Yawn

Definition: Yawn

Yawn

Noun

1. An involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom.

Verb

1. Utter a yawn; as from lack of oxygen or when one is tired.

2. Be wide open.

Date "yawn" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1598. (references)

Domain	Definition
Literature	Yawn Greek, chaino; German, gahnen; Anglo-Saxon, gan-ian. Source: Brewer's Dictionary.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

A yawn is a reflex of deep inhalation and exhalation associated with being tired, with a need to sleep, or from boredom. The word "yawn" has evolved from the Middle English word yanen, an alteration of yonen, or yenen, which in turn comes from the Old English geonian. Yawning is a powerful non-verbal message with several possible meanings, depending on the circumstances:

It's a not-always-so-subtle cue to spouses, co-workers, and bosses for attention, sympathy and a respite due to tiredness, stress, over-work or boredom.
An action indicating psychological decompression after a state of high alert. "I've observed that people on the spot, those who are the focus of tough questions never yawn. But afterward, there's a physiological and psychological letdown. They ratchet down, and a yawn is the first step to going 'off duty,' of entering the 'vegging state.'"
A means of expressing powerful emotions like anger and rejection. "Often, for whatever reason, people are not comfortable expressly verbalizing anger, boredom, disagreement or rejection. Thus, the yawn states for them, 'I'm rejecting you. I'm not interested in what you have to say. I'm not interested in you as a person.' It can serve as a passive-aggressive means to express hostility, anger or rejection when an individual isn't able to articulate those verbally. For instance, I've seen marriages where one spouse is giving such non-verbal cues, and the other isn't picking up on them, which further heightens the negative emotions."

A yawn can express strong anti-social messages, and so in some cultures people try to mute or mask them by placing a concealing hand over the yawning mouth.

Causes of yawning

A long-standing theory behind yawning is that there was too much carbon dioxide and not enough oxygen in the blood. The brain stem was assumed to detect this and would trigger the yawn reflex. The mouth stretches wide and the lungs inhaled deeply, causing oxygen into the lungs and thence to the bloodstream. This is not certain however: a more recent theory is that it is a form of bodily temperature regulation. Another theory is that yawns "seem to be caused by the same chemical compounds (neurotransmitters) in the brain that effect emotions, mood, appetite and more - serotonin, dopamine, glutamic acid and nitric oxide. The more of these compounds activated in the brain, the greater the frequency of yawns. Conversely, a greater presence in the brain of opiate neurotransmitters such as endorphins, the less the frequency of yawns."

The yawn reflex is often described as "contagious": if one person yawns, this will cause another person to "sympathetically" yawn. The reasons for this are unclear, possibly due to the "power of suggestion". Other theories include that "the yawn serves to synchronize mood behavior among gregarious animals, like the howling of the wolf pack during a full moon. It signals tiredness to other members of the group in order to synchronize sleeping patterns and periods of activity. Or, it can serve as a warning in displaying large, canine teeth and thus, proclaim "don't attack while I sleep."

Adelie penguins employ yawning as part of their courtship ritual. Penguin couples face off and the males engage in what is described as an "ecstatic display," their beaks open wide and their faces pointed skyward.

External Links

Synonyms: Yawn

Synonyms: yawning (n), gape (v), yaw (v). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Fatigue	Verb: be fatigued; Adjective: yawn; (get sleepy); droop, sink, flag; lose breath, lose wind; gasp, pant, puff, blow, drop, swoon, faint, succumb.
Inactivity	Sleep, slumber, be asleep; hibernate; oversleep; sleep like a top, sleep like a log, sleep like a dormouse; sleep soundly, heavily; doze, drowze, snooze, nap; take a nap; Noun: dream; snore one's best; settle to sleep, go to sleep, go off to sleep; doze off, drop off; fall asleep; drop asleep; close the eyes, seal up the eyes, seal up eyelids; weigh down the eyelids; get sleep, nod, yawn; go to bed, turn; get some z's, stack z's.
Opening	Verb: open, ope, gape, yawn, bilge; fly open.
Weariness	Never hear the last of; be tired of, be sick of, be tired with; Adjective: yawn; die with ennui.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Crosswords: Yawn

