A Dictionary of the English Language
                        A Digital Edition of the 1755 Classic by Samuel Johnson
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Yawn (noun)

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View Scan · View Transcription · from Page 2309

Yawn. n.s. [from the verb.]

  1. Oscitation.

    Thee, Paridel, she mark'd thee, there
    Stretch'd on the rack of a too easy chair;
    And heard thy everlasting yawn confess
    The pains and penalties of idleness.
    Pope's Dunciad.

  2. Gape; hiatus.

    Hence to the borders of the marsh they go,
    That mingles with the baleful streams below;
    And sometimes with a mighty yawn, 'tis said,
    Opens a dismal passage to the dead,
    Who, pale with fear, the rending earth survey,
    And startle at the sudden flash of day.
    Addison.

Sources: Addison, Joseph (306) · Pope, Alexander (298)

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Cite this page: Johnson, Samuel. "Yawn (noun)." A Dictionary of the English Language: A Digital Edition of the 1755 Classic by Samuel Johnson. Last modified: November 5, 2012. http://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/?p=3021.


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