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pawn ¹

(pôn)

1. Something given as security for a loan; a pledge or guaranty.

2. The condition of being held as a pledge against the payment of a loan: jewels in pawn.

3. A person serving as security; a hostage.

4. The act of pawning.

tr.v. pawned, pawn·ing, pawns

1. To give or deposit (personal property) as security for the payment of money borrowed.

2. To risk; hazard: pawn one's honor.

Phrasal Verb:

pawn off

To dispose or get rid of deceptively: tried to pawn off the fake gemstone as a diamond.

[Middle English paun, from Old French pan, perhaps of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German pfant.]

pawna·ble adj.

pawnage n.

pawner (pônər), pawnor′(-nôr′) n.

pawn²

(pôn)

1. Abbr. P Games A chess piece of lowest value that may move forward one square at a time or two squares in the first move, capture other pieces only on a one-space diagonal forward move, and be promoted to any piece other than a king upon reaching the eighth rank.

2. A person or an entity used to further the purposes of another: an underdeveloped nation that was a pawn in international politics.

[Middle English, from Old French pedon, paon, from Medieval Latin pedō, pedōn-, foot soldier, from Late Latin, one who has broad, splayed feet, from Latin pēs, ped-, foot; see ped- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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