjective

awnless

ˈȯn-ləs 

adjective

Examples of awn in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These grasses have seed awns with a sharp, pointed shape, resembling the tail of a fox, hence the name. —Lisa Bloch, The Mercury News, 21 May 2024

According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), foxtail grass awns can be found throughout North America, particularly from May to December. —Adrianna Freedman, Good Housekeeping, 21 July 2023

Smallholding farmers of West Bengal and Jharkhand prefer varieties with long and strong awns (spine-like projections at the end of the hull), which deter grazing by cattle and goats. —Debal Deb, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2019

These grasses have bushy florets hosting grass awns, seeds with a sharp appendage meant to burrow into the ground. —Molly Korzenowski, Twin Cities, 3 Sep. 2019

Aesthetics is yet another value that indigenous farmers cherish, cultivating certain landraces simply for their beautiful colors or patterns: gold, brown, purple and black furrows on yellow hulls, purple apexes, black awns, and so on. —Debal Deb, Scientific American, 16 Oct. 2019

Plant these natives to make an interesting meadow: purple three awn (Aristida purpurea), nodding needle grass (Stipa cernua), deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens) and wild oat grass (Elymus condensatus) 15. —Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Oct. 2019

The barbed seed awn sticks to their coats and can work their way into ears, eyes, noses or paws. —Joan Morris, The Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Middle English awne, going back to late Old English agene (accusative plural) "awns," Old English ægnan (plural) "chaff, sweepings," going back to Germanic *aganō-, *ahanō (whence also Old High German agana "awn, chaff, straw," Old Norse ǫgn, plural agnar "chaff, husks," Gothic ahana "chaff"), going back to Indo-European *h₂eḱ-on- (whence also Old Prussian ackons "awn" and perhaps Latin agna "ear of grain," Greek akont-, ákōn "javelin, dart"), derivative of *h₂eḱ- "sharp, pointed" — more at edge entry 1

Note: Middle English awne may reflect a borrowing from Old Norse, with the Old English word continued by dialectal [e:nz] (Lancashire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire; see Clive Upton, et al., Survey of English Dialects: The Dictionary and Grammar, Routledge, 1994).

First Known Use

12th century, in the meaning defined above