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- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a cover made of canvas or plastic that sticks out from a building to protect you from sun or rain.
a rooflike cover, usually of canvas, extended over or before a place as a shelter from the elements.
Simple“We sat under the shop's awning to stay dry while it rained.”
In context“The striped canvas awning provided much-needed respite from the midday sun for the diners seated at the outdoor terrace.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
a cover used on a ship to provide shade on the deck.
a canvas covering used on a vessel's deck for protection against the sun; also refers to a specific extension of the poop deck.
Simple“The crew rigged the awning over the aft deck to keep the passengers cool.”
In context“The captain ordered the deck awning to be secured tightly before the tropical squall reached the vessel.”
UsageIn modern maritime contexts, it refers to the physical fabric shade rather than the structural deck extension.
Synonymsdeck cover
1615-25 (nautical sense only); from awn + -ing, reduction of Middle French auvans (“sloping roof”), from Old French anvant (1180), from Gaulish an(de)bannā (“eaves”) (compare Occitan ambans (“parapet”)), form of ande- (intensive prefix) (compare Welsh an-, Old Irish ind-) + bandā (“horn; peak”) (compare Welsh ban, Irish beann).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.