Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

den

/ˈdɛn/ noun

In Latin: lustrum Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about den at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The habitation of wild animals.
A hiding place; usually a remote place used by outlaws.
A unit of 8 to 10 cub scouts.

Origin

From Middle English den, from Old English denn (“den, lair (of a beast), cave; a swine-pasture, a woodland pasture for swine”), from Proto-West Germanic *dani (“threshing-floor, barn-floor”). Cognate with Scots den (“den, lair”), Middle Dutch denne (“burrow, den, cave, attic”), Dutch den (“ship's deck, threshing-floor, mountain floor”), Middle Low German denne, danne (“threshing-floor, small dale”), German Tenne (“threshing-floor, barn for threshing”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word