English Reference

Word

hun

Phoneticshun

US/ˈhən/

UK/hˈʌn/

Definitions

02historical warrior

B2

n. a member of a group of people from Central Asia who attacked Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries.

n. a member of a nomadic people who invaded Europe in the fourth and fifth centuries and established a large empire under Attila.

“The Huns were famous for their skills as horsemen and warriors.”

“The migration of the Huns into Eastern Europe triggered a domino effect of tribal movements that eventually pressured the borders of the Roman Empire.”

03MLM salesperson

C1

n. a woman who sells products for a multi-level marketing company, often using social media.

n. a woman involved in multi-level marketing (MLM) who aggressively recruits others or sells products via social media, often using overly familiar language.

“I get so many messages from huns on Instagram trying to sell me weight-loss tea.”

“The term 'hun' has become a pejorative label for social media users who mask predatory sales tactics with performative friendliness.”

Slang · Humorous

Etymology

From Old English Hūnas, Hūne (both plural), from Late Latin Hunni, from Koine Greek Οὗννοι (Hoûnnoi), borrowed through Middle Iranian. Cognate with Old Norse húnir, Old High German Hunni. See also etymology of Xiongnu. Compare Sogdian [script needed] (xwn), Sanskrit हूण (hūṇa), and 匈奴 (OC hoŋ-nâ) (c. 318 BCE) > hɨoŋ-nɑ (Eastern Han), which Schuessler (2014:264) proposes to be transcription of foreign *Hŏna ~ Hŭna. More at Huns. As a derogatory term for Germans popularized by Rudyard Kipling, reacting to Germany's proposal that the Royal Navy be used to collect debts from Venezuela.

Borrowed from Khmer ហ៊ុន (hun).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry

Level
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

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English Reference