Fawn

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Fawn, n. [OF. faon the young one of any beast, a fawn, F. faon a fawn, for fedon, fr. L. fetus. See Fetus.].

•  A young deer; a buck or doe of the first year. See Buck.  [1913 Webster]
•  The young of an animal; a whelp.  [1913 Webster]

  "[The tigress] . . . followeth . . . after her fawns."  [1913 Webster]
•  A fawn color.  [1913 Webster]

Fawn, a. 

 Of the color of a fawn; fawn-colored.  [1913 Webster]

Fawn, v. i. [Cf. F. faonner.].

 To bring forth a fawn.  [1913 Webster]

Fawn, v. i. [OE. fawnen, fainen, fagnien, to rejoice, welcome, flatter, AS. fægnian to rejoice; akin to Icel. fagna to rejoice, welcome. See Fain.].

 To court favor by low cringing, frisking, etc., as a dog; to flatter meanly; -- often followed by on or upon.  [1913 Webster]
"You showed your teeth like apes, and fawned like hounds."  [1913 Webster]
"Thou with trembling fear,
Or like a fawning parasite, obeyest."  [1913 Webster]
"Courtiers who fawn on a master while they betray him."  [1913 Webster]

Fawn, n. 

 A servile cringe or bow; mean flattery; sycophancy.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Fawn, n., adj., & v.
--n.
1 a young deer in its first year.
2 a light yellowish brown.
--adj. fawn-coloured.
--v.tr. (also absol.) (of a deer) bring forth (young).

Idiom

in fawn (of a deer) pregnant.

Fawn, v.intr.
1 (often foll. by on, upon) (of a person) behave servilely, cringe.
2 (of an animal, esp. a dog) show extreme affection.

Derivative

fawner n. fawning adj. fawningly adv.

Etymology

OE fagnian, f{aelig}gnian (as FAIN)

THESAURUS

Fawn

Cape elk, Virginia deer, abase, antelope, apple-polish, be confined, bear, bear a child, bear young, beige, bend the knee, birdling, blandish, bootlick, bow, bow and scrape, brown, brownish, brownish-yellow, brunet, buck, butter up, cajole, calf, calve, camel, camelopard, caribou, cast, cater to, catling, cave, chick, chickling, chicky, chocolate, cinnamon, coax, cocoa, cocoa-brown, coffee, coffee-brown, colt, cotton, court, cower, crawl, creep, cringe, crouch, cub, curry favor, dance, debase, deer, deerlet, defer, demean, doe, dogie, drab, dromedary, drop, duckling, dun, dun-brown, dun-drab, ecru, eland, elk, fallow deer, farrow, fawn-colored, flatter, fledgling, foal, fryer, fuscous, gazelle, giraffe, give birth, gnu, gosling, grege, grovel, hart, hartebeest, have, have a baby, have young, hazel, hind, invite, kaama, khaki, kid, kit, kitten, kneel, kowtow, labor, lamb, lambkin, lick the dust, lickspittle, lie in, litter, lurid, make up to, moose, mule deer, musk deer, nest, nestling, nut-brown, okapi, olive-brown, olive-drab, pander to, piglet, pigling, polliwog, pullet, pup, puppy, red deer, reindeer, roe, roe deer, roebuck, seal, seal-brown, sepia, shoat, slaver, snuff-colored, sorrel, springbok, stag, stoop, submit, suck up to, tadpole, tan, taupe, tawny, throw, toadeat, toady, toast, toast-brown, travail, truckle, umber, umber-colored, walnut, walnut-brown, weaner, wheedle, whelp, wildebeest, woo, yean, yeanling, yellowish-brown, yield

ROGET THESAURUS

Fawn

Servility

VB cringe, bow, stoop, kneel, bend the knee, fall on one's knees, prostrate oneself, worship, sneak, crawl, crouch, cower, sponge, truckle to, grovel, fawn, lick the feet of, kiss the hem of one's garment, kiss one's ass, suck up, pay court to, feed on, fatten on, dance attendance on, pin oneself upon, hang on the sleeve of, avaler les couleuvres, keep time to, fetch and carry, do the dirty work of, go with the stream, worship the rising sun, hold with the hare and run with the hounds.