tun

See also: Appendix:Variations of "tun"

Languages (34)

Translingual • English

---

Antigua and Barbuda Creole English • Aromanian • Bambara • Dalmatian • Danish • Fula • German • Hausa • Hlai • Inari Sami • Javanese • Kemi Sami • Mandarin • Mapudungun • Megleno-Romanian • Middle English • Norman • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old Dutch • Old English • Old French • Romanian • Romansch • Slovene • Somali • Spanish • Swedish • Tetum • Unami • Uzbek • Welsh • Yámana

---

Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

tun

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Tunica.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Tunica terms

English

Alternative forms

• tunne, tonne (obsolete)

Etymology 1

From Middle English tunne, tonne (“cask, barrel”), from Old English tunne (“tun, cask, barrel”), from Proto-Germanic *tunnǭ, *tunnō (“tun, barrel, cask”), from Latin tunna, probably of Gaulish origin.

Cognate with North Frisian tenn (“tun, barrel, cask”), Dutch ton (“tun, barrel, cask”), German Tonne (“tun, barrel, drum”), Danish tønde (“barrel”), Swedish tunna (“barrel, cask, tun”), Icelandic tunna (“barrel”). Compare also Old French tonne, French tonneau (“ton, barrel”), Medieval Latin tunna (“cask”), Middle Irish tunna (“cask”), Welsh tynell (“tun, barrel”). It is uncertain whether the Germanic or the Celtic forms are the original.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /tʌn/, /tʊn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Homophones: ton, tonne
• Rhymes: -ʌn, -ʊn

Noun

tun (plural tuns)

1. A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask. (See a diagram comparing cask sizes.)
2. (brewing) A fermenting vat.
3. (historical) A traditional unit of liquid measure (from the volume of such a cask) equal to 252 wine gallons or 2 pipes.

   Coordinate terms: (in order of increasing volume) rundlet; barrel; tierce; hogshead; puncheon, tertian; pipe, butt

   • 1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, page 205:

     Again, by 28 Hen. VIII, cap. 14, it is re-enacted that the tun of wine should contain 252 gallons, a butt of Malmsey 126 gallons, a pipe 126 gallons, a tercian or puncheon 84 gallons, a hogshead 63 gallons, a tierce 41 gallons, a barrel 31.5 gallons, a rundlet 18.5 gallons.

4. Synonym of long ton: a unit of mass equal to 2240 pounds, 20 hundredweights of 112 pounds avoirdupois each.
5. (figurative) Synonym of ton: any extremely or excessively large amount.
   • 1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

     He therefore sends you, meeter for your spirit, / This tun of treasure; and, in lieu of this, / Desires you let the dukedoms that you claim / Hear no more of you.

   • 1682, John Dryden, Mac Flecknoe, lines 195–196:

     A Tun of Man in thy Large bulk is writ, / But sure thou'rt but a Kilderkin of wit.

6. (archaic, humorous or derogatory) Synonym of drunkard: a person who drinks excessively.
7. Any shell belonging to Tonna and allied genera.
8. The cryptobiotic state of a tardigrade, when its metabolism is temporarily suspended.
9. (obsolete, Oxford University, Pembroke College) A small silver cup holding half a pint, sometimes having a whistle in the handle that could not be blown until the cup was empty.
   • 1900, Douglas Macleane, Pembroke College, page 249:

     So abundant is the supply of tankards and "tuns" […]

10. (dialectal, UK) a chimney.

Derived terms

• Heidelberg Tun
• mash tun
• tun-belly

Translations

a large, oblong cask

Czech: sud (cs) m, káď (cs) f Galician: tonel Latin: tunna f Polish: baryła f, baryłka (pl) f Portuguese: tonel (pt) Russian: бо́чка (ru) f (bóčka) Spanish: tonel (es)

Verb

tun (third-person singular simple present tuns, present participle tunning, simple past and past participle tunned)

1. (transitive) To put into tuns, or casks.
   • 1843, Mary Holland, The Complete Economical Cook, and Frugal Housewife‎, 14th edition, page 407:

     Strong beer that is brewed in small quantities, and ale, whatever the quantity may be, should be tunned the second day after brewing; and small beer should be tunned as soon as it has fairly taken the yeast

Etymology 2

From Mayan. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Noun

tun (plural tuns or tunob)

1. A part of the ancient Maya Long Count Calendar system which corresponds to 18 winal cycles or 360 days.

See also

• tun-moot

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Malay tun.

Noun

tun (plural tuns)

1. (Malaysia) A respectful term of address to royalties and certain award recipients

Anagrams

• NTU, NUT, Nut, nut

Antigua and Barbuda Creole English

Verb

tun

1. turn

Aromanian

Alternative forms

• tunu, tunã

Etymology

From Latin tonō. Compare Romanian tuna, tun.