English words defined with "yawn": Chaun ♦ Galpe, Gane, Gern ♦ Jawn ♦ Oscitate ♦ smotherer, stifler ♦ Yawned. (references)

Specialty definitions using "yawn": Paridel ♦ WORMS ♦ Yawning. (references)

Etymologies containing "yawn": Jawn. (references)

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	Oh, I gotta yawn, stare at traffic, lick myself. (Stuart Little; writing credit: M. Night Shyamalan) And, and Xander's crying and not talking, and, and I was having fruit punch, and I thought, well, Joyce will never have any more fruit punch ever, and she'll never have eggs, or yawn or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer)
Lyrics	Then you try to scream but it only comes out as a yawn (Pinch Me; performing artist: Barenaked Ladies) Will you just yawn and say (It's All Been Done; performing artist: Barenaked Ladies; writing credit: Steven Page) And yawn and stretch and try to come to life ("9 to 5"; performing artist: Dolly Parton)
Clever	You are an engineer if you think that when people around you yawn, it's because they didn't get enough sleep. (references; author: unknown)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
Books	Cough, Sneeze, Burp, Hiccup, Yawn, Blink, Sweat, and Shiver (reference) What Makes You Cough, Sneeze, Burp, Hiccup, Blink, Yawn, Sweat, and Shiver (My Health) (reference) Why I Sneeze, Shiver, Hiccup, and Yawn (Let'S-Read-And-Find-Out Science. Stage 2) (reference) Yawn Like a Hippo! (reference) Crocodiles Yawn to Keep Cool (I Didn't Know That) (reference) (more book examples)

Music	Yawn [CD-SINGLE] [IMPORT] (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Play	Caption
	Yawn; tired; exhausted; catch flies; divide; doze; drowse; expand; gap; gape; give; nap; part; sleep; snooze; spread; yaw; yawp; apathy; detachment; disgust; distaste; doldrums; dullness; ennui; fatigue; flatness; incuriosity; indifference; irksomeness; j.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Bob Phillips	It's always darkest before the yawn.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Grapes of Wrath	Steinbeck, John	They saw him yawn and sway, and they saw him put his arms on the table and rest his head on his arms and go to sleep.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		The temporomandibular joint connects the lower jaw, called the mandible, to the temporal bone at the side of the head. If you place your fingers just in front of your ears and open your mouth, you can feel the joint on each side of your head. Because these joints are flexible, the jaw can move smoothly up and down and side to side, enabling us to talk, chew and yawn. Muscles attached to and surrounding the jaw joint control its position and movement. (references)
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	WORMS'-:MEAT:, n. The finished product of which we are the raw material. The contents of the Taj Mahal, the Tombeau Napoleon and the Granitarium. Worms'-meat is usually outlasted by the structure that houses it, but "this too must pass away." Probably the silliest work in which a human being can engage is construction of a tomb for himself. The solemn purpose cannot dignify, but only accentuates by contrast the foreknown futility. Ambitious fool! so mad to be a show! How profitless the labor you bestow Upon a dwelling whose magnificence The tenant neither can admire nor know. Build deep, build high, build massive as you can, The wanton grass-roots will defeat the plan By shouldering asunder all the stones In what to you would be a moment's span. Time to the dead so all unreckoned flies That when your marble is all dust, arise, If wakened, stretch your limbs and yawn -- You'll think you scarcely can have closed your eyes. What though of all man's works your tomb alone Should stand till Time himself be overthrown? Would it advantage you to dwell therein Forever as a stain upon a stone? Joel Huck
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

"Yawn" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 72.30% of the time. "Yawn" is used about 148 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	72.3%	107	31,463
Lexical Verb (infinitive)	16.22%	24	71,196
Lexical Verb (base form)	8.78%	13	97,576
Noun (proper)	2.03%	3	202,518
Noun (common)	0.68%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	148	N/A

The following table summarizes the usage of "yawn" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified.

