don

See also: Appendix:Variations of "don"

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Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Doura with n as a placeholder.

Symbol

don

(international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Doura.

English

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /dɒn/
(General American) IPA^(key): /dɑn/
Audio (US): (file)
Homophones: Don; dawn (cot–caught merger)
Rhymes: -ɒn

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dem-

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *dṓmder.

Proto-Italic *domanos

Latin dominusder.

English don

From Latin dominus (“lord, head of household”), akin to Italian don, Sicilian don, Spanish don; from domus (“house”). Doublet of dom, domine, dominie, and dominus.

Noun

don (plural dons)

(UK) A university professor, particularly one at Oxford or Cambridge.
- 1859–1861, [Thomas Hughes], chapter I, in Tom Brown at Oxford: […], part 1st, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, published 1861, →OCLC, page 12:
  No one feeds at the high table except the dons and the gentlemen-commoners, who are undergraduates in velvet caps and silk gowns[.]
- 1876, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XVI, in Daniel Deronda, volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book II (Meeting Streams), page 321:
  The truth is, unless a man can get the prestige and income of a Don and write donnish books, it’s hardly worth while for him to make a Greek and Latin machine of himself and be able to spin you out pages of the Greek dramatists at any verse you’ll give him as a cue.
- 2015, Steve Silberman, “Introduction”, in Megan Newman, editor, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, New York: Avery, →ISBN, page 8:
  As he told me about the civilization he was creating on his desktop, he gazed up at the ceiling, humming fragments of a melody over and over. The music of his speech was pitched high, alternately poetic and pedantic, as if the soul of an Oxford don had been awkwardly reincarnated in the body of a boy.
(Canada) An employee of a university residence who lives among the student residents.
A mafia boss, especially one who is Italian or Italian-American.
A (usually Spanish or Italian) title of respect to a man, especially a lord or nobleman.
Coordinate term: donna
- 1845 September, Charles F. Ellerman, “Reminiscences of the Island of Cuba”, in Simmonds’s Colonial Magazine, volume VI, number 21, London, chapter VIII (Mrs. Smith seized with furor scribendi, writes a lengthy Epistle to her dear Cousin Mrs. Margery Stubbs), page 79:
  Wo often of an evening go and hear the band in the square opposite the captin-giniral’s palace—it is here were the dons and donnas and all the fashionables assemble, and I must say it’s amusing.
- 1906 August, Harry H. Dunn, “Afoot in California”, in Western Field, volume 9, number 1, San Francisco, Calif., page 481, column 1:
  Time was when the walker amid California vales could stop at some cool cellar hid in these western hills and pour from great flagons a shimmering glass of cool red wine. Nowadays, the hand of the law has stepped in and spoiled all this, because the hordes of wanderers who have come west have made of these resting places questionable resorts—made of them places that the Spanish dons and donnas never dreamed of.
- 2019, Caleb Stewart Rossiter, “Taking the Handles: Debating History and Morality”, in The Turkey and the Eagle: The Struggle for America’s Global Role, New York, N.Y.: Algora Publishing, →ISBN, page 283:
  A sustained media campaign against American domination would require the support of just a few dot-com dons and donnas or hedge fund phenoms who want to head straight for structural change and skip the reformist way stations supported by philanthropic business leaders like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Ben Cohen, Gary Hirshberg, and the later[ ]Paul Newman’s family.
(MLE) Any man, bloke, dude.
Synonym: donny
- 2017 October 31, Loski, “Olympic Chinging”‎^[1], from 1:55:
  I’m confused like who’s this don
  .22 bells and that who’s on

Derived terms

Related terms

donzel

Translations

professor — see professor

mafia boss

Chinese:
Mandarin: 老大 (zh) (lǎodà)
Dutch: maffiabaas (nl) m
Finnish: mafiapomo, don (fi)
Hindi: डॉन (ḍŏn)
Italian: don (it) m
Japanese: ドン (ja) (don)
Norwegian: mafiatopp m
Russian: паха́н (ru) m (paxán), па́хан (ru) m (páxan), дон (ru) m (don) (foreign context)
Ukrainian: дон (uk) m (don)

Etymology 2

From Middle English don (“to put on”), from Old English dōn on; equivalent to do +‎ on. Compare also doff, dup, dout.

Verb

don (third-person singular simple present dons, present participle donning, simple past and past participle donned)

(transitive) To put on clothing; to dress (oneself) in an article of personal attire.
Synonyms: put on, clothe, dight, enrobe; see also Thesaurus:clothe

Antonym: doff

To don one's clothes.
- 1886-88, Richard Francis Burton, The Supplemental Nights to the Thousand Nights and a Night:
  Now when he had reached the King's capital wherein was Alaeddin, he alighted at one of the Kháns; and, when he had rested from the weariness of wayfare, he donned his dress and went down to wander about the streets, where he never passed a group without hearing them prate about the pavilion and its grandeur and vaunt the beauty of Alaeddin and his lovesomeness, his liberality and generosity, his fine manners and his good morals.
- 2022 March 23, Paul Bigland, “HS2 is just 'passing through'”, in RAIL, number 953, page 41:
  Having donned our PPE, we walk through the site to the prefab that controls access to the tunnel.

