Definition tun
Etymology 1
From Middle English tunne, tonne (“cask, barrel”), from Old English tunne (“tun, cask, barrel”), from Proto-Germanic *tunnǭ, *tunnō (“tun, barrel, cask”), of unknown origin. Cognate with North Frisian tenn (“tun, barrel, cask”), Dutch ton (“tun, barrel, cask”), German Tonne (“tun, barrel, drum”), Danish tønde (“barrel”), Swedish tunna (“barrel, cask, tun”), Icelandic tunna (“barrel”). Compare also Old French tonne, French tonneau (“ton, barrel”), Medieval Latin tunna (“cask”), Middle Irish tunna (“cask”), Welsh tynell (“tun, barrel”). It is uncertain whether the Germanic or the Celtic forms are the original.
Noun
tun (plural tuns)
- A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask.
- (brewing) A fermenting vat.
- An old English measure of capacity for liquids, containing 252 wine gallons; equal to two pipes.
- A weight of 2,240 pounds.
- An indefinite large quantity.
- (archaic, humorous or derogatory) A drunkard.
- Any shell belonging to Tonna and allied genera.
- The cryptobiotic state of a tardigrade, when its metabolism is temporarily suspended.
Verb
tun (third-person singular simple present tuns, present participle tunning, simple past and past participle tunned)
- (transitive) To put into tuns, or casks.
Etymology 2
Mayan. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Noun
tun (plural tuns)
- A part of the ancient Maya Long Count Calendar system which corresponds to 18 winal cycles or 360 days.