Name	Usage/Gender	Usage per 100 million Persons	Rank in USA
Yawn	Last name	1,000	13,368
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

Expressions using "yawn": cause to yawn ♦ give a yawn ♦ yawn one's head off ♦ yawn one's life away ♦ yawn with boredom. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "yawn": yawn-capacity, yawn-inducing, yawn-making, yawn-provoker.
	Ending with "yawn": half-yawn.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "yawn"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		gogësimë (eructation, gape), gogësij (eructate, gape, Keck, miss one's chance, overlook), gjë e mërzitshme (bore, drag). (various references)

Arabic		‏فغر, ‏قال متثائبا, ‏تثاؤب (yawning), ‏تثاءب (gape). (various references)

Blackfoot		opasoo (to yawn). (various references)

Bulgarian		нещо скучно, нещо досадно (aggravation), зея (gape), прозявам се (gape). (various references)

Chinese		�"�� . (various references)

Czech		zet, zívnutí, zívnout, zívat (gape), propast (abysm, abyss, chasm, divide, gulf). (various references)

Danish		gabe. (various references)

Dutch		geeuw (chasma, yawning), gapen (gape, gawk). (various references)

Esperanto		oscedo, oscedi, faŭki (gape). (various references)

Faeroese		geispa, gapa (gape, gawk). (various references)

Farsi		خمیازه کشیدن (Gape), دهن دره کردن , دهن دره , باحال خمیازه سخن گفتن . (various references)

Finnish		haukotella. (various references)

French		bâiller, bâillement (yawning). (various references)

German		gähnen (gape, give a yawn, to gape, yawning). (various references)

Greek		χασμουρητό (chasma), χάσμημα (yawning), χασμουριέμαι (gape). (various references)

Hebrew		לפעור (gape, open wide), לפ�"וק, לפ�"ק, פ�"וק (gape). (various references)

Hungarian		ásítás (gape). (various references)

Indonesian		menguap (evaporate), mangap (gape). (various references)

Italian		sbadiglio (gape), sbadigliare (gape). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		� 伸 (yawning). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		あくび (unlucky day, yawning), け�"し�" (beatific vision, dedication, devotion, inspection of a meter, medical examination, physical examination, yawning). (various references)

Korean		하�'� (Yawning). (various references)

Manx		mennuigh, jannoo mennuigh (yawning). (various references)

Norwegian		gjespe, gjesp. (various references)

Papiamen		hap. (various references)

Pig Latin		yawnay

Portuguese		bocejo (gape), bocejar (gape). (various references)

Romanian		spune cãscând, se deschide (open, open oneself to, spread), se cãsca, falie (failure, fault, fissure), despicãturã largã, crãpãturã (breach, break, chasm, chink, cleft, crack, cranny, crevasse, crevice, eyehole, fissure, flaw, loophole, Nick, rent, rift, slit, slot, split), cãscat (absent minded, Agape, ajar, gaping, open mouthed, stupid, yawning), cãsca (gape, half-open). (various references)

Russian		зевать (gape). (various references)

Scottish		mèanan (a yawn). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		zjapiti (be open, gape), zevati (gape), zevanje (gape), zev (hiatus). (various references)

Spanish		bostezo (gape), bostezar. (various references)

Swedish		gapa (bawl, gape, gawk, hold one's mouth open, open one's mouth, stand open, stare, yell), gäspning, gäspa (gape, gawk). (various references)

Turkish		yarılmak (burst, chap, cleave, crack, dehisce, rip, slit, split off, tear), genişlemek (broaden, dilate, enlarge, expand, extend, flare, splay, sprawl, spread out, widen), esneyerek söylemek, esnemek (bulge, gape, gawk, give, spring, yield), esneme (bending, flection, flexion, gape, oscitation, spring, stretch, yawning, yield), açılmak (admit smb. into one's confidence, air, bare, be opened, become relaxed, come loose, come open, come undone, disclose one's secret, disentangle, disperse, diverge, effuse, expand, fine, flower, gape, get loose, go up, loosen, loosen up, open, open in, open oneself, open out, open up, recrudesce, refresh, spread, thaw, unbend, uncurl, unfasten, unfold, unfurl, unload, untwine, untwist, unwind, work loose). (various references)

