fan
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Appendix:Variations of "fan"
Languages (40)
Translingual • English
Bambara • Catalan • Chibcha • Chuukese • Cimbrian • Dutch • Finnish • French • Friulian • Galician • Gothic • Hungarian • Indonesian • Irish • Istriot • Italian • Japanese • Kanuri • Mandarin • Middle English • Norwegian Nynorsk • Occitan • Old Dutch • Old English • Old Saxon • Polish • Rohingya • Romanian • Scots • Scottish Gaelic • Spanish • Sranan Tongo • Swedish • Tboli • Uzbek • Welsh • West Frisian • Yola
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Page categories
Translingual
Symbol
fan
See also
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fæn/
Audio (Northwestern US): (file) Audio (Southern England): (file) - (Standard Southern British) IPA(key): /faːn/
- (æ-tensing) IPA(key): [fɛən], [feən], [fɛːn]
- Rhymes: -æn
- Homophones: faan, fanne
Etymology 1
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
More at winnow.
Noun
fan (plural fans)
- 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.
- An electrical or mechanical device for moving air, used for cooling people, machinery, etc.
- The action of fanning; agitation of the air.
- 1998, Brock Thoene, Bodie Thoene, A New Frontier: Saga of the Sierras, page 181:
- "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.
- Anything resembling a hand-held fan in shape, e.g., a peacock’s tail.
- An instrument for winnowing grain, by moving which the grain is tossed and agitated, and the chaff is separated and blown away.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 30:24:
- 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.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 3:12:
- 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.
- A small vane or sail, used to keep the large sails of a smock mill always in the direction of the wind.
- (mathematics) A section of a tree having a finite number of branches
Derived terms
- alluvial fan
- case fan
- ceiling fan
- cooling fan
- desk fan
- dress fan
- ducted fan
- exhaust fan
- extractor fan
- fan-assisted oven
- fanback
- fanbearer
- fanbelt
- fan belt
- fan blade
- fan-blast
- fanboat
- fan camera
- fan car
- fan coral
- fan dance
- fan death
- fanflower
- fanfold
- fan-foot
- fanfoot
- fanglomerate
- fan heater
- fan-in-fin
- fanjet
- fanleaf
- fanlike
- fan lobster
- fanmaker
- fanmaking
- fan marker
- fan mussel
- fan-nerved
- fan out
- fan oven
- fan palm
- fanpetal
- fan-shaped
- fan sign
- fanskate
- fantailed
- fan-tailed
- fan tracery
- fanweed
- fan-wheel
- fanwise
- fanwort
- fanwright
- fart fan
- finger fan
- firefan
- fire fan
- hand fan
- hit the fan
- open fan
- overhead fan
- pedestal fan
- propfan
- red-fan parrot
- Rhenish fan
- sea fan
- subfan
- submarine fan
- tailfan
- tilt fan
- trifan
- turbofan
- unducted fan
- walking fan
- wall fan
- winnowing fan
Translations
hand-held device
|
electrical device
|
anything resembling a hand-held fan
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
fan (third-person singular simple present fans, present participle fanning, simple past and past participle fanned)
- (transitive) To blow air on (something) by means of a fan (hand-held, mechanical or electrical) or otherwise.
- We enjoyed standing at the edge of the cliff, being fanned by the wind.
- 1865 November (indicated as 1866), Lewis Carroll [pseudonym; Charles Lutwidge Dodgson], “The Pool of Tears”, in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 19:
- 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: […]
- (transitive) To slap (a behind, especially).
- 1934, Rex Stout, Fer-de-Lance, Bantam, published 1992, →ISBN, page 148:
- 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.
- (intransitive, usually to fan out) To move or spread in multiple directions from one point, in the shape of a hand-held fan.
- (transitive) To dispel by waving a hand-held fan.
- I attempted to fan the disagreeable odour out of the room.
- (firearms, transitive) To perform a maneuver that involves flicking the top rear of an old-style gun.
- 2011, Hans-Christoan Vortisch, GURPS Tactical Shooting, page 14:
- To fan a single action revolver, hold down the trigger and strike the hammer repeatedly with a free hand.