Derived terms

Translations

put on clothes — see also put on,‎ dress,‎ wear,‎ clothe

Bashkir: кейеү (kiyiw)
Bulgarian: обличам (bg) (obličam), навличам (bg) (navličam)
Catalan: posar-se (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 穿上 (zh) (chuānshang)
Czech: obléci si pf, vzít si na sebe pf, nasadit si pf
Danish: tage på
Dutch: aantrekken (nl), zich (nl) uitdossen (nl)
Esperanto: surmeti
Finnish: pukeutua (fi), sonnustautua (fi), pukea ylleen
French: mettre (fr), enfiler (fr), revêtir (fr)
German: anziehen (de)
Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌼𐍉𐌽 (gahamōn)
Hungarian: felvesz (hu), ölt (hu), felölt (hu)
Ido: metar (io)
Italian: mettere (it), indossare (it), portare (it)
Japanese: かぶる (ja) (kaburu) (a hat, etc.), 履く (ja) (haku) (footwear), 着る (ja) (kiru) (other clothes)
Latin: induo
Norwegian: ta på (no)
Bokmål: ta på seg, bære (no) (helmet, hat, mask etc.)
Polish: ubierać (pl), zakładać (pl), wkładać (pl)
Portuguese: vestir (pt)
Russian: надева́ть (ru) (nadevátʹ), наде́ть (ru) (nadétʹ)
Sanskrit: प्रवस्ते (pravaste)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: обла́чити impf, о̀бӯћи pf, одије́вати impf, о̀дјенути pf

Latin: obláčiti (sh) impf, òbūći (sh) pf, odijévati (sh) impf, òdjenuti (sh) pf
Sicilian: mittìrisi (scn), abbiàrisi, purtari (scn)
Sikkimese: གྱོན་བོ (gyon bo)
Slovene: obleči, nadeti
Swedish: ikläda sig, ta på sig (sv)
Thai: ใส่ (th) (sài)
Ukrainian: одягати (odjahaty), надягати (nadjahaty)
Vietnamese: mặc (vi)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma.

Verb

don

Alternative form of don't

Anagrams

NOD, ODN, nod

Albanian

Alternative forms

do (Standard Albanian)

Etymology

Gheg variant of Standard Albanian do (“(it) wants, needs, loves, likes”) and do (“you want, need, love, like”).

Verb

don (aorist dashta, participle dashtë) (Gheg forms)

you want, need
A don me shkue? (Gheg) ― Do you want to go?
you like
Rita e don Gjergjin. (Gheg) ― Rita likes/wants George.
you love
it wants, needs
it likes
it loves

Conjugation

Standard Albanian conjugation:

Standard Albanian conjugation of don (active voice)

Show compound tenses:

singular			plural
		participle		dashur


		gerund		duke dashur
		infinitive		për të dashur
1st pers.	2nd pers.	3rd pers.	1st pers.	2nd pers.	3rd pers.
indicative	present	dua	do	do	duam	doni	duan
	imperfect	doja	doje	donte	donim	donit	donin
	aorist	desha	deshe	deshi	deshëm	deshët	deshën





perfect	kam dashur	ke dashur	ka dashur	kemi dashur	keni dashur	kanë dashur
past perfect	kisha dashur	kishe dashur	kishte dashur	kishim dashur	kishit dashur	kishin dashur
aorist II	pata dashur	pate dashur	pati dashur	patëm dashur	patët dashur	patën dashur
future¹	do të dua	do të duash	do të dojë	do të duam	do të doni	do të duan
future perfect²	do të kem dashur	do të kesh dashur	do të ketë dashur	do të kemi dashur	do të keni dashur	do të kenë dashur
subjunctive	present	të dua	të duash	të dojë	të duam	të doni	të duan




imperfect	të doja	të doje	të donte	të donim	të donit	të donin
perfect	të kem dashur	të kesh dashur	të ketë dashur	të kemi dashur	të keni dashur	të kenë dashur
past perfect	të kisha dashur	të kishe dashur	të kishte dashur	të kishim dashur	të kishit dashur	të kishin dashur
conditional^{1, 2}	imperfect	do të doja	do të doje	do të donte	do të donim	do të donit	do të donin
conditional^{1, 2}	past perfect	do të kisha dashur	do të kishe dashur	do të kishte dashur	do të kishim dashur	do të kishit dashur	do të kishin dashur
optative	present	daça	daç	daçtë	daçim	daçi	daçin
optative
perfect	paça dashur	paç dashur	pastë dashur	paçim dashur	paçit dashur	paçin dashur
admirative	present	dashkam	dashke	dashka	dashkemi	dashkeni	dashkan
	imperfect	dashkësha	dashkëshe	dashkësh	dashkëshim	dashkëshit	dashkëshin


perfect	paskam dashur	paske dashur	paska dashur	paskemi dashur	paskeni dashur	paskan dashur
past perfect	paskësha dashur	paskëshe dashur	paskësh dashur	paskëshim dashur	paskëshit dashur	paskëshin dashur
imperative	present	—	duaj	—	—	doni	—
¹) indicative future identical with conditional present ²) indicative future perfect identical with conditional perfect

Related terms

Azerbaijani

Other scripts
Cyrillic		дон
Arabic		دون

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [don]
Audio: (file)
Audio (Baku): (file)

Etymology 1

From Proto-Turkic *tōn. Cognate with Chuvash тум (tum).

