yawn
UK: jɔːn | US: jɔːn
vi. to open the mouth wide and inhale deeply, often due to tiredness or boredom
n. the act of yawning
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The word "yawn" traces back to Old English gionian, meaning "to open the mouth wide." It is part of a family of Germanic words (e.g., Old High German ginēn, Old Norse gína) all conveying the idea of gaping or opening. The modern spelling emerged in Middle English, retaining its core meaning. As an onomatopoeic-adjacent term, it mimics the sound or motion of a yawn, making it linguistically vivid yet resistant to morpheme breakdown.
She tried to suppress a yawn during the long lecture.
The baby yawned and rubbed his eyes before falling asleep.
His contagious yawn made everyone in the room yawn too.
A loud yawn escaped her as she stretched her arms.
The meeting was so dull that yawns spread like wildfire.