Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Pun

Pun (pŭn), v. t. [See Pound to beat.] To pound. [Obs.]

He would pun thee into shivers with his fist. Shak.

Pun, n. [Cf. Pun to pound, Pound to beat.] A play on words which have the same sound but different meanings; an expression in which two different applications of a word present an odd or ludicrous idea; a kind of quibble or equivocation. Addison.

A better put on this word was made on the Beggar's Opera, which, it was said, made Gay rich, and Rich gay. Walpole.

Pun, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Punned; p. pr. & vb. n. Punning.] To make puns, or a pun; to use a word in a double sense, especially when the contrast of ideas is ludicrous; to play upon words; to quibble. Dryden.

Pun, v. t. To persuade or affect by a pun. Addison.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article.