Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Of a dull greyish brown to brownish grey color: Describes a muted, earthy color that is a mixture of brown and grey, often seen as nondescript or drab.

2. Noun:

   • A dull brownish-grey color: The color itself.
   • A horse of a dull brownish-grey color: A horse with this specific coat color.
   • (Archaic) A demand for payment of a debt: A persistent request for money owed.

3. Verb:

   • To make a dun color: To color something in this dull brownish-grey hue.
   • To cure by salting: To preserve food, especially fish, by treating it with salt.
   • To persistently ask for overdue payment: To press someone to pay a debt that is late.
   • (Archaic) To treat cruelly; to torment: To harass or cause distress to someone.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:

  • The dun fields stretched to the horizon under the overcast sky.
  • She painted the wall a warm dun color.

• Noun (Color/Horse):

  • The artist mixed yellow ochre and grey to create a perfect dun.
  • He rode a sturdy dun through the canyon.

• Noun (Debt):

  • The creditor sent a final dun before taking legal action. (This usage is now rare.)

• Verb (To color):

  • The potter dunned the clay vessel before the final firing.

• Verb (To preserve):

  • Fishermen would traditionally dun codfish to prepare it for storage.

• Verb (To demand payment):

  • The landlord began to dun his tenant for the back rent.
  • Collection agencies dun people for overdue bills.

• Verb (To torment):

  • The older boys would dun the newcomer with constant teasing. (This usage is archaic.)

Advanced Usage

• "To dun someone for money": This is the most common modern verbal usage, specifically meaning to make repeated and insistent demands for repayment.
  • The freelance designer had to dun the client several times before receiving payment.

Variants and Related Words

• Dunning (noun/gerund): The act of persistently demanding payment of a debt.

  • The constant dunning from creditors was stressful.

• Dun-colored (adjective): Having the color of dun.

  • The dun-colored sand blended with the dry grass.

Synonyms

• Adjective (color): Taupe, fawn, greyish-brown, mouse-colored.
• Verb (to demand payment): Press, importune, hound, besiege.
• Verb (to torment): Harass, plague, bedevil, persecute (archaic sense).

Related Phrases

• Dun letter: A letter demanding payment of a debt.
  • He received a dun letter from the bank.

Notes on Usage

• The use of dun as a verb meaning "to torment" is now considered archaic and is rarely used in modern English. The primary contemporary meanings are the color/adjective and, especially as a verb, the act of demanding payment for a debt.
• As a color, dun is often associated with natural, earthy tones and can describe landscapes, animals (particularly horses and cattle), and fabrics.

Adjective

1. of a dull greyish brown to brownish grey color
   • the dun and dreary prairie

Noun

1. a color or pigment varying around a light grey-brown color
   • she wore dun
2. horse of a dull brownish grey color

Verb

1. make a dun color
2. cure by salting
   • dun codfish
3. persistently ask for overdue payment
   • The grocer dunned his customers every day by telephone
4. treat cruelly
   • The children tormented the stuttering teacher