Verb

tun (participle tunatã)

1. to thunder

Related terms

• tunari / tunare
• tunat
• ditun / ditunã

Bambara

Adverb

tun

1. again

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin tonus, from Ancient Greek τόνος (tónos). Compare Italian tuono, Friulian ton, Catalan tro, Romansch tun, tung, Romanian tun, tunet, Spanish trueno.

Noun

tun m

1. thunderclap, thunder

Danish

Danish Wikipedia has an article on:

tun

Wikipedia ^da

Etymology 1

A contraction of tunfisk, from German Thunfisch (“tuna”), from Latin thunnus, from Ancient Greek θύννος (thúnnos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tuːn/, [tˢuːˀn]

Noun

tun c (singular definite tunen, plural indefinite tun)

1. tuna
2. tuna fish
3. tun

Inflection

Declension of tun

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	tun	tunen	tun	tunene
genitive	tuns	tunens	tuns	tunenes

Etymology 2

From Old Norse tún, from Proto-Germanic *tūną, from Proto-Celtic *dūnom.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tuːn/, [tˢuːˀn]

Noun

tun n (singular definite tunet, plural indefinite tun)

1. (dated) An enclosed piece of ground.

Inflection

Declension of tun

neuter gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	tun	tunet	tun	tunene
genitive	tuns	tunets	tuns	tunenes

Etymology 3

See tune.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tuːn/, [tˢuːˀn]

Verb

tun

1. imperative of tune

Fula

Alternative forms

• tan

Etymology

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

Adjective

tun

1. (Pular) only

Usage notes

• Other varieties of Fula use tan.

Adverb

tun

1. (Pular) only

Usage notes

• Other varieties of Fula use tan.

References

• Oumar Bah, Dictionnaire Pular-Français, Avec un index français-pular, Webonary.org, SIL International, 2014. (when accessed 2019-9-10, there was no entry for tun, but an example using the word was given in entry for jam)
• Herb Caudill and Ousmane Besseko Diallo, Miɗo waawi Pular! : learner's guide to Pular (Fuuta Jallon), Conakry, 2000. (examples in text)

German

Alternative forms

• thun (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle High German tuon, from Old High German tuon, from Proto-West Germanic *dōn, from Proto-Germanic *dōną, derived from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, set, place”). Cognate with English do.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tuːn/, [tuːn]

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

tun (irregular, third-person singular present tut, past tense tat, past participle getan, past subjunctive täte, auxiliary haben)

1. To do (to perform or execute an action).

   Synonym: machen

   Tu es! ― Do it!

   Man tut, was man kann. ― One does what one can.

   Er tat das, was man ihm gesagt hat. ― He did as he was told.

   Das einzige, was er je tat, war arbeiten. ― The only thing he ever did was work.

2. [with dative] To do something (positive or negative) to someone.

   Synonym: antun

   Der tut Ihnen nichts! ― He won't hurt you! (said for example about a dog)

   Mein Mann hat mir so viel Gutes getan. ― My husband has done me so much good.

3. (somewhat informal, with “so” or “als ob”) To fake; to feign; to pretend.

   Synonyms: vortäuschen, täuschen, vorgeben

   Er hat nur so getan. ― He just faked it.

   Er tut, als ob er nichts wüsste. ― He pretends to know nothing.

4. (chiefly colloquial) To put, to place, to add.

   Synonyms: setzen, legen, stellen, geben, platzieren, hinzufügen

   Tu das hier rein. ― Put it in here.

   Ich würde noch was Salz an die Kartoffeln tun. ― I would add some more salt to the potatoes.

   • 2017, Simone Meier, Fleisch, Kein & Aber, page 27:

     » Ich finds eklig, wenn du die Butter am Morgen nicht direkt aufs Brot streichst, sondern immer zuerst auf einen Teller tust. «

     I find it disgusting when you don't spread your butter straight on to your bread in the morning, but always put it on the plate first.

5. (chiefly colloquial, impersonal, with “es”) To work, to function.

   Synonym: funktionieren

   Die Uhr tut’s nicht mehr. ― The clock doesn’t work anymore.

6. (northern and western Germany, colloquial, reflexive, with an indefinite pronoun) To make a difference; to be different.

   Synonym: unterscheiden

   Tut sich das viel? ― Does that make much of a difference?

   Die beiden Kameras tun sich nichts. ― The two cameras are no different [i.e. neither better than the other].

7. (informal, reflexive, impersonal, with “es”) to happen, to be going on

   Und, tut sich heute etwas? ― Well, anything happening today?

   Derzeit tut sich viel. ― There's a lot going on at the moment.