- (figurative) To invigorate, like flames when fanned.
- 1923, Arthur Symons, Love's Cruelty, page 43:
- She comes, to fan my ardour, She kills me with her kisses.
- To winnow grain.
- 1856, François Réal Angers Lelièvre, Lower Canada reports:
- 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."
- (rail transport, transitive) To apply (the air brake) many times in rapid succession.
- 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.
- (baseball, intransitive) To strike out.
- (baseball, transitive) To strike out (a batter).
Derived terms
Related terms
- (to firing a revolver by holding trigger and hitting hammer) thumbing
Translations
to blow air on by means of an electric fan
|
to blow air on by means of a hand-held fan
|
to slap (a behind)
move or spread in multiple directions from one point
|
Translations
Etymology 2
Etymology tree
Clipping of fanatic, originally in US baseball slang. Possibly influenced by fancy (“group of sport or hobby enthusiasts”), i.e. fancy boy (“fan”).
Noun
- A person who is fond of something or someone, especially an admirer of a performer or aficionado of a sport.
- I am a big fan of libraries.
Usage notes
The plural fen is only used within science fiction fandom. See fen, etymology 3, for more information.
Synonyms
- See Thesaurus:fan
Antonyms
Hyponyms
- See Category:en:Fans (people), for names of different fans or members of fan subcultures.
Derived terms
(Terms derived from fan (noun, etymology 2)):
- acafan
- actifan
- Anglofan
- anti-fan
- anti-fandom
- bandwagon fan
- Batfan
- BNF (“Big Name Fan”)
- Callafan
- confan
- crifanac
- Cumberfan
- eofan
- faan
- fair weather fan
- fake fan
- fakefan
- fanac
- fanarchist
- fanart
- fan base
- fanblog
- fanboy
- fanbrat
- fancam
- fan car
- fan cast
- fancast
- fanchant
- fan club
- fancruft
- fandemonium
- fandom
- fandub
- fandumb
- faned
- fanfest
- fan fiction
- fanfilm
- fangal
- fangame
- fangirl
- fanhood
- Fanilow
- Fanilton
- fankid
- fankind
- fanlation
- fanless
- fan letter
- fanling
- fanlisting
- fanlore
- fanmade
- fanmag
- fan mail
- fanmeeting
- fanmix
- fanne (“female fan of science fiction”)
- Fannibal
- fannish
- fanon
- fan page
- fanpage
- fanpire
- fans are slans
- fanservice
- fanship
- fansign
- fansigning
- fansite
- fanslation
- fanslator
- Fanson
- fanspeak
- fansplain
- fanstuff
- fansub
- fantagonism
- fantard
- fantrepreneur
- fantroll
- fanventure
- fanvid
- fanwank
- fanwankery
- fanware
- fanwear
- fanwork
- fanwriter
- fanwriting
- fanzine
- fanzone
- femfan
- femme fan
- FIAWOL (“Fandom Is A Way Of Life”)
- FIJAGH (“Fandom Is Just A Goddamn Hobby”)
- fringefan
- furfan
- Hamilfan
- HitlerFan1488
- litfan
- lolfan
- mediafan
- megafan
- Mirfanda
- neofan
- nonfan
- passifan
- Phan
- Pokéfan
- railfan
- sports fan
- stan
- stfan
- stfanzine
- superfan
- Transfan
- transfan
- Trekfan
- trufan
- Twifan
- uberfan
- WKF (“Well Known Fan”)
- zinefan
Descendants
- → Dutch: fan
- → Finnish: fani
- → French: fan
- → German: Fan
- → Italian: fan
- → Japanese: ファン
- → Korean: 팬 (paen)
- → Mandarin: 粉 (fěn)
- → Mandarin: 飯 / 饭 (fàn)
- → Norwegian Bokmål: fan, fans
- → Norwegian Nynorsk: fan, fans
- → Polish: fan
- → Portuguese: fã
- → Romanian: fan
- → Spanish: fan
- → Swedish: fan
- → Thai: แฟน (fɛɛn)
Translations
admirer
|
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “fan”, in Online Etymology Dictionary, retrieved 1 January 2017: “1889, American English, originally of baseball enthusiasts, probably a shortening of fanatic, but it may be influenced by the fancy, a collective term for followers of a certain hobby or sport (especially boxing)”
Etymology 3
From Cantonese 分. Doublet of fen and hoon.
