Dunned vs Punned - What's the difference?

dunned | punned |

As verbs the difference between dunned and punned

is that dunned is (dun) while punned is (pun).

dunned

English

Verb

(head)

(dun)

2010 Michael Lewis " Beware of Greeks Bearing Bonds" Vanity Fair 1 October 2010:

:* Ephraim set about raising the money to restore Vatopaidi to its former glory. He dunned the European Union for cultural funds.

punned

English

Verb

(head)

(pun)

pun

English

(wikipedia pun)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) . More at (l).

Verb

To beat; strike with force; ram; pound, as in a mortar; reduce to powder.

* Shakespeare

He would pun thee into shivers with his fist.

Etymology 2

From a special use of Etymology 1 .

Noun

(en noun)

A joke or type of wordplay in which similar senses or sounds of two words or phrases, or different senses of the same word, are deliberately confused.

* {{quote-book

, title=(Mansfield Park) , last=Austen , first=Jane , authorlink=Jane Austen , year=1814 citation , volume=one, chapter VI , publisher= }}

"Certainly, my home at my uncle's brought me acquainted with a circle of admirals. Of Rears'' and ''Vices I saw enough. Now do not be suspecting me of a pun , I entreat."

*:Comment : Austen was likely referring to spanking/flogging, then common naval punishments, known as (le vice Anglais) .

Usage notes

* Because some puns are based on pronunciation, puns are more obvious when spoken aloud. For example: “This rock is gneiss, but don’t take it for granite.” This reads (with a US accent) similarly to “This rock is nice, but don’t take it for granted.” (Both “gneiss” and “granite” are types of rock.)

Synonyms

* See also

Verb

To make or tell a pun; make a play on words.

We punned about the topic until all around us groaned.

Anagrams

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