Turkmen		pallamak, pal. (various references)

Ukrainian		розверзатися, заючий отвір, заяти, зазор (air gap, air space, clearance, slack), безодня (abysm, abyss, chasm, deep, depth, precipice, profundity), позіхати, позіхання (oscitancy, oscitation), позіх (gape). (various references)

Welsh		dylyfu ge+n (gape). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	oscitare, oscitari, oscitavit. (various references)
Old English	450-1100	ginian, gionian. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "yawn": yawned, yawner, yawners, yawning, yawningly, yawns. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Yawn" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: ayan, iywaan, Nyhavn, vawn, yaan, yahn, yain, yan, yani, yann, yano, yaun, yawa, yawe, yawen, yawine, Yawk, yeaw, yewn, yiw, yown, yuw, yw. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "yawn" (pronounced yô"n)
2	-ô" n	brawn, dawn, drawn, exon, fawn, gone, lawn, overdrawn, pawn, prawn, predawn, redrawn, Shawn, undergone, withdrawn.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Direct Anagrams: awny, wany.
	Words within the letters "a-n-w-y"
	-1 letter: any, awn, naw, nay, wan, way, wyn, yaw.
	-2 letters: an, aw, ay, na, ya.
	Words containing the letters "a-n-w-y"
	+1 letter: fawny, lawny, noway, tawny, waney, wanly, yawns.
	+2 letters: anyhow, anyway, brawny, gowany, noways, runway, sawney, swanky, tawney, twangy, twanky, unwary, yawing, yawned, yawner.
	+3 letters: anyways, anywise, endways, gangway, laneway, runaway, runways, sawneys, scrawny, swaying, tawneys, tawnily, unweary, wayworn, windway, womanly, yawling, yawners, yawning, yawping.
	+4 letters: anywhere, awayness, bendways, brawnily, downplay, entryway, gangways, gaywings, greenway, inwardly, laneways, laywoman, laywomen, longways, narrowly, nowadays, pandowdy, playdown, runaways, sternway, swankily, swannery, thrawnly, trainway, underway, unswayed, unwarily, waddying, wantonly, wardenry, warranty, waygoing, weaponry, wearying, windways, yardwand, yawpings.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Expression	Frequency per Day
yawn	165
we why yawn	19
people why yawn	8
horse yawn	7
family yawn	5
jiang yawn zemin	5
elephant yawn	4
sigh technique yawn	4
why yawn	4
contagious yawn	4
big yawn	4
lion yawn yawning	3
lion yawn	3
wolf yawn	2
baby yawn	2
caroline yawn	2
cat yawn	2
sleepy yawn	2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Yawn

Definition: Yawn

Yawn

Noun

Verb

Specialty Definition: Yawn

Specialty Definition: Yawn

Synonyms: Yawn

Synonyms within Context: Yawn

Fatigue

Inactivity

Opening

Weariness

Crosswords: Yawn

Modern Usage: Yawn

Screenplays

Lyrics

Clever

Commercial Usage: Yawn

Books

Music

Image Slideshow: Yawn

Photos:Yawn

Illustrations:Yawn

Computer Images:Yawn

Sounds Captioned with "Yawn".

Familiar Quotations: Yawn

Bob Phillips

Use in Literature: Yawn

Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John

Non-Fiction Usage: Yawn

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

Usage Frequency: Yawn

Name Usage Frequency: Yawn

Expression: Yawn

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Yawn

Modern Translation: Yawn

Albanian

Arabic

Blackfoot

Bulgarian

Chinese

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Faeroese

Farsi

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hungarian

Indonesian

Italian

Japanese Kanji

Japanese Katakana

Korean

Manx

Norwegian

Papiamen

Pig Latin

Portuguese

Romanian

Russian

Scottish

Serbo-Croatian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Turkmen

Ukrainian

Welsh

Ancestral Language Translations: Yawn

Derivations & Misspellings: Yawn

Derivations

Misspellings

Photos:
Yawn

Illustrations:
Yawn

Computer Images:
Yawn