Word
yon
US/ˈjɑn/
UK/jˈɒn/
Definition
adj. that or those, but used to describe something that is far away. You use it when you want to point to something in the distance without using a specific word like 'that'.
adj. that or those, used to indicate distance. Often used in poetic or dialectal contexts to distinguish a distant object from a nearby one.
Examples
“I saw yon ship sailing across the sea.”
“The old man pointed at yon hills and told the children they would reach them by nightfall.”
“In the quiet of the morning, the traveler stood on the cliff and watched yon distant islands disappear into the mist as the tide rose.”
Examples
simple
“I saw yon ship sailing across the sea.”
contextual
“The old man pointed at yon hills and told the children they would reach them by nightfall.”
complex
“In the quiet of the morning, the traveler stood on the cliff and watched yon distant islands disappear into the mist as the tide rose.”
Etymology
From Middle English yon, from Old English ġeon, from Proto-Germanic *jainaz. Cognate with German jener.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/yon