pun

pun
—punless, adj.
/pun/, n., v., punned, punning.
n.
1. the humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications, or the use of words that are alike or nearly alike in sound but different in meaning; a play on words.
2. the word or phrase used in this way.
v.i.
3. to make puns.
[1655-65; perh. special use of pun, var. (now dial.) of POUND1, i.e., to mistreat (words)]

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▪ word play
also called  paronomasia 

      a humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest different meanings or applications, or a play on words, as in the use of the word rings in the following nursery rhyme:

Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,
To see a fine lady upon a white horse;
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
She shall have music wherever she goes.

      Common as jokes and in riddles, puns also may be used seriously, as in John Donne's “A Hymne to God the Father”:

Sweare by thy selfe, that at my death thy sonne
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, Thou haste done;
I fear no more.

      This quatrain contains two puns, son/sun and done/Donne.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • pun — pȕn prid. <odr. ī> DEFINICIJA 1. a. koji nema praznine; ispunjen, napunjen [puna posuda; puna vreća] b. koji je dokraja zaposjednut čime [grad pun ljudi] 2. a. koji sadrži u sebi mnogo čega, koji obiluje [pun lišća] b. koji je obuzet,… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Pun — Pun, v. t. [See {Pound} to beat.] To pound. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] He would pun thee into shivers with his fist. Shak. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pun — Pun, n. [Cf. {Pun} to pound, {Pound} to beat.] A play on words which have the same sound but different meanings; an expression in which two different applications of a word present an odd or ludicrous idea; a kind of quibble or equivocation.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pun — Pun, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Punned}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Punning}.] To make puns, or a pun; to use a word in a double sense, especially when the contrast of ideas is ludicrous; to play upon words; to quibble. Dryden. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Pun — Pun, v. t. To persuade or affect by a pun. Addison. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pun — pun, ni pun expr. nada. ❙ «¡Ni pun hijito! De técnica narrativa no tienes ni puta idea.» Álvaro de Laiglesia, Hijos de Pu. ❙ «¿Se sabe algo nuevo de Gregorio Liñán? Ni pum.» Pedro Casals, Disparando cocaína …   Diccionario del Argot "El Sohez"

  • punđa — púnđa ž DEFINICIJA ženska frizura od podignute, začešljane i pričvršćene kose [nositi punđu; imati punđu] ETIMOLOGIJA mađ. punty …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • pun — [pun] n. [17th c. clipped form < ? It puntiglio, fine point, hence verbal quibble: see PUNCTILIO] the use of a word, or of words which are formed or sounded alike, in such a way as to juxtapose, connect, or bring out two or more of the… …   English World dictionary

  • pun — Punning, ‘the humorous use of words to suggest different meanings’, has been a feature of language at least since the time of Aristotle, who approved of them in some kinds of writing. Some famous historical examples include the description by… …   Modern English usage

  • pun — ► NOUN ▪ a joke exploiting the different meanings of a word or the fact that there are words of the same sound and different meanings. ► VERB (punned, punning) ▪ make a pun. DERIVATIVES punster noun. ORIGIN perhaps an abbreviation of obsolete… …   English terms dictionary

  • pun|ka — pun|kah or pun|ka «PUHNG kuh», noun. (in India and Indonesia) a fan, especially a large swinging fan hung from the ceiling and kept in motion by a servant or by machinery: »The courtroom was sombre…High up…the punkahs were swaying short to and… …   Useful english dictionary

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