Noun

don (definite accusative donu, plural donlar)

dress (worn by women)
Synonym: paltar
gown (loose, flowing upper garment)
(figurative) raiment, attire, garb, habiliments
appearance, look (of a person)

Declension

Declension of *don*
	singular	plural
nominative	don	donlar
definite accusative	donu	donları
dative	dona	donlara
locative	donda	donlarda
ablative	dondan	donlardan
definite genitive	donun	donların

Possessive forms of *don*
	nominative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	donum	donlarım
sənin (“your”)	donun	donların
onun (“his/her/its”)	donu	donları
bizim (“our”)	donumuz	donlarımız
sizin (“your”)	donunuz	donlarınız
onların (“their”)	donu or donları	donları

	accusative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	donumu	donlarımı
sənin (“your”)	donunu	donlarını
onun (“his/her/its”)	donunu	donlarını
bizim (“our”)	donumuzu	donlarımızı
sizin (“your”)	donunuzu	donlarınızı
onların (“their”)	donunu or donlarını	donlarını

	dative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	donuma	donlarıma
sənin (“your”)	donuna	donlarına
onun (“his/her/its”)	donuna	donlarına
bizim (“our”)	donumuza	donlarımıza
sizin (“your”)	donunuza	donlarınıza
onların (“their”)	donuna or donlarına	donlarına

	locative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	donumda	donlarımda
sənin (“your”)	donunda	donlarında
onun (“his/her/its”)	donunda	donlarında
bizim (“our”)	donumuzda	donlarımızda
sizin (“your”)	donunuzda	donlarınızda
onların (“their”)	donunda or donlarında	donlarında

	ablative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	donumdan	donlarımdan
sənin (“your”)	donundan	donlarından
onun (“his/her/its”)	donundan	donlarından
bizim (“our”)	donumuzdan	donlarımızdan
sizin (“your”)	donunuzdan	donlarınızdan
onların (“their”)	donundan or donlarından	donlarından

	genitive
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	donumun	donlarımın
sənin (“your”)	donunun	donlarının
onun (“his/her/its”)	donunun	donlarının
bizim (“our”)	donumuzun	donlarımızın
sizin (“your”)	donunuzun	donlarınızın
onların (“their”)	donunun or donlarının	donlarının

Derived terms

donatmaq (“adorn”) (dialectal)
- donanmaq
donlu

Related terms

donanma (“fleet; navy”)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Turkic *toŋ (“frozen; frost”). See Bashkir туң (toñ) for more cognates.

Adjective

don (comparative daha don, superlative ən don)

frozen, congealed

Noun

don (definite accusative donu, plural donlar)

frost
ice-covered ground, black ice

Related terms

donmaq

Balinese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *dahun.

Noun

don (Balinese script ᬤᭀᬦ᭄)

leaf

References

Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*dahun”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Bambara

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [dõ˦õ˨]

Noun

don

day

Etymology 2

Verb

don (tone dòn)

(intransitive) to enter
(transitive) to put (something into something)
to put on, wear (of clothing)

Derived terms

donda

Etymology 3

Predicative

don (tone dòn)

marks the predicate

References

2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Breton

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *duβn, from Proto-Celtic *dubnos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰubʰnós.

Adjective

don

deep

Casiguran Dumagat Agta

Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *dahun, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *dahun.

Noun

dön

leaf (of a plant)

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish don, which is from Latin dominus (“lord”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈdon]
Rhymes: -on

Noun

don m anim

(in Italian environment) (Originally a title of honour of the Pope, later used for all priests and later for aristocrats)
don Giovanni ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
(Spanish noble title) [19th c.]
(title of respect in front of Spanish given names)
don José ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
don (maffia boss)
- 2003, Miroslav Nožina, Mezinárodní organizovaný zločin v České republice, Themis, →ISBN, page 156:
  Roku 1876 mafiánský don Raffaele Palizollo reformoval dosavadní strategii nevměšování se mafie do veřejného života.
  In 1876 mafia don Raffaele Palizollo reformed the previous strategy of mafia not interfering into public affairs.
- 2012, Hana Pernicová, transl., Kolumbova záhada‎^[3], Ostrava: Domino, translation of original by Steve Berry, →ISBN, page 412:
  Simon se zatvářil stejně jako drogový don před čtyřmi dny.
  Simon had the same expression as the drug mafia don four days ago.

Declension

Declension of don (hard masculine animate)

	singular	plural
nominative	don	donové
genitive	dona	donů
dative	donovi, donu	donům
accusative	dona	dony
vocative	done	donové
locative	donovi, donu	donech
instrumental	donem	dony

Related terms

Anagrams

dno

Dupaningan Agta

Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *dahun, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *dahun.

Noun

don

leaf (of a plant)

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French don, from Latin dōnum.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɔ̃/
Audio (France): (file)
Audio (Switzerland (Valais)): (file)
Audio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Homophones: dom, dons, dont

Noun

don m (plural dons)

gift, talent, knack
gift (present)
donation
Merci pour votre don !
Thank you for your donation!

Derived terms

faire don

Gagauz

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /don/

Etymology 1

Ultimately Inherited from Proto-Turkic *tōn. Cognate with Turkish don. Distantly related to Russian штаны (štany).

Noun

don (definite accusative donu, plural donnar)

pants, trousers
Synonyms: pantalon, çaaşır

Declension

Declension of don
	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	don	donnar
definite accusative (belirtme)	donu	donnarı
dative (yönelme)	dona	donnara
locative (bulunma)	donda	donnarda
ablative (çıkma)	dondan	donnardan
genitive (tamlayan)	donun	donnarın

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Ultimately Proto-Turkic *toŋ.

