pawn

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɔːn/
• Rhymes: -ɔːn
• (US) IPA^(key): /pɔn/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /pɑn/
• (Southern American English) IPA^(key): /pɑɒn/
• Homophone: porn (non-rhotic accents)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒn

Etymology 1

A black pawn in chess

From Middle English pown, pawn, from Anglo-Norman paun, poun (“pawn, pedestrian”) ( = Old French poon, päon, pëon), from Late Latin pedō, pedōnis (“footsoldier”), from Latin pēs, ped- (“foot”). Doublet of peon.

Noun

pawn (plural pawns)

1. (chess) The most common chess piece, or a similar piece in a similar game. In chess each side has eight; moves are only forward, and attacks are only forward diagonally or en passant.
2. (figuratively) Someone who is being manipulated or used to some end.

   Though a pawn of the gods, her departure is the precipitating cause of the Trojan War.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:pawn

Derived terms

• poisoned pawn
• tall pawn

Translations

chess piece

• Afrikaans: pion
• Albanian: ushtar (sq) m
• Arabic: جُنْدِيّ‎ m (jundiyy), بَيْدَق‎ m (baydaq)
• Armenian: զինվոր (hy) (zinvor)
• Asturian: peón m
• Azerbaijani: piyada (az)
• Belarusian: пе́шка f (pjéška), ла́тнік m (látnik), ні́жнік m (nížnik)
• Bengali: বোড়ে (boṛe)
• Breton: pezh gwerin m
• Bulgarian: пе́шка f (péška)
• Burmese: နယ် (my) (nai) (in some games)
• Catalan: peó (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 兵 (bing¹), 士兵 (si⁶ bing¹), 卒 (zeot¹)

  Mandarin: 兵 (zh) (bīng)

  Min Nan: 士兵 (zh-min-nan) (sū-peng), 兵 (zh-min-nan) (peng)

• Czech: pěšec (cs) m
• Danish: bonde (da) c
• Dutch: pion (nl) m
• Esperanto: peono
• Estonian: ettur (et)
• Faroese: finna f
• Finnish: sotilas (fi)
• French: pion (fr) m
• Galician: peón (gl) m
• Georgian: პაიკი (ṗaiḳi)
• German: Bauer (de) m
• Greek: πιόνι (el) n (pióni), στρατιώτης (el) m (stratiótis)
• Hebrew: חייל‎ (he) m (chayal), רגלי‎ (he) m (ragli)
• Hindi: प्यादा (hi) m (pyādā), पियादा (hi) m (piyādā), सिपाही (hi) m (sipāhī)
• Hungarian: gyalog (hu), (less formal) paraszt (hu)
• Icelandic: bóndi (is) m
• Ido: piono (io)
• Indonesian: bidak (id), pion (id)
• Irish: ceithearnach m, fichillín m
• Italian: pedone (it) m, pedina (it) f
• Japanese: ポーン (pōn)
• Javanese: bidhag (jv)
• Kazakh: сарбаз (sarbaz), пешка (peşka)
• Khmer: ត្រី (km) (trəy)
• Korean: 폰 (pon), 졸 (ko) (jol) (Oriental chess)
• Kyrgyz: пешка (peşqa)
• Lao: ເບ້ຍ (bīa)

• Latin: latro (la)
• Latvian: bandinieks m
• Lithuanian: pėstininkas m
• Macedonian: пешак m (pešak), пион m (pion)
• Malay: bidak, pion, piadah
• Malayalam: കാലാൾ (ml) (kālāḷ, literally “foot soldier”)
• Maori: kaihāpai-ō
• Middle English: pown
• Middle Persian: 𐭯𐭣𐭠𐭲𐭪‎ (pdʾtk /payādag/)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хүү (mn) (khüü)

• Navajo: naaʼnil
• Norwegian: bonde (no) m
• Occitan: peon m
• Ojibwe: ganoodiye
• Persian: سرباز‎ (fa) (sarbâz), پیاده‎ (fa) (piyâde)
• Plautdietsch: Büa m
• Polish: pion (pl) m, pionek (pl) m
• Portuguese: peão (pt) m
• Romanian: pion (ro) m
• Russian: пе́шка (ru) f (péška)
• Scottish Gaelic: pàn m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пешак m / пјешак m, пион m

  Roman: pešak (sh) m / pješak (sh) m, pion (sh) m

• Slovak: pešiak m
• Slovene: kmet (sl) m
• Spanish: peón (es) m
• Swedish: bonde (sv) c
• Tagalog: piyon
• Tajik: пиёда (tg) (piyoda), сарбоз (sarboz)
• Thai: เบี้ย (bîia)
• Translingual: ♙, ♟
• Turkish: piyon (tr)
• Turkmen: pyýada, peşka
• Ukrainian: піша́к m (pišák)
• Urdu: پیاده‎ m (pyāda)
• Uyghur: پىيادە‎ (piyade), پېشكا‎ (pëshka)
• Uzbek: piyoda (uz), sarboz (uz), peshka
• Vietnamese: tốt (vi), chốt (vi)
• Yiddish: פּיאָן‎ m (pyon)

someone who is being manipulated

• Afrikaans: pion
• Bulgarian: пио́нка f (piónka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 爪牙 (zh), 爪牙 (zh) (zhaoya)

• Danish: brik c (in someone's game)
• Dutch: pion (nl) m, kleine man m
• Finnish: pelinappula (fi)
• French: pion (fr) m
• Galician: peón (gl) m
• Georgian: პაიკი (ṗaiḳi)
• German: Schachfigur (de) f

• Greek: πιόνι (el) n (pióni), υποχείριο (el) n (ypocheírio), ενεργούμενο (el) n (energoúmeno)
• Hebrew: פיון‎ (he) m (pion)
• Italian: pedina (it) f
• Maori: kurumetometo
• Norwegian: brikke (no) m
• Polish: pionek (pl) m
• Portuguese: peão (pt) m
• Russian: пе́шка (ru) f (péška)
• Spanish: peón (es) m
• Swedish: bricka (sv) c
• Turkish: piyon (tr), oyuncak (tr)

See also

• Pawn (chess) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Appendix:Chess_pieces

Etymology 2

From Middle French pan (“pledge, security”), apparently from a Germanic language (compare Middle Dutch pant, Old High German pfant).

Noun

pawn (countable and uncountable, plural pawns)

1. (uncountable) The state of being held as security for a loan, or as a pledge.

   All our jewellery was in pawn by this stage.

2. An instance of pawning something.
   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene i]:

     Redeem from broking pawn the blemish'd crown.

   • 1624, John Donne, Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: Printed by A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones, OCLC 55189476; republished as Geoffrey Keynes, John Sparrow, editor, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions: […], Cambridge: At the University Press, 1923, OCLC 459265555:

     As therefore the morning dew is a pawn of the evening fatness, so, O Lord, let this day's comfort be the earnest of to-morrow's.

3. (now rare) An item given as security on a loan, or as a pledge.
   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:

     My life I never held but as a pawn / To wage against thy enemies.

   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, OCLC 54573970:

     Brokers, takers of pawns, biting userers, I will not admit; yet […] I will tolerate some kind of usery.

   • a. 1626, Francis Bacon, Of Usury

     As for mortgaging or pawning, […] men will not take pawns without use [i.e. interest].

4. (rare) A pawnshop; pawnbroker.

Translations

instance of pawning something

• Bulgarian: залог (bg) m (zalog)
• Danish: pantsætning c
• Dutch: verpanding f
• Finnish: panttaus
• French: prêt sur gage m
• Galician: empeño (gl) m

• German: Verpfändung f
• Greek: ενεχυρίαση (el) f (enechyríasi)
• Portuguese: penhora (pt) f
• Spanish: empeño (es) m
• Swedish: pant (sv)

item sold to a pawn shop

• Bulgarian: залог (bg) m (zalog)
• Danish: pant n
• Dutch: pand (nl) n
• French: gage (fr) f
• German: Pfand (de) n
• Hebrew: עבוט‎ (he) m (avót)

• Greek: ενέχυρο (el) n (enéchyro)
• Norwegian: pant (no) n
• Swedish: pant (sv)

(rare) type of shop

• Danish: pantelåner c
• Dutch: pandjes (nl), pandjeshuis (nl) n
• Esperanto: garantipruntejo, lombardejo
• French: mont-de-piété (fr) m
• Galician: casa de empeños m
• Georgian: ლომბარდი (lombardi)
• German: Pfandleiher (de) m
• Greek: ενεχυροδανειστήριο (el) n (enechyrodaneistírio)
• Hebrew: בית עבוט‎ m (bet avót)

• Korean: 고물상(古物商) (ko) (gomulsang)
• Macedonian: заложница f (založnica)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: pantelåner m

• Portuguese: topa-tudo m, casa de penhores f, penhora (pt) f
• Russian: ломба́рд (ru) m (lombárd)
• Spanish: casa de empeños f
• Swedish: pantbank (sv) c

Verb

pawn (third-person singular simple present pawns, present participle pawning, simple past and past participle pawned)

1. To pledge; to stake or wager.
2. To give as security on a loan of money; especially, to deposit (something) at a pawn shop.
   • 1904, Henry Warren, The Customer's Guide to Banking (page 7)

     A certain, and probably an appreciable, proportion of his so-called money at call and short notice would consist of fortnightly advances made to members of the Stock Exchange against pawned stocks and shares.

   • 1965, Bob Dylan, Like a Rolling Stone

     But you'd better take your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it, babe.

Synonyms

• (to deposit at a pawn shop): hock

Translations

give as security for loan

• Bulgarian: залагам (bg) (zalagam)
• Catalan: empenyorar (ca)
• Danish: pantsætte
• Dutch: verpanden (nl)
• Esperanto: lombardi
• French: engager (fr), mettre au clou (fr) (colloquial), mettre en gage
• Galician: empeñar (gl) m
• Georgian: დალომბარდება (dalombardeba)
• German: verpfänden (de)
• Greek: ενεχυριάζω (el) (enechyriázo)
• Ido: gajigar (io)

• Macedonian: заложува (založuva)
• Mongolian: дан хийх (dan khiikh)
• Norwegian: pantsette
• Portuguese: penhorar (pt), empenhar (pt)
• Romanian: amaneta (ro)
• Russian: закла́дывать (ru) (zakládyvatʹ), отдава́ть в зало́г (otdavátʹ v zalóg)
• Spanish: empeñar (es), pignorar (es)
• Swedish: pantsätta (sv)
• Volapük: panön (vo)

See also

• pawn off

Etymology 3

Noun

pawn (countable and uncountable, plural pawns)

1. Alternative form of paan
   • 1832, Meer Hassan Ali, Observations on the Mussulmauns of India:

     A tray filled with pawns, prepared with the usual ingredients, as lime cuttie (a bitter gum), betel-nut, tobacco, spices, &c.

   • 1892, Chambers's Journal (volume 69, page 320)

     To our English taste, pawn is very offensive; but the natives of India relish it, and regard it as a necessity. It is much eaten by Mohammedans of both sexes, and by the natives of Bengal.

Etymology 4

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

pawn (plural pawns)

1. A gallery.

Etymology 5

Verb

pawn (third-person singular simple present pawns, present participle pawning, simple past and past participle pawned)

1. (video games) Alternative form of pwn

Anagrams

• WPAN

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Middle English

Noun

pawn

1. Alternative form of pown (“pawn”)