fang
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Appendix:Variations of "fang"
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) enPR: făng; IPA(key): /fæŋ/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- Rhymes: -æŋ
Etymology 1
From an abbreviation of fangtooth, from Middle English *fangtooth, *fengtooth, from Old English fengtōþ (“canine tooth”, literally “snag-tooth, catch-tooth”). Cognate with German Fangzahn (“fang”, literally “catch-tooth”) and Dutch vangtand.
Noun
Cat fangs
Snake fangs
fang (plural fangs)
- A long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh.
- A long pointed tooth in snakes, for injecting venom.
- (mathematics) Either of the two factors that make a number a vampire number.
Derived terms
Translations
canine tooth
|
a tooth that can inject venom
|
Verb
fang (third-person singular simple present fangs, present participle fanging, simple past and past participle fanged)
- (rare) To strike or attack with the fangs.
- To enable to catch or tear; to furnish with fangs.
- 1722, Ambrose Philips, The Briton:
- chariots fang'd with scythes
Etymology 2
From Middle English fangen, from Old English fōn (“to take, grasp, seize, catch, capture, make prisoner, receive, accept, assume, undertake, meet with, encounter”), and Old Norse fanga (“to fetch, capture”), both from Proto-Germanic *fanhaną, *fangōną (“to catch, capture”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to attach”). Cognate with West Frisian fange (“to catch”), Dutch vangen (“to catch”), German fangen (“to catch”), Danish fange (“to catch”), Albanian peng (“to hinder, hold captive”), Sanskrit पाशयति (pāśáyati, “(s)he binds”).
Verb
fang (third-person singular simple present fangs, present participle fanging, simple past and past participle fanged)
- (transitive, dialectal or archaic) To catch, capture; seize.
- Synonyms: clasp, grasp, grip, clutch, lay hold of; see also Thesaurus:grasp
- 1605, John Webster, Northward Ho, act 1, scene 2:
- Gentlemen, break not the head of the peace: it's to no purpose, for he's in the law's clutches; you see he's fanged.
- c. 1605–1606, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens, act 4, scene 3:
- Destruction fang mankind.
- (transitive, dialectal or obsolete) To take; receive with assent; accept.
- Synonyms: land, lay hands on, score; see also Thesaurus:receive, Thesaurus:take
- (transitive, obsolete, as a guest) To receive with hospitality.
- (transitive, obsolete, a thing given or imposed) To receive.
- Synonyms: cop, get; see also Thesaurus:receive
- (transitive, dialectal) To receive or adopt into spiritual relation, as in baptism; be godfather or godmother to.
Derived terms
Etymology 3
From Middle English fang, possibly from Old English fang, feng (“grasp, catch”), from Proto-Germanic *fangą (“catch, catching, seizure”), from *fanhaną (“to catch, capture”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to attach”); alternatively borrowed from Old Norse fang (“catch”) or formed anew from the verb fangen. Compare Scots fang (“catch”), Dutch vang (“a catch”), Low German fangst (“a catch”), German Fang (“a catch, capture, booty”), Swedish fång, fångst, Icelandic fang. Related also to Latin pangere (“to solidify, drive in”), Albanian mpij (“to benumb, stiffen”), Ancient Greek πήγνυμι (pḗgnumi, “to stiffen, firm up”), Sanskrit पाशयति (pāśáyati, “(s)he binds”).
Noun
fang (plural fangs)
- (now chiefly dialectal, Scotland) A grasping; capture; the act or power of seizing; hold.
- That which is seized or carried off; booty; spoils; stolen goods.
- Any projection, catch, shoot, or other thing by which hold is taken; a prehensile part or organ.
- 1669, John Evelyn, “Kalendarium Hortense: Or The Gard’ners Almanac; […] [April.]”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], 3rd edition, London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, →OCLC, page 15:
- Now take out your Indian Tuberoſes, parting the Off-ſets (but with care, leſt you break their fangs) then pot them in natural (not forc'd) Earth; [...] the protuberant fangs of the Yuca are to be treated like the Tuberoſes.
- (mining) A channel cut in the rock, or a pipe of wood, used for conveying air.
- (mining, rare, in the plural) Catches on which the coal mining cage rests while cars are being moved on and off.
- Synonym: cage-shuts
- (nautical) The coil or bend of a rope; (by extension) a noose; a trap.
- (nautical) The valve of a pump box.
Synonyms
- (stolen goods): See Thesaurus:booty
Derived terms
Verb
fang (third-person singular simple present fangs, present participle fanging, simple past and past participle fanged)
- (Scotland, transitive) To supply (a pump) with the water necessary for it to operate.
Etymology 4
The Macquarie Dictionary and the Australian National Dictionary Centre derive it from the name of Juan Fangio, Argentinian racing driver.[1]
Verb
fang (third-person singular simple present fangs, present participle fanging, simple past and past participle fanged)
- (Australia, slang, transitive, intransitive) To drive, ride, etc. at high speed or recklessly.
- 2008, Mardi McConnochie, “The Mission”, in Dangerous Games:
- Soph was probably out drag-racing with Draz, or fanging down some brightly lit street somewhere hanging out Draz's brother's sunroof and waving at passers-by and screaming.
- 2014 August 1, Michael West, “Victoria's $1 billion per kilometre road - who wouldn't rail against that?”, in The Age:
- The question of whether rail might be a better long-term option than road is passed over with the speed of a merchant banker fanging up the toll road to Mount Buller for the weekend […]
- 2017, Karen M. Davis, Fatal Mistake:
- Batman changed gears and fanged the car a little too fast around a corner, almost skidding onto Elizabeth Street at the back of Redfern.
Related terms
References
Catalan
Danish
German
Icelandic
Mandarin
Norwegian Bokmål
Norwegian Nynorsk
Old English
Scottish Gaelic
Spanish
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