Adjective

don (comparative taa don, superlative en don)

frozen, congealed
don er ― frozen ground
frozen, immobile
frozen; flabbergasted, appealed, shocked

Related terms

donmaa

Galician

Etymology

From Late Latin domnus, from Latin dominus (“lord”). Cognates include Spanish don.

Noun

don m (plural dons, feminine dona, feminine plural donas)

sir, mister

Synonyms

(courtesy treatment): señor

Related terms

dono

Irish

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

do’n (superseded)
’on (colloquial)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̪ˠənˠ/
(Galway) IPA^(key): /ɡənˠ/

Contraction

don

contraction of do +‎ an
Thug mé don bhuachaill é. ― I gave it to the boy.

Tá mé ag dul don Spáinn. ― I'm going to Spain.

Usage notes

This contraction is obligatory, i.e. *do an never appears uncontracted. It triggers lenition of a following consonant other than d, s, or t.

Related terms

Irish preposition contractions
	contracted with							copular forms
base form	an (“the sg”)	na (“the pl”)	mo (“my”)	do (“your”)	a (“his, her, their; which (present)”)	ár (“our”)	ar (“which (past)”)	before a consonant	before a vowel
base form	an (“the sg”)	na (“the pl”)	mo (“my”)	do (“your”)	a (“his, her, their; which (present)”)	ár (“our”)	ar (“which (past)”)	before a consonant	present/future	past/conditional
de (“from”)	den	de na desna*	de mo dem*	de do ded, det	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
do (“to, for”)	don	do na dosna*	do mo dom*	do do dod, dot	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
faoi (“under, about”)	faoin	faoi na	faoi mo	faoi do	faoina	faoinár	faoinar		faoinarb	faoinarbh
i (“in”)	sa, san	sna	i mo im*	i do id, it	ina	inár	inar		inarb	inarbh
le (“with”)	leis an	leis na	le mo lem*	le do led, let	lena	lenár	lenar		lenarb	lenarbh
ó (“from, since”)	ón	ó na ósna*	ó mo óm*	ó do ód, ót	óna	ónár	ónar		ónarb	ónarbh
trí (“through”)	tríd an	trí na	trí mo	trí do	trína	trínár	trínar		trínarb	trínarbh

*dialectal

Etymology 2

From Old Irish don (“misfortune, evil”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̪ˠɔnˠ/
(Ulster) IPA^(key): /d̪ˠɞnˠ/

Noun

don

misfortune

Usage notes

Used only in a few stock maledictions such as Do dhon is do dhuais ort!, Don is duais ort!, Mo dhon is mo dhograinn ort! (all basically "bad luck to you!") and Don d’fhiafraí ort! (“Don’t be so inquisitive!”).

Derived terms

Mutation

Mutated forms of *don*
radical	lenition	eclipsis
don	dhon	ndon

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Italian

Alternative forms

dom (archaic)

Etymology

From a shortening of an earlier donno, from dom'no (used by Dante), from Latin domnus < dominus. Compare Sicilian don.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdɔn/
Rhymes: -ɔn
Hyphenation: dòn

Noun

don m (feminine donna or madama)

Father (a title given to priests)
A title of respect to a man (historically, also the title of the lowest ranked nobles in Southern Italy): sir

Descendants

→ French: dom

Jamaican Creole

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdan/
Hyphenation: don

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dem-

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *dṓmder.

Proto-Italic *domanos

Latin dominusder.

English donder.

Jamaican Creole don

Derived from English don, particularly in the sense of a crime boss.

Noun

don (plural don dem, quantified don)

don, leader, community leader, crime boss, head of a garrison
Dem figet seh mi a di one don?
Have they forgotten that I'm the one true leader?

From di word start go roun' seh him want turn di don, a whole heap a man start pree him and warn him fi be careful.
As soon as word got around that he wanted to become the community leader, a lot of people took notice of him and warned him to be careful.

Derived terms

don dada

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁t

Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *dʰédʰeh₁ti

Proto-Germanic *dōną

Proto-West Germanic *dōn

Old English dōn

Middle English don

English doneder.

Jamaican Creole don

Derived from English done.

Verb

don

As an auxiliary verb:
1. (auxiliary, taking a past tense) Used as a remote past marker
  - 2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 2:9:
    Afta dem don lisn di king, dem lef go we. Az dem a go bout dem bizniz so, no di sed staar we dem did si iina di Iis said kom bak agen! It galang infronta dem til it riich wich paat di pikni did de, an a uova de-so it tap.
    After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
    (literally, “After they listened to the king, they left […]”)
to order to cease, to desist (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

Adjective

don

done, finished, completed (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

Japanese

Romanization

don

Rōmaji transcription of どん
Rōmaji transcription of ドン

Lower Tanana

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tɔn/

Noun

don (Toklat-Bearpaw)

alternative form of de'onh (“in the past”)

References

Kari, James et al. (2024), Kari, James, editor, Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 60

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English dōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dōn, from Proto-Germanic *dōną.

Alternative forms

do, donne, doon, doyn

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doːn/
Rhymes: -oːn

Verb

don (third-person singular simple present doth, present participle doynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative dide, past participle don)

To do, perform (an activity)
To complete, finish
To make, create
To put, place, position, raise
To remove, take away
To go or move (in a specified direction)
To behave (in a specified manner)
(auxiliary) To cause (an action or state)
(auxiliary) Emphasises the verb that follows it
(auxiliary) Stands in for a verb in a dependent clause

Usage notes

As in modern English, several uses of this verb are highly idiomatic.

Conjugation

Conjugation of *don* (irregular)
	present tense	past tense
infinitive	(to) don, do

1st-person singular	do	dide
2nd-person singular	dost, dest	didest, dide
3rd-person singular	doth, deth	dide
subjunctive singular	do	dide
imperative singular	do	—

plural¹	don, do	diden, dide
imperative plural	doth, do	—

participles	doynge, donde	don, do, ydon, ydo

¹ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Derived terms

doer

Descendants

English: do
Geordie: de, dee, div
Scots: dae, dee (Doric)
Yola: doone, deen

References

“dọ̄n, v.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 12 March 2018.
Wright, Joseph; Wright, Elizabeth Mary (1928) [1923], “Chapter X: Verbs”, in An elementary middle English grammar‎^[5], second edition, London: Oxford University Press, →OCLC, § 441, page 203; reprinted 1957.

Etymology 2

From Old English dōn on.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɔn/

Verb

don

(Late Middle English) to put on

Conjugation

Conjugation of *don* (weak in -ede)
	present tense	past tense
infinitive	(to) don

1st-person singular	done	doned(e)
2nd-person singular	donest	donedest
3rd-person singular	doneth	doned(e)
subjunctive singular	done	doned(e)
imperative singular	done	—

plural¹	donen, done	doneden, doned(e)
imperative plural	doneth, done	—

participles	donynge, donende	doned, ydoned

¹ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

English: don
Yola: don

References

“don, v.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Noun

don

plural of do (“doe”)

Middle Low German

Etymology

From Old Saxon dōn.

Verb

dôn

to do

Conjugation

Irregular: present 1sg dô, 2sg deist (dôst, dṏst), 3sg deit (dôt, dṏt), pl. dôn, dôt, dṏt, preterit 1sg dede, 2sg dêdest, 3sg dede, pl. dêden, past participle gedân, dân

Nigerian Pidgin

Etymology

From English done.

Verb

don

has/have (perfect aspect auxiliary)
Wi don chop.
We have eaten.
- 2024 March 17, Selin Girit and Grujica Andric, “Wetin go happun to your social media accounts wen you die”, in BBC News Pidgin‎^[6]:
  "Accounts go dey live till family member tell di social media app say di pesin don kpeme."
  "Accounts remain active until a family member informs the social media app that the person has died."

Northern Kurdish

Alternative forms

dihn, dohin, dohn, duhn, dwîn

Etymology

From Arabic دُهْن (duhn).

Noun

don m

(melted) fat, grease
Synonym: bez

Bîne nanê genimî, duhn bide, bêxe leşê min, ezê sax bim. ― Bring wheat bread, spread it with fat, put it on my body and I shall be cured [i.e., come to life again].

References

Chyet, Michael L. (2020), “don”, in Ferhenga Birûskî: Kurmanji–English Dictionary (Language Series; 1), volume I, London: Transnational Press, page 201b
Gülensoy, Tuncer (1994), “don”, in Kürtçenin Etimolojik Sözlüğü [Etymological Dictionary of Kurdish]‎^[7] (in Turkish), Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, page 65

Northern Sami

Etymology 1

From Proto-Samic *tonë.

Pronunciation

(Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈton/

Pronoun

don

you (singular)

Inflection

Inflection of don (irregular)
Nominative	don
Genitive	dū
Nominative	don
Genitive	dū
Accusative	dū
Illative	dutnje
Locative	dūs
Comitative	duinna
Essive	dūnin

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

(Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈtoːn/

Determiner

dōn

accusative/genitive singular of dōt

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin dōnum.

Pronunciation

Audio (Béarn): (file)

Noun

don m (plural dons)

gift (something given to another voluntarily)
gift (a talent or natural ability)
donation (a voluntary gift or contribution for a specific cause)

Related terms

dar
donar

Old English

Alternative forms

doan — Anglian
doa, doæ, doe — Northumbrian

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *dōn (“to do”). The exact development of past tense forms dyde, dydest, and dydon is unexplained, for such forms have -y- instead of expected -e-/-ǣ- (dede, dedest, dǣdon) from Proto-Germanic past stem *ded-/*dēd-.

Cognates

Cognate with Old Frisian dwā, Old Saxon dōn, Old Dutch duon, Old High German tuon. Non-Germanic cognates include Ancient Greek τίθημι (títhēmi), Latin faciō, Old Church Slavonic дѣти (děti).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /doːn/
Rhymes: -oːn

