Meaning
Chiefly 'to burn', but in Jamaican it also famously means infidelity — to cheat on a partner is to 'give bun'. Separately, 'bun' is the spiced Easter bread eaten with cheese.
Senses
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verb To burn — set alight, scorch, or overcook.
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Di sun a bun mi skin.
The sun is burning my skin.
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She bun di rice.
She burnt the rice.
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noun Infidelity — to 'give bun' is to cheat on a partner; to 'get bun' is to be cheated on.
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She gi him bun wid him best friend.
She cheated on him with his best friend.
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Nobody waan get bun.
Nobody wants to be cheated on.
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noun The spiced Easter bun, traditionally eaten with cheese.
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Wi eat bun an cheese fi Easter.
We eat bun and cheese at Easter.
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Origin
From English 'burn' (the verb) and 'bun' (the bread). The infidelity sense comes from the image of being 'burned' by a cheating partner.
How it’s used
The 'cheating' sense is a huge theme in dancehall. Context separates it cleanly from the fire and the bread.