dən

noun

dən ;

read as

ˌən-ˈstrest-ˈdən

when preceded by modifier read as

ˈdən

linguistics

: the verb form done (see done entry 1) used in African American English to indicate that something (such as a state or an event) has ended or been completed or that the speaker is feeling an intense emotion (such as shock, surprise, or disappointment) that counters the speaker's expectations : perfective done sense a, preverbal done sense a, unstressed done

Dən: The dən feature, pronounced done, marks the completed nature of an action, and/or its relevance to the present. An example of the dən feature is shown here: He done already paid for the trip.—

April Baker-Bell

… dən denotes that an event has ended …—

Lisa J. Green

Note: The feature of African American English called dən is unstressed in pronunciation, usually precedes past tense verbs forms (such as talked, lived, or went) that express events or actions and that have a definite end point; sometimes precedes present tense verbs; and sometimes follows the invariant be and stressed BIN features of African American English.