Verb

dōn

to do
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
  Iċ dyde swā iċ meahte.
  I did what I could.
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 17:12
  Hīe dydon swā hwæt swā hīe woldon.
  They did whatever they wanted.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 41:55
  Gangaþ tō Iosepe and dōþ swā hwæt swā hē ēow seċġe.
  Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.
to make, cause
- c. 992, Ælfric, "The Passion of St. Bartholomew the Apostle"
  Þū dydest mīnne brōðor his god forlǣtan.
  You made my brother renounce his god.
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 3:3
  Ġeġearwiaþ Dryhtnes weġ, dōþ his sīðas rihte.
  Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 4:19
  Folgiaþ mē, and iċ dō þæt ġit bēoþ manna fisċeras.
  Follow me, and I'll make you fishers of people.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 42:36
  Þā cwæþ Iācōb heora fæder, "Bearnlēasne ġē habbaþ mē ġedōnne. Næbbe iċ Iōsēp and Simeon is on bendum; nū ġē nimaþ Beniamin æt mē."
  Then Jacob, their father, said, "You have made me childless. I don't have Joseph and Simeon is in chains; now you're taking Benjamin from me."
- c. 992, Ælfric, "The Nativity of St. Andrew the Apostle"
  Swā swā hī ǣr mid nette fixodon on sǣlicum ȳðum, swā dyde Crist þæt hī siððan mid his heofonlīcan lāre manna sāwla ġefixodon; forðan ðe hī ætbrūdon folces menn fram flǣsclīcum lustum, and fram woruldlīcum ġedwyldum tō staðolfæstnysse lybbendra eorðan, þæt is tō ðām ēċan ēðle, be ðām cwæð sē witega þurh Godes Gāst, "Iċ āsende mīne fisċeras, and hī ġefixiað hī; mīne huntan, and hī huntiað hī of ǣlċere dūne and of ǣlċere hylle."
  As they before with a net had fished on the sea waves, so Christ caused them afterwards by his heavenly lore to fish for the souls of men; for they withdrew the people from fleshly lusts, and from worldly errors to the stability of the earth of the living, that is, to the eternal country, of which the prophet, through God's Spirit, said, "I will send my fishers, and they shall fish for them; my hunters, and they shall hunt them from every down and from every hill."
- late 10th century, Ælfric, "Memory of the Saints"
  Sē fēorða leahtor is ira þæt is on englisċ wēamōdnyss. Sēo dēð þæt sē man nāh his mōdes ġeweald and macað manslihtas and myċele yfelu.
  The fourth sin is Ira, that is in English, Anger; it causeth that a man have no power over his mind, and bringeth about manslaughters and many evils.
to put
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Mark 7:33
  Hē dyde his fingras on his ēaran.
  He put his fingers in his ears.
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Matthew 26:52
  Þā cwæþ sē Hǣlend tō him, "Dō þīn sweord eft on his sċēaðe."
  Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back in its sheath."
- late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 9:23
  Hwæt þā Sēm and Iapheth dydon ānne hwītel on heora sċuldran and ēodon underbæc.
  So then Shem and Japheth put a blanket on their shoulders and walked backwards.
to add
- c. 1011, Byrhtferth, Manual‎^[9]:
  Blōtmōnaþ hæfþ seofon rēgulārēs. Dō þrītiġ þǣr tō, þonne bēoþ þæt seofon and þrītiġ.
  November has seven regulares. Add thirty to that, and it is thirty-seven.
to take off, remove
- late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Exodus 3:5
  Dō þīn ġesċȳ of þīnum fōtum! Sōðlīċe sēo stōw þe þū on stentst is hālgu eorðe.
  Take your shoes off your feet! The place you're standing on is holy ground.
to treat someone (+ dative) a certain way
- c. 973, Æthelwold, translation of the Rule of Saint Benedict
  XXXV. Be þām þæt man eallum munucum ġelīċe dōn sċyle.
  35. On how all monks should be treated equally.
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
  Ēalā hū yfele mē dōþ maniġe weoroldmenn mid þām þæt iċ ne mōt wealdan mīnra āgenra þēawa.
  Many worldly people treat me so badly, I'm not allowed to use my own strengths.
- c. 990, Wessex Gospels, Luke 16:19
  Nū iċ neom wierðe þæt iċ bēo þīn sunu nemned. Dō mē swā ānne of þīnum ierðlingum.
  I don't deserve to be called your son anymore. Treat me as one of your fieldworkers.
to give (+dative)
- late 10th century, Ælfric, "Chair of Saint Peter"
  ...Næbbe iċ seolfor ne gold, iċ þē dō þæt iċ hæbbe...
  ...I have neither silver nor gold, I give thee that I have...
(pro-verb) Used to refer back to an earlier verb to avoid repetition.
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
  Ǣte þū tōdæġ? Iċ dyde.
  Did you eat today? I did.
- c. 992, Ælfric, "Sermon on the Beginning of Creation"
  Þæt ċild wēox swā swā ōðru ċildru dōþ.
  The child grew as other children do.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 3:8
  Þā behȳdde Adam hine, and his wīf ēac swā dyde, fram Godes ġesihte.
  Then Adam hid himself from God's sight, and his wife did so too.

Usage notes

Old English does not have do-support. While dōn does have auxiliary function in Old English, such uses are purely causative, equivalent to modern "to make" or "to cause to" (as per sense 2 above). Therefore, when asking "do you hate me?", one would say hatast þū mē? (literally "hatest thou me?"), not dēst þū mē hatian? (which would instead mean "do you make me hate?").
There are some emphatic uses of dōn that bear some resemblance to do-support constructions, often involving the ǣġþer ġe ("both ... and ...") construction and other verbs in apposition, although the apposed verbs are finite rather than infinitives. In such contexts, dōn is generally better translated with "to be", and the apposed verbs with participles or adjectives as necessary: sē catt dēþ ǣġþer ġe slǣpð ġe wacaþ ("the cat is both asleep and awake", or if translated with do-support, "the cat does both sleep and be awake").

