darn

darn
{{11}}darn (1) "to mend" c.1600, perhaps from M.Fr. darner "mend," from darne "piece," from Breton darn "piece, fragment, part." Alternative etymology is from obsolete dern (see DERN (Cf. dern)).
{{12}}darn (2) tame curse word, 1781, American English euphemism for DAMN (Cf. 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. Related: darned (pp. adjective, 1806); darndest (superlative, 1844).

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • darn — adv. (înv.; în loc.) În darn = în zadar, degeaba. – Din it. indarnó. Trimis de ionel bufu, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  DARN adv. înv. : În darn zadarnic; degeaba; în zadar. /<it. indarno …   Dicționar Român

  • darn — darn1 [därn] vt., vi. [< MFr dial. darner, to piece together, mend < Bret darn, a piece < IE base * der , to pull off, split apart > TEAR1] to mend (cloth) or repair (a hole or tear in cloth) by sewing a network of stitches across the …   English World dictionary

  • Darn — may refer to: Darning, a sewing technique Darn, a minced oath used in lieu of damn Darn, a unit of measurement, equal to 2.587 feet (US). This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an …   Wikipedia

  • darn it — darn it/you/him/etc mainly american informal phrase used when you are annoyed about something Darn it! I was sure I’d left my keys here. Thesaurus: ways of emphasizing when you are annoye …   Useful english dictionary

  • Darn — Darn, n. A place mended by darning. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Darn — Darn, v. t. A colloquial euphemism for {Damn}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Darn — (d[aum]rn), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Darned} (d[aum]rnd); p. pr. & vb. n. {Darning}.] [OE. derne, prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. darnio to piece, break in pieces, W. & Arm. to E. tear. Cf. {Tear}, v. t.] To mend as a rent or hole, with interlacing… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • darn — [interj] damn confound it, cripes, damn it, dang*, darnation, doggone, drat*, gosh darn; concepts 52,54 …   New thesaurus

  • darń — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 8}}rz. ż IVa, lm M. darńrnie {{/stl 8}}{{stl 7}} wierzchnia warstwa gleby wraz z roślinami, martwymi i żywymi korzeniami roślin; pocięte płaty gleby wraz z rosnącą na niej trawą, służące do umacniania rowów i nasypów : {{/stl… …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

  • darn it! — ˈdarn it! idiom (informal, especially NAmE) used as a mild swear word to show that you are angry or annoyed about sth, to avoid saying ‘ damn ’ • Darn it! I ve lost my keys! …   Useful english dictionary

  • darn — index repair Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”