yen Hear it!

yen1 definition

yen (yen)

noun pl. yen

the basic monetary unit of Japan

Etymology: SinoJpn en, lit., round

yen2 definition

yen (yen)

noun

Informal a strong longing or desire

Etymology: prob. < Cantonese yan, smoke (n.), opium

intransitive verb yenned, yenning yen′·ning

Informal to have a yen (for); long; yearn

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.
Related Discussions (1)
TopicRepliesLatest Post
yen or Yen?126 years ago

Browse Forums