Conjugation

Conjugation of dōn (irregular)

indicative mood	present tense	past tense
infinitive	dōn	dōnne
first person singular	dō	dyde
second person singular	dēst	dydest
third person singular	dēþ	dyde
plural	dōþ	dydon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	dō	dyde
plural	dōn	dyden
imperative
singular	dō
plural	dōþ
participle	present	past
	dōnde	(ġe)dōn

Derived terms

Descendants

Middle English: don, do, donne, doon, doyn
- English: do
  Geordie: de, dee, div
- Scots: dae, dee (Doric)
- Yola: doone, deen

References

Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “don”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old French

Alternative forms

dun

Etymology

From Latin donum.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dun/

Noun

don oblique singular, m (oblique plural dons, nominative singular dons, nominative plural don)

gift

Descendants

French: don
→ Middle English: done

Old Irish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̪on/

Etymology 1

Univerbation of di (“of/from”) +‎ in (“the sg”).

Article

don

of/from the sg

Alternative forms

dond, dont, dun, dund

Etymology 2

Univerbation of do (“to/for”) +‎ in (“the sg”).

Article

don

to/for the sg

Alternative forms

dond, dont, dun, dund, dúnn

Etymology 3

Noun

don (gender unknown)

misfortune, evil

Descendants

Irish: don

Mutation

Mutation of *don*
radical	lenition	nasalization
don	don pronounced with /ð-/	ndon

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Old Saxon

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *dōn. Compare Old English dōn, Old Frisian dwā, dūa, duā, Old Dutch duon, Old High German tuon.

Verb

dōn

to do
- 9th c. Heliand, verse 1456
  Dot im gōdes filu,...
  Do much good for him,...
to put
- 9th c. Heliand, verse 4389-4390
  ...an thea winistron hand sō duot hē ōk thea sāligon an thea swīđeron half...
  ...in the left hand so put he as well the blessed in the right side..

Conjugation

Conjugation of dōn (irregular)

indicative	present	past
infinitive	dōn
1st person singular	dōm	deda
2nd person singular	dōs	dādi
3rd person singular	dōd	deda
plural	dōth	dādun
subjunctive	present	past
1st person singular	dōe	dādi
2nd person singular	dōes	dādis
3rd person singular	dōe	dādi
plural	dōen	dādin
imperative	present
singular	dō
plural	dōth
participle	present	past
	dōndi	gidōn, dōn

Derived terms

Descendants

Middle Low German: dôn
- Low German: deoen (Paderbornisch), dohn (Münsterländisch); doon
  - → Danish: dont
  - → Norwegian Bokmål: don, dont
  - → Swedish: don

References

Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altsächsisches Wörterbuch‎^[10] (in German), 5th edition

Old Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /(ˈ)don/

Etymology 1

From Late Latin dom, from domnus (“master, sir”), from Latin dominus, from domus (“a house”).

Noun

don m (plural dones)

(honorific) sir, master; a title prefixed to male given names
- c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 1r:
  [R]emont por la gracia de dios. arçobispo de Toledo. a don almeric. arçidiano de antiochia con grant amor ſalut ⁊ amidtad.
  Remont, by the Grace of God archbishop of Toledo, to master Almerich, archdeacon of Antioch, with great love, haleness and goodwill.

Descendants

Spanish: don (see there for further descendants)

Etymology 2

From Latin dōnum (“a gift”), from dō (“to give”).

Noun

don m (plural dones)

gift, talent
- c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 65r:
  eſtonces el rey dio grandes dones adaniel e diol ſennoria ſobre ſos ſabios e la cibdat de babilonia […]
  Then the king gave Daniel great gifts and gave him rulership over his wise men and the city of Babylon […]

Descendants

Spanish: don

Etymology 3

Shortening of dont.

Adverb

don

apocopic form of dont; where
- c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 56r:
  Euino el ppħa iſaẏas e dixo al reẏ ezechias dõ uinieron eſtos barones. ⁊ q̃ te dixieron dixo el de tierra de luen uinieron de babilonia.
  And the prophet Isaiah came and said to king Hezekiah, “Where did these men come from, and what did they say to you?” He said, “From a distant land. They came from Babylon”.

Descendants

Spanish: do

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

dhan

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /t̪ɔn̪ˠ/
Hyphenation: don

Preposition

don (+ dative)

(higher register) contraction of do +‎ an: to the, for the
Chaidh i don bhùth. ― She went to the shop.

Usage notes

Like the bare article an, don triggers lenition if the following noun begins with f, c and g.
In the modern language this form is considered to be high register, with dhan being generally more common.

