Words of the Day: Faun and Fawn
faun
faun / fôn
noun
1. from Roman Mythology, a woodland deity represented by a man with a goat’s ears, horns, tail and sometimes hind legs, similar to a satyr of Greek mythology
I fear that we are such gods or demigods only as fauns and satyrs, the divine allied to beasts, the creatures of appetite, and that, to some extent, our very life is our disgrace.
From “Walden and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau, 1817 – 1862
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fawn
fawn / fôn
adjective
1. having a light grayish brown to yellowish tan color
He was pure white, with a fawn-coloured saddle just behind his neck, and a fawn diamond at the root of his thin whippy tail.
From “Actions and Reactions” by Rudyard Kipling, 1865 – 1936
noun
1. a young deer less than a year old
A doe goes into estrus in the fall, which means whitetail deer fawns are normally born sometime between late April and early July.
“”Spotting” Whitetail Deer Fawns” , www.the-whitetail-deer.com/whitetail-deer-fawns.html, accessed April 15, 2021
2. a color that is a light grayish brown to yellowish tan
Fawn is a soft, light shade of brown with the hex code #E5AA70, but the word often encompasses shades that are redder, grayer, and browner as well.
“Fawn”, www. htmlcolorcodes.com/colors/fawn, accessed April 15, 2021
verb
1. of a doe, to birth a baby deer
The doe fawned a few days after being there, and the fawn is said to have been a most beautiful little creature in its form and colours, varying in some particulars from its parents.
“Indian Red Deer”, ‘The Sporting Magazine’, Volume 34, April 1809
2. to fuss over excessively in order to flatter and gain attention
If the rich man is fawning over the poor man, you can be certain that he needs something.
Sicilian Proverb
3. of animals, particularly dogs, to seek approval with affectionate behavior, such as with the wagging of a tail
Better a dog fawn on you than bite you.
Dutch Proverb
