yawn

Etymology

Partly from Middle English yanen, yonen, yenen (“to yawn”), from Old English ġinian (“to yawn, gape”), from Proto-Germanic *ginōną (“to yawn”); and partly from Middle English gonen (“to gape, yawn”), from Old English gānian (“to yawn, gape”), from Proto-Germanic *gainōną (“to yawn, gape”); both from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰi-, *ǵʰeyh₁- (“to yawn, gape”). Cognate with North Frisian jåne (“to yawn”), Saterland Frisian jaanje, joanje (“to yawn”), Middle Dutch genen, ghenen (“to yawn”), German Low German jahnen (“to yawn”), German gähnen (“to yawn, gape”), dialectal Swedish gana (“to gape, gawk”), dialectal Norwegian gina (“to gape”). Compare also Old Church Slavonic зѣѭ (zějǫ) (Russian зи́нуть (zínutʹ), зия́ть (zijátʹ)), Greek χαίνω (khaínō)), Latin hiō, Tocharian A śew, Tocharian B kāyā, Lithuanian žioti, Sanskrit जेह् (jeh)

verb

1. (intransitive) To open the mouth widely and take a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired or bored, and sometimes accompanied by pandiculation.
   I could see my students yawning, so I knew the lesson was boring them.
   c. 1773, John Trumbull, The Progress of Dulness, Exeter, New Hampshire: Henry Ranlet, 1794, Part 1, p. 19, And while above he spends his breath, The yawning audience nod beneath.
2. To say while yawning.
   “I haven’t the least idea what I want to do,” he yawned. 1922, Stephen McKenna, chapter 10, in The Secret Victory, New York: George H. Doran, page 214
   “Oh,” Sutherland yawned, “I’m too old for this.” 1978, Andrew Holleran, chapter 8, in The Dancer from the Dance, New York: Bantam, published 1979, page 217
3. To present a wide opening; gape.
   The canyon yawns as it has done for millions of years, and we stand looking, dumbstruck.
   Death yawned before us, and I hit the brakes.
   If your child has tumbled into one of those open sewers which yawn for the unwary in the streets […] 1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 8, page 104
4. (obsolete) To open the mouth, or to gape, through surprise or bewilderment.
   […] Hell being vnder euerie one of their Stages, the Players (if they had owed him a spight) might with a false Trappe doore haue slipt him downe, and there kept him, as a laughing stocke to al their yawning Spectators. 1606, Thomas Dekker, Nevves from hell brought by the Diuells carrier, London: W. Ferebrand
5. (obsolete) To be eager; to desire to swallow anything; to express desire by yawning.
   to yawn for fat livings

noun

1. The action of yawning; opening the mouth widely and taking a long, rather deep breath, often because one is tired or bored.
   But Mrs. MacWhirr, in the drawing-room […], stifled a yawn—perhaps out of self-respect—for she was alone. 1902, Joseph Conrad, chapter 6, in Typhoon
2. (colloquial) A particularly boring event.
   The slideshow we sat through was such a yawn. I was glad when it finished.