Den
Pronunciation
- IPA: /dɛn/
- pin-pen IPA: /dɪn/
- Rhymes: -ɛn
- Homophones: din pin-pen merger
Origin 1
From Middle English den, from Old English denn ("den, lair (of a beast), cave; a swine-pasture, a woodland pasture for swine"), from Proto-Germanic *danjÅ ("threshing-floor, barn-floor"), from Proto-Indo-European *dÊ°en- ("flat surface, board, sheet, area, palm of the hand"). Cognate with Scots den ("den, lair"), Dutch denne ("burrow, den, cave, attic"), Dutch den ("ship's deck, threshing-floor, mountain floor"), Middle Low German denne, danne ("threshing-floor, small dale"), German Tenne ("threshing-floor").
Full definition of den
Noun
den
(plural dens)- A small cavern or hollow place in the side of a hill, or among rocks; especially, a cave used by a wild animal for shelter or concealment.a den of robbersDaniel was put into the lions’ den.
- A squalid or wretched place; a haunt.a den of vicean opium den; a gambling den
- A comfortable room not used for formal entertaining.
- (UK, Scotland, obsolete) A narrow glen; a ravine; a dell.
Synonyms
- (home of certain animals) lairSee also:
Origin 2
From Old French denier, from Latin denarius.