English Explanatory Dictionary

loon

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A crazy or deranged person; a lunatic.
  2. An idler, a lout.
  3. A boy, a lad.
  4. A harlot; mistress.
  5. A simpleton.
  6. An English soldier of an expeditionary army in Ireland.
  7. A round area of pavement that protrudes from one side of a road to accommodate turning vehicles with a wide turning circle.
  8. Clipping of balloon.
noun
  1. Any of various birds, of the order Gaviiformes, of North America and Europe that dive for fish and have a short tail, webbed feet and a yodeling cry.
name
  1. A municipality of Bohol, Philippines.

Pronunciation

/ˈluːn/ en-us-loon.ogg

Word forms

loon loons

Etymology

From Middle English louen, lowen (“rascal; rogue”), probably of Middle Dutch or Middle Low German origin. Compare Dutch loen (“simpleton”). Or, related to etymology 2, due to the bird's loud cry. Folk etymology associates it slang-wise with lunatic, though the latter may have influenced it; see loony.

Synonyms

lunatic psycho wacko bulb-out diver

Related words

looney loony loonie Loon op Zand

Derived words

conservaloon gunloon loon pants loons loonsome Arctic loon black-throated loon great northern loon common loon loonie Pacific loon red-throated loon yellow-billed loon
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on L Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary