Etymology: In early use (i) (in Old English) apparently cognate with Old Saxon hūn (Middle Low German hǖne), Old High German hūn (Middle High German hiune, hūne; compare German Hunne, apparently reborrowed < post-classical Latin), Old Icelandic húnar, hýnir (plural), probably ultimately from the same base as Hellenistic Greek Χοῦνοι, Χουνοί, denoting a group of people living in the Black Sea region (Ptolemy), and post-classical Latin Huni, Hunni (4th cent.; also Chuni (4th cent.)), denoting a group of people living in the Caspian region; further etymology uncertain. In later use (ii) probably < post-classical Latin Huni, Hunni (see above).Further etymology. Compare Sanskrit Hūṇa denoting a people who invaded India from Central Asia, perhaps reflecting the same name. It is often suggested that the same name is also reflected in a Middle Chinese ethnonym denoting a group of people living in eastern Central Asia (compare Chinese Xiōngnú , the modern form of the name), but there is no external evidence to support this view. Development of senses. Application to Hungarians (see sense A. 2) apparently reflects an identification of the name of the Huns with (etymologically unrelated) Hungarian as a name for the Magyars and for the population of modern Hungary (see Hungarian adj. and n., Hungary n.); within Hungary, Attila has often been celebrated as an important figure in Hungarian history, although he predated the arrival of the Magyars in Hungary by centuries. With the later U.S. use denoting an immigrant from any Eastern European country use compare also hunk n.³ and bohunk n. As a derogatory term for Germans, and especially for German soldiers (see sense A. 3), probably partly a development of sense A. 1b, although early use was probably also influenced by a speech delivered by Wilhelm II to German troops about to sail for China on 27 July 1900 and by subsequent reaction to this; compare:1900 Times 30 July 5/3 According to the Bremen Weser Zeitung the Emperor said [27 July at Bremerhaven]:—‘..No quarter will be given, no prisoners will be taken. Let all who fall into your hands be at your mercy. Just as the Huns a thousand years ago, under the leadership of Etzel (Attila) gained a reputation in virtue of which they still live in historical tradition, so may the name of Germany become known in such a manner in China that no Chinaman will ever again even dare to look askance at a German.’1900 Daily News 20 Nov. 5/3 Herr Bebel [in the Reichstag] dwelt..at some length on the so-called Hun letters, and stigmatized the cruel and barbarous methods of European warfare in China.1900 Times 21 Nov. 5/2 A great portion of the speech of the Socialist leader [Bebel] was devoted to the so-called ‘Letters from the Huns’ (Hunnenbriefe)—epistles from German soldiers in China to their relatives at home giving an account of the cruelties which have been perpetrated by the army of occupation.

Etymology: Hindi (Sanskrit hūna).