fan
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: ball-games
baseball
card-games
engineering
firearms
games
government
hobbies
ice-hockey
lifestyle
mathematics
military
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
politics
rail-transport
railways
sciences
skating
sports
tools
transport
war
weaponry
Etymology: Inherited from Middle English fan, inherited from Old English fann (“a winnowing, fan”), derived from Latin vannus (“fan for winnowing grain”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”).
Cognates
*Latin ventus (“wind”)
*Dutch wan (“winnowing basket”)
*German Wanne (“winnowing basket”)
*Swedish vanna (“a fan for winnowing”)
*Old English windwian (“to fan, winnow”).
More at winnow.
Inflected forms:
form: fans
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: fans
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: fanning
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: fanned
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: fanned
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A hand-held device consisting of concertinaed material, or slats of material, gathered together at one end, that may be opened out into the shape of a sector of a circle and waved back and forth in order to move air towards oneself and cool oneself.
pos: noun
gloss: An electrical or mechanical device for moving air, used for cooling people, machinery, etc.
pos: noun
examples: He didn't switch on the fan because the temperature was 15 degrees Celsius.
gloss: The action of fanning; agitation of the air.
pos: noun
examples: "If I cannot be of service, then I certainly don't wish to impose," said McGinty, with a quick fan of breeze that indicated a sweeping bow.
gloss: Anything resembling a hand-held fan in shape, e.g., a peacock’s tail.
pos: noun
gloss: An instrument for winnowing grain, by moving which the grain is tossed and agitated, and the chaff is separated and blown away.
pos: noun
examples: The oxen likewise and the yong asses that eare the ground, shall eate cleane prouender which hath bene winnowed with the shouell and with the fanne.
Whose fanne is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floore, and gather his wheat into the garner: but wil burne vp the chaffe with vnquenchable fire.
gloss: A small vane or sail, used to keep the large sails of a smock mill always in the direction of the wind.
pos: noun
gloss: A group of overlapping cards exposed in various patience games.
pos: noun
gloss: A section of a tree having a finite number of branches.
pos: noun
gloss: To blow air on (something) by means of a fan (hand-held, mechanical or electrical) or otherwise.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: We enjoyed standing at the edge of the cliff, being fanned by the wind.
Alice took up the fan and gloves, and, as the hall was very hot, she kept fanning herself all the time she went on talking: […]
gloss: To slap (a behind, especially).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Part of it was that as much as I respected filial devotion and as much as I liked Sarah Barstow, it would have been a real satisfaction to put her across my knees and pull up her skirts and giver^([sic]) her a swell fanning, for not taking a look at that driver.
gloss: To move or spread in multiple directions from one point, in the shape of a hand-held fan.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
gloss: To dispel by waving a hand-held fan.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: I attempted to fan the disagreeable odour out of the room.
gloss: To perform a maneuver that involves flicking the top rear of an old-style gun.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: To fan a single action revolver, hold down the trigger and strike the hammer repeatedly with a free hand.
gloss: To invigorate, like flames when fanned.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
examples: She comes, to fan my ardour, She kills me with her kisses.
gloss: To winnow grain.
pos: verb
examples: By the first article, these fanning mills were appointed to be sent to the proprietors of the mills of Sault-à-la puce, Petit-Pré, Beauport, Pointe de Lévy, St. Nicolas and Ste. Famille in the isle of Orleans " to have all the wheat in general of whatever quality sent to these mills passed and fanned, before converting them into flour."
gloss: To apply (the air brake) many times in rapid succession.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: Fanning the brakes results in the gradual depletion of the pressure in the cars' brake reservoirs, which can eventually cause a loss of all braking.
gloss: To strike out.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
gloss: To strike out (a batter).
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To fail to properly shoot or pass the puck.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
Synonyms: admirer
aficionado
buff
connoisseur
enthusiast
devotee
maniac
fan
fanatic
fancier
fancy
fiend
freak
geek
junkie
partisan
rooter
zealot
Related words: groupie
Beatlemania
addict
Derived words: choker fan
fan-assisted oven
fanback
fanbearer
fan belt
fanbelt
fan blade
fan-blast
fanboat
fan camera
fan car
fan coral
fan dance
fan death
fandelier
fanflower
fanfold
fanfoot
fan-foot
fanglomerate
fan heater
fan-in-fin
fanjet
fanleaf
fanlike
fan lobster
fanmaker
fanmaking
fan marker
fan mussel
fan-nerved
fan oven
fan palm
fanpetal
fan-shaped
fan sign
fanskate
fantailed
fan-tailed
fan tracery
fan-veined
fanweed
fan-wheel
fanwise
fanwort
fanwright
hit the fan
red-fan parrot
the shit hit the fan
fan out
fan-in
fanner
fan-out
fanout
fan the fire
fan the flame
fan the flames
refan
Translations: