Why would someone name it that and why My 9yr old asked me that oneday and I just have to know
2006-07-08 17:55:10 · 4 answers · asked by Scott b 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
A yawn is a reflex of deep inhalation and exhalation associated with being tired, with a need to sleep, or from boredom. The word "yawn" has evolved from the Middle English word yanen, an alteration of yonen, or yenen, which in turn comes from the Old English geonian. Pandiculation is the term for the act of stretching and yawning. Yawning is a powerful non-verbal message with several possible meanings, depending on the circumstances. It is also claimed to help increase the state of alertness of a person. The exact causes of yawning are still unknown.
2006-07-08 17:59:23 · answer #1 · answered by anton t 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The source of "yawn" was the Indo-European roots "ghei" or "ghi," which gave us the Old English words "ginian" or "geonian," which were probably pronounced as something close to "yeen" and "yoan" and meant "to gape or yawn." In its early appearances in Modern English, "yawn" meant either to gape (as with one's mouth) or to be wide open (as a chasm or abyss). Our modern gee-I'm- sleepy meaning of "yawn" first appeared about A.D. 1450.
2006-07-09 01:02:08 · answer #2 · answered by yourownlove 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it is probably named so becuz it's the closest to the sound of a yawn
2006-07-09 00:57:48 · answer #3 · answered by Bryan G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ummmmmmmmmmmmm tradition?
2006-07-09 00:58:37 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