stun
nounEtymology
Inherited from Middle English stonen, stone (“to astonish, stun, numb”, also stoneyen), probably either directly or indirectly from Anglo-Norman estoner (“to stun, astonish”), from Late Latin *stunāre, from Frankish *stunōn (“to thunder, crash”) or perhaps from an unattested Latin *extonāre (“to thunder out, make a thunderous sound”), from tonāre ("to thunder"; compare Latin attonāre). An alternative etymology derives stonen from Old English stunian (“to smash, thunder”), from Proto-West Germanic *stunōn. See also astonish, astound. Compare Swedish stöna (“to moan, groan”), Danish stønne (“to moan, groan”), Icelandic stynja (“to moan”), Occitan estonar (“to surprise”), and French étonner (“to surprise”), and more distantly, Dutch steunen (“to groan; support”), German stöhnen (“to groan, moan”), German staunen (“to be astonished, be amazed, marvel at”), and Russian стонать (stonatʹ), стена́ть (stenátʹ, “to moan, groan”).
The condition of being stunned.
That which stuns; a shock; a stupefying blow.
Newfoundland A person who lacks intelligence.
Ball games, Billiards, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Pool, Snooker, Sports The effect on the cue ball where the ball is hit without topspin, backspin or sidespin.
- Williams will need a lot of stun to avoid going in the middle pocket
Literature, Media, Publishing, Science fiction A low-range setting for an energy weapon that will stun its target but not injure or kill it.
- Captain James Kirk: "Set your phaser on one quarter. I'll leave mine on stun."1966 September 8, George Clayton Johnson, The Man Trap (Star Trek), season 1, episode 1:
- Derived terms
- on stun, stun grenade, stun gun