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darned

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darned

[dahrnd] Informal.
–adjective
1. irritating; damned; confounded: Get that darned bicycle out of the driveway!
–adverb
2. very; extremely; remarkably: She's a darned good tennis player.

Origin:
1800–10; euphemism for damned, perh. by construing dern dark, dreary (now obs.) as an intensifier in phrases such as dern and dreary, dern and doleful

darn

1[dahrn]
–verb (used with object)
1. to mend, as torn clothing, with rows of stitches, sometimes by crossing and interweaving rows to span a gap.
–noun
2. a darned place, as in a garment: an old sock full of darns.

Origin:
1590–1600; perh. to be identified with ME dernen to keep secret, conceal, OE (Anglian) dernan


1. See mend.

darn

2[dahrn] Informal.
–adjective, adverb
1. darned.
–verb (used with object)
2. to curse; damn: Darn that pesky fly!
3. give a darn. damn (def. 13).

Origin:
1775–85; see darned
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To darned
darn 1   (därn)   
v.   darned, darn·ing, darns

v.   tr.
To mend (a garment, for example) by weaving thread or yarn across a gap or hole.
v.   intr.
To repair a hole, as in a garment, by weaving thread or yarn across it.
n.  A hole repaired by weaving thread or yarn across it: a sock full of darns.

[French dialectal darner, perhaps from Norman French darne, piece, from Breton darn.]
darn 2   (därn)   
interj.  Used to express dissatisfaction or annoyance.
adv.   & adj.
Damn.
tr.v.   darned, darn·ing, darns
To damn.

[Alteration of damn.]
darned   (därnd)   
adj.  Damned.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

darn  (2)
tame curse word, 1781, Amer.Eng. euphemism for damn, said to have originated in New England when swearing was a punishable offense; if so, its spread was probably infl. by 'tarnal, short for Eternal, as in By the Eternal (God), favorite exclamation of Andrew Jackson, among others.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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