1. (chiefly colloquial, but acceptable in writing) Used with the preceding infinitive of another verb to emphasise this verb

   Er singt immer noch gern, aber tanzen tut er gar nicht mehr.

   He still loves singing, but as to dancing, he doesn't do that anymore at all.

2. (colloquial, nonstandard) Used with the following infinitive of another verb, often to emphasise the statement

   Ich tu doch zuhören! ― I am listening! (as a response to the reproach that one is not)

   Ich tu das jetzt mal aufräumen. ― I’m cleaning this up now.

3. (colloquial, nonstandard) Used in the past subjunctive with the infinitive of another verb to form the conditional tense (instead of standard würde)

   Ich tät mir das noch mal überlegen. ― I would think about that again.

Usage notes

• The verb tun in the sense of “to perform” is not used in combination with nouns. This function is covered by the verb machen: ich mache Sport, wir machen ein Spiel, er macht die Wäsche (“I do sport, we do a game, he does the laundry”). The same is true with pronouns that represent such nouns: Wer macht die Wäsche? – Ich mache sie. (“Who does the laundry? – I do it.”) It is usually ungrammatical to use tun in sentences like these.

Tun is only used with pronouns that represent actions as a whole: Was tust du? (“What are you doing?”) Ich tue viel für die Umwelt. (“I do a lot for the environment.”) Er tut alles, was sie sagt. (“He does everything she says.”)

• (colloquial, nonstandard): The use of do-support is a feature of several dialects and minority languages in the German language area. In the standard language, it is most established along the Rhine. It is somewhat more acceptable when used for emphasis or in the subjunctive (as in the example with zuhören and überlegen above), but is otherwise regarded as childish or illiterate (as in the example with aufräumen). This latter usage is generally associated with lower socio-economic status.

Conjugation

Conjugation of tun (irregular, auxiliary haben)

infinitive		tun
present participle		tuend
past participle		getan
auxiliary		haben
	indicative			subjunctive
	singular	plural		singular	plural
present	ich tue	wir tun	i	ich tue	wir tuen
	du tust	ihr tut		du tuest	ihr tuet
	er tut	sie tun		er tue	sie tuen
preterite	ich tat	wir taten	ii	ich täte	wir täten
	du tatest du tatst	ihr tatet		du tätest	ihr tätet
	er tat	sie taten		er täte	sie täten
imperative	tu (du) tue (du)	tut (ihr)

Composed forms of tun (irregular, auxiliary haben)

perfect
	singular	plural		singular	plural
indicative	ich habe getan	wir haben getan	subjunctive	ich habe getan	wir haben getan
	du hast getan	ihr habt getan		du habest getan	ihr habet getan
	er hat getan	sie haben getan		er habe getan	sie haben getan
pluperfect
indicative	ich hatte getan	wir hatten getan	subjunctive	ich hätte getan	wir hätten getan
	du hattest getan	ihr hattet getan		du hättest getan	ihr hättet getan
	er hatte getan	sie hatten getan		er hätte getan	sie hätten getan
future i
infinitive	tun werden		subjunctive i	ich werde tun	wir werden tun
				du werdest tun	ihr werdet tun
				er werde tun	sie werden tun
indicative	ich werde tun	wir werden tun	subjunctive ii	ich würde tun	wir würden tun
	du wirst tun	ihr werdet tun		du würdest tun	ihr würdet tun
	er wird tun	sie werden tun		er würde tun	sie würden tun
future ii
infinitive	getan haben werden		subjunctive i	ich werde getan haben	wir werden getan haben
				du werdest getan haben	ihr werdet getan haben
				er werde getan haben	sie werden getan haben
indicative	ich werde getan haben	wir werden getan haben	subjunctive ii	ich würde getan haben	wir würden getan haben
	du wirst getan haben	ihr werdet getan haben		du würdest getan haben	ihr würdet getan haben
	er wird getan haben	sie werden getan haben		er würde getan haben	sie würden getan haben

• The 1st person singular present indicative may also be (ich) tu.

Derived terms

• abtun
• antun
• auftun
• austun
• betun
• dartun
• dazutun
• geheimtun
• genugtun
• Getue
• gleichtun
• grosstun
• großtun
• guttun
• harttun
• heimlichtun
• heimtun
• heraustun
• herumtun
• hervortun
• hinauftun
• hinaustun
• hineintun
• hintun
• hinübertun
• hinzutun
• kundtun
• leichttun
• leidtun
• mittun
• nachtun
• nottun
• schöntun
• schwertun
• Tun
• Tun und Handeln
• Tunichtgut
• übeltun
• übertun
• vertun
• wegtun
• wehtun
• wichtigtun
• wiedertun
• wohltun
• zugutetun
• zurücktun
• zusammentun
• zutun
• zuvortun

Related terms

• Tat f

Further reading

• “tun” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “tun” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
• “tun” in OpenThesaurus.de
• “tun” in Duden online
• “tun” in Duden online

Hausa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tún/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [tɪ́ŋ]

Preposition

tun

1. since, ever since

Hlai

Pronunciation

• (Standard Hlai, Baoding) IPA^(key): /tʰun˥˧/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Hlai *tʰun (“language”), from Pre-Hlai *tun (Norquest, 2015).