References

Mark, Colin (2003), “do”, in The Gaelic–English dictionary, London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 235

Sicilian

Alternative forms

ron (rhoticized)
do', ro' (apocoped)

Etymology

Both from the shortening of the earlier donnu (“master, sir”) or from Late Latin dom, ultimately from Latin domnus > dominus (“master, owner”), itself from domus (“a house”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɔn/ (Standard)
IPA^(key): /ɾɔn/ (Rhotacized)
IPA^(key): [dɔmː-], [ɾɔmː-] (when followed by /b/, /v/, /m/)
IPA^(key): [dɔm], [ɾɔm] (when followed by /p/)
IPA^(key): [dɔɲ], [ɾɔɲ] (when followed by /j-/)
IPA^(key): [dɔlː-], [ɾɔlː-] (when followed by /l/)
IPA^(key): [dɔŋ-], [ɾɔŋ-] (when followed by /k/, /ɡ/)
Rhymes: -ɔn
Hyphenation: don

Noun

don m (plural donni)

(obsolete) sir, master, lord
(obsolete) social honorary title referred to men possessing patrimonial assets
a title of respect to a man, especially older, prefixed to first names

Coordinate terms

(gender): donna
(age): carusu

Related terms

Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈdon/ [ˈd̪õn], (title before nouns) /don/ [d̪õn]
Rhymes: -on
Syllabification: don^[1]

Etymology 1

Inherited from Late Latin dom (“a courtesy title for monks and abbots”), from domnus (“master, sir”), from Classical Latin dominus, from domus (“a house”).

Noun

don m (plural dones, feminine doña, feminine plural doñas)

(obsolete) sir, master, lord
a title of respect to a man, prefixed to first names
- 1844, José Zorrilla, Don Juan Tenorio‎^[11], lines 57–58:
  [Y] dime: don Luis Mejías ¿ha venido hoy?
  [A]nd tell me: mister Luis Mejía, did he come today?
(Canary Islands) gentleman
Synonym: señor

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

→ Catalan: don
→ Czech: don
→ Tagalog: Don

Etymology 2

From Latin dōnum (“a gift”) (whence English donation), from dō (“to give”).

Noun

don m (plural dones)

gift, present
gift, talent, knack
Cielos, tu tío realmente tiene un don para gastar todo su dinero en el casino, ¿no?
Yikes, your uncle really has a knack for blowing all his money in the casino, doesn't he?

Usage notes

Like with the English word "knack", don can be used to describe a positive gift or talent, or a negative one like a bad habit or a neutral tendency to do something.

Derived terms

Related terms

References

^ Palabras átonas | Ortografía de la lengua española | RAE - ASALE

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From Dutch dom.

Adjective

don

stupid

Noun

don

stupidity
Sranan odo: don no abi dresi.
Surinamese proverb: there is no medicine for stupidity.

Descendants

→ Caribbean Javanese: dong
→ Kari'na: don
→ Saramaccan: dón

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Low German don (“"doing," work, thing”), from Low German don (“do”), which is cognate with English do, German tun.

Noun

don n

a tool, an implement
Synonym: (colloquial) doning

Declension

Declension of **don**
		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	don	dons
singular	definite	donet	donets
plural	indefinite	don	dons
plural	definite	donen	donens

Derived terms

References

“don”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
“don”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
“don”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

ond

Turkish

Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish طون (don), from Proto-Turkic *tōn.

Alternative forms

ton

Noun

don

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish طوڭ (doñ), from Proto-Turkic *toŋ. Cognate with Chuvash тӑм (tăm), also related to Chinese 凍 / 冻 (dòng).^[1]

Noun

don

frost

Verb

don

second-person singular imperative of donmak

Related terms

donma
donmak

References

^ İnayet, A. (1998). Çincedeki Türkçe Kelimeler Üzerine . Türk Dünyası Dil ve Edebiyat Dergisi , (6) , . Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/tdded/issue/12716/154815

Uzbek

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian (dāna).

Noun

don

grain

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zɔn˧˧]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [jɔŋ˧˧]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [jɔŋ˧˧]
Audio (Hà Nội): (file)

Etymology 1

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “đon seems to be an alternative form of don; cf. đĩa and dĩa, đa and da, etc. Anyway, can't find anything Nôm-related so maybe a recent loan?”

Alternative forms

đon

Noun

don (classifier con)

Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus macrourus)

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

don (classifier con)

(Quảng Ngãi) kind of clam

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

don • (𤈊, 燉, 𱱤) (diminutive reduplication don don)

withered and shrunken

Derived terms

héo don

West Makian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /d̪on̪/

Noun

don

a cape, headland

References

Clemens Voorhoeve (1982), The Makian languages and their neighbours‎^[12], Pacific linguistics

Yogad

Etymology

From Proto-Philippine *dahun, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *dahun.

Noun

don

leaf (of a plant)

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English don, from Old English dōn on.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɔn/

Verb

don

To put on, as clothes, dress.
Synonyms: deen, dieeght

References

Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 36

Zazaki

Noun

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don

kind of bread

[1] Palabras átonas | Ortografía de la lengua española | RAE - ASALE

[2] İnayet, A. (1998). Çincedeki Türkçe Kelimeler Üzerine . Türk Dünyası Dil ve Edebiyat Dergisi , (6) , . Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/tdded/issue/12716/154815

[1]

[1]

Northern Sami personal pronouns
	singular	dual	plural
1st person	mun	moai	mii
2nd person	don	doai	dii
3rd person	son	soai	sii

Translingual

Etymology

Symbol

See also

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Verb

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Etymology 3

Verb

See also

Anagrams

Albanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Verb

Conjugation

Related terms

Azerbaijani

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

Adjective

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Balinese

Etymology

Noun

References

Bambara

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Etymology 2

Verb

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Predicative

References

Breton

Etymology

Adjective

Casiguran Dumagat Agta

Etymology

Noun

Czech

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

Anagrams

Dupaningan Agta

Etymology

Noun

French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Derived terms

Derived terms

Further reading

Gagauz

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun