Yawning
/ˈjɔːnɪŋ/noun
Present participle of yawn; opening the mouth involuntarily, often from tiredness or boredom.
Did you know?English yawn comes from an old Germanic root meaning “to gape” or “open wide,” and related forms show up across Indo-European languages in words for the mouth opening or a wide opening.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵeh₂-
“to gape, yawn, open the mouth wide”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*gānaną
“to yawn, gape”
Old English
OE
gānian
“to yawn; to gape, be open”
Middle English
ME
yanen / yānen
“to yawn”
Modern English
English
yawn
“to open the mouth involuntarily, usually from tiredness or boredom”
Modern English
English
yawning
“gaping; opening wide; or the act of yawning”