dung
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.waste from animals, especially large ones like cows or elephants.
n.the excrement of animals, typically large herbivores, often used as manure for soil enrichment.
Simple“The farmer collected the cow dung to use as fertilizer for his crops.”
In context“Biologists studied the elephant dung to determine the health and diet of the herd moving through the reserve.”
UsageUsually uncountable when referring to the substance in general.
- 02 C1 Advanced
v.to put animal waste on land to help plants grow better.
v.to apply dung to land as a fertilizer.
Simple“The gardener decided to dung the vegetable patch before the spring planting.”
In context“Traditional agricultural practices required the peasants to dung the fields heavily after the autumn harvest to prepare for the next cycle.”
UsageTransitive verb taking the land or soil as its direct object.
Synonymsfertilizemanure - 03 C2 Proficiency
v.a word for when an animal passes waste from its body.
v.to void excrement; used specifically in reference to animals.
Simple“The horses were dunging in the field near the fence.”
In context“The veterinarian noted that the cattle were dunging more frequently than usual, suggesting a change in their dietary fiber intake.”
UsageIntransitive verb.
Synonymsdefecate
“I also wanted a modest fossil: the coprolite, millions-of-years-old dung.”
“Some species are found in the unlikeliest places: in the soil crust of the Sonoran desert, on decaying dung in the Sahara, in cushions of Antarctic moss.”
From Middle English dung, dunge, donge, from Old English dung (“dung; excrement; manure”), from Proto-West Germanic dungu, from Proto-Germanic dungō (“dung”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰengʰ- (“to cover”). Superseded non-native Middle English fen (“dung, excrement, filth”), from Old French fien, fiente (“dung, manure”).
See ding
unknown
Onomatopoeic.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.