# lawn

Pronunciation: say "LAWN" US /lɔn/, UK /lɔːn/

## Noun

1. An area of ground, typically around a house, covered with grass that is kept closely mown.
   - Simple: An area of short grass, usually next to a house, that people cut to keep it neat.
   - _After weeks of rain, the lawn had grown thick and needed mowing._
   - _They reseeded the front lawn where the grass had died._
2. A thin, sheer fabric made from finely woven linen or cotton.
   - Simple: A thin, light cloth made from linen or cotton.
   - _The Victorian nightgown was sewn from delicate white lawn._
   - _Lawn drapes well and is favored for lightweight summer shirts._
4. Pieces of fine linen or cotton fabric, especially the lengths used to make a bishop's sleeves.
   - Simple: Pieces of thin linen cloth, used to make the sleeves of a bishop's robe.
   - _The bishop's lawn billowed at his wrists as he raised his hands in blessing._
   - _Each spring the cathedral replaced the bishop's lawn with newly woven cloth._
5. An open glade or clearing of ground lying between stretches of woodland. *(dialectal, England)*
   - Simple: An open piece of ground between areas of trees or woods.
   - _The hunting party paused at a grassy lawn ringed by ancient woodland._
   - _A small chapel stood on the lawn where the two forests met._
6. A continuous sheet of microbial growth across an agar plate, so dense that separate colonies can no longer be distinguished.
   - Simple: A thick layer of tiny living things, like bacteria, that has grown to cover a whole dish.
   - _The plate showed a confluent lawn rather than countable colonies._
   - _Technicians spread the sample evenly to grow a uniform lawn for the assay._

## Verb

3. To cover a piece of ground with grass in order to create a lawn.
   - Simple: To put grass on an area of ground to make a lawn.
   - _The landscapers will lawn the entire courtyard next spring._
   - _They decided to lawn the slope to stop the soil washing away._

## Noun

7. An article of clothing made from lawn, a fine linen or cotton fabric. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A piece of clothing made from thin linen or cotton cloth.
   - _The young lady appeared in a sheer summer lawn trimmed with lace._
   - _The maid laundered the mistress's lawns with great care._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3, 5–6** — From Early Modern English 'laune' (turf, grassy area), an alteration of 'laund' (glade), from Middle English 'launde' and Old French 'lande' (heath, moor). This word is of Germanic or Gaulish origin, ultimately from a root meaning 'land' or 'heath', and is a doublet of 'land'.
**Meanings 2, 4, 7** — Apparently from Laon, a French town known for its linen manufacturing, from Old French 'Lan' and Latin 'Laudunum', a Celtic name related to 'Lugdunum'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lawn (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).