Noun

tun

1. speech; words; language
2. folk song
3. dispute; controversy

Etymology 2

From Proto-Hlai *tʰu[n/ɲ] (“to reap”), from Pre-Hlai *tu[n/ɲ] (Norquest, 2015).

Verb

tun

1. To reap.

Inari Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Samic *tonë.

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Pronoun

tun (genitive tuu)

1. you (singular)

See also

Inari Sami personal pronouns

	singular	dual	plural
1st person	mun	muoi	mij
2nd person	tun	tuoi	tij
3rd person	sun	suoi	sij

Further reading

• tun in Marja-Liisa Olthuis, Taarna Valtonen, Miina Seurujärvi and Trond Trosterud (2015–2022), Nettidigisäänih Anarâškiela-suomakielâ-anarâškielâ sänikirje‎, Tromsø: UiT

• Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎, Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland

Javanese

Alternative forms

Javanese writing system
Carakan	ꦠꦸꦤ꧀
Pegon
Roman	tun (standard), toen (outdated)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Javanese tun (“desire, love, attach”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʊn/
• Hyphenation: tun

Noun

tun

1. desire

Kemi Sami

Etymology

From Proto-Samic *tonë.

Compare Inari Sami tun and Skolt Sami ton.

Pronoun

tun (genitive tu)

1. thou, you
   • 1889, A. Genetz, Journal de la Société finno-ougrienne (VII), Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran Kirjapainossa, page 116:

     Kulnaſaſz, niraſam, kätze, åinakåſz tun ſu salm.

     Kulnasasz, my reindeer, look: do you see her eyes?

Mandarin

Romanization

tun

1. nonstandard spelling of tūn
2. nonstandard spelling of tún
3. nonstandard spelling of tǔn
4. nonstandard spelling of tùn

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Mapudungun

Verb

tun (Raguileo spelling)

1. To catch.

Conjugation

Positive conjugation of tun (see also Appendix:Mapudungun verbs)

Infinitive1		tuael
Root		tu-
Tense particles (See particles)		-a- ((future tense))
		-pe- ((past tense))
		-fu- ((distant past tense))
person		singular			dual			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third	first	second	third
Realis mood
	present	tun	tuymi	tuy	tuyu	tuymu	tuygu	tuyiñ	tuymvn	tuygvn
	past	tupen	tupeymi	tupe	tupeyu	tupeymu	tupeygu	tupeyiñ	tupeymvn	tupeygvn
	distant past	tufun	tufuymi	tufu	tufuyu	tufuymu	tufuygu	tufuyiñ	tufuymvn	tufuygvn
	future	tuan	tuaymi	tuay	tuayu	tuaymu	tuaygu	tuayiñ	tuaymvn	tuaygvn
Conditional mood
	present	tuli	tulimi	tule	tuliyu	tulimu	tule egu	tuliyiñ	tulimvn	tule egvn
Volitive mood
	present	tuci	tuge	tupe	tuyu	tumu	tupe egu	tuyiñ	tumvn	tupe egvn

¹Only usable with free personal pronouns.

Negative conjugation of tun

Infinitive1		tunoael
Tense particles (See particles)		-a- ((future tense))
		-pe- ((past tense))
		-fu- ((distant past tense))
person		singular			dual			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third	first	second	third
Realis mood
	present	tulan	tulaymi	tulay	tulayu	tulaymu	tulaygu	tulayiñ	tulaymvn	tulaygvn
	past	tulapen	tulapeymi	tulapey	tulapeyu	tulapeymu	tulapeygu	tulapeyiñ	tulapeymvn	tulapeygvn
	distant past	tulafun	tulafuymi	tulafuy	tulafuyu	tulafuymu	tulafuygu	tulafuyiñ	tulafuymvn	tulafuygvn
	future	tulayan	tulayaymi	tulayay	tulayayu	tulayaymu	tulayaygu	tulayayiñ	tulayaymvn	tulayaygvn
Conditional mood
	present	tunoli	tunolimi	tunole	tunoliyu	tunolimu	tunole egu	tunoliyiñ	tunolimvn	tunole egvn
Volitive mood
	present	tukilci	tukilge	tukilpe	tukilyu	tukilmu	tukilpe egu	tukilyiñ	tukilmvn	tukilpe egvn

¹Only usable with free personal pronouns.