Noun
fan (plural fan)
See also
(other terms containing "fan" but etymologically unrelated):
Anagrams
Bambara
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Noun
fan
Etymology 2
Noun
fan
References
- 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.
- Richard Nci Diarra, Lexique bambara-français-anglais, December 13, 2010
Catalan
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -an
Verb
fan
Chibcha
Pronunciation
Noun
fan
- Alternative form of ban
References
- Gómez Aldana D. F., Análisis morfológico del Vocabulario 158 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Grupo de Investigación Muysccubun. 2013.
- Quesada Pacheco, Miguel Ángel. 1991. El vocabulario mosco de 1612. En estudios de Lingüística Chibcha. Programa de investigación del departamento de lingüística de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Serie Anual Tomo X San José (Costa Rica). Universidad de Costa Rica.
Chuukese
Noun
fan
- church (building)
- Ka mochen fiti fan? ― Do you want to attend church?
- time (instance or occurrence)
- 2010, Ewe Kapasen God, United Bible Societies, →ISBN, Matthew 26:34, page 55:
- Jesus a apasa ngeni Peter, "Upwe apasa ngonuk pwe non ei chok pwinin me mwen ewe chukȯ epwe kökkö, fan unungat kopwe apasa pwe kose sinei ei."
- Jesus said to Peter, "I tell you that in this night before the chicken calls, three times you will say that you don't know me."
Preposition
fan
Cimbrian
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Preposition
fan (Sette Comuni)
- on
- au fan tiss ― on the table (literally, “up on table”)
- in
- übar fan Ròan ― in Canove (literally, “over in Canove”)
Usage notes
Often used in conjunction with adverbs, such as au (“up”), übar (“over”), abe (“down”).
References
- “fan” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
Dutch
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
fan m (plural fans, diminutive fannetje n)
- fan (admirer)
Synonyms
Finnish
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
fan
Declension
Inflection of fan (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation) | |||
---|---|---|---|
nominative | fan | fanit | |
genitive | fanin | fanien | |
partitive | fania | faneja | |
illative | faniin | faneihin | |
singular | plural | ||
nominative | fan | fanit | |
accusative | nom. | fan | fanit |
gen. | fanin | ||
genitive | fanin | fanien | |
partitive | fania | faneja | |
inessive | fanissa | faneissa | |
elative | fanista | faneista | |
illative | faniin | faneihin | |
adessive | fanilla | faneilla | |
ablative | fanilta | faneilta | |
allative | fanille | faneille | |
essive | fanina | faneina | |
translative | faniksi | faneiksi | |
abessive | fanitta | faneitta | |
instructive | — | fanein | |
comitative | See the possessive forms below. |
Possessive forms of fan (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms
Further reading
- “fan”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02
French
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Borrowed from English fan, 1920s.
Noun
fan m or f by sense (plural fans)
- fan (admirer, supporter)
Etymology 2
Noun
fan f (plural fans)
- (North America) fan (ventilator)
Further reading
- “fan”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Friulian
Etymology
Noun
fan f
Related terms
- famâ
Galician
Etymology 1
Noun
fan m or f by sense (plural fans)
- fan (admirer or aficionado)
Related terms
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
fan
Further reading
- “fan”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025
Gothic
Romanization
fan
- Romanization of 𐍆𐌰𐌽
Hungarian
Indonesian
Irish
Istriot
Italian
Japanese
Kanuri
Mandarin
Middle English
Norwegian Nynorsk
Occitan
Old Dutch
Old English
Old Saxon
Polish
Rohingya
Romanian
Scots
Scottish Gaelic
Spanish
Sranan Tongo
Swedish
Tboli
Uzbek
Welsh
West Frisian
Yola
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