stun

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To surprise or shock someone so much that they cannot react.

   The news of his death stunned the whole town.

2. 2
   verb

   To make a person or animal unconscious or unable to move, usually with a blow.

   The blow to the head stunned him for a few seconds.

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…

Topics