fan

Clipping of English Fang.

fan

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Fang (Bantu).

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Fang (Bantu) terms

• 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

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”).

More at winnow.

fan (plural fans)

1. 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.
3. An electrical or mechanical device for moving air, used for cooling people, machinery, etc.

   He didn't switch on the fan because the temperature was 15 degrees Celsius.

4. 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.

5. Anything resembling a hand-held fan in shape, e.g., a peacock’s tail.
6. 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.

7. A small vane or sail, used to keep the large sails of a smock mill always in the direction of the wind.
8. (mathematics) A section of a tree having a finite number of branches

fan (third-person singular simple present fans, present participle fanning, simple past and past participle fanned)

1. (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: […]

2. (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.

3. (intransitive, usually to fan out) To move or spread in multiple directions from one point, in the shape of a hand-held fan.
4. (transitive) To dispel by waving a hand-held fan.

   I attempted to fan the disagreeable odour out of the room.

5. (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.

6. (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.

7. 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."

8. (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.

9. (baseball, intransitive) To strike out.
10. (baseball, transitive) To strike out (a batter).

• (to firing a revolver by holding trigger and hitting hammer) thumbing

Clipping of fanatic, originally in US baseball slang. Possibly influenced by fancy (“group of sport or hobby enthusiasts”), i.e. fancy boy (“fan”).

fan (plural fans or fen)

2. 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.

   I am a big fan of cricket.

The plural fen is only used within science fiction fandom. See fen, etymology 3, for more information.

• See Thesaurus:fan

• anti-fan
• hater

• See Category:en:Fans (people), for names of different fans or members of fan subcultures.

• 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)”

From Cantonese 分. Doublet of fen and hoon.

fan (plural fan)

1. (Hong Kong, dated) A unit of length, equivalent to 0.1 tsun (0.01 chek), or 0.00371475 metres.
   • 1939, chapter XI, in Colonial Reports - Annual Issues‎^[1], page 37:

     1 chek (foot) = 14⅝ English inches divided into 10 tsün (inches) and each tsün into ten fan or tenths.

• AFN, ANF, FNA, NAF, NFA

• IPA^(key): [fã˦ã˨]

fan

1. egg

• sɛfan

fan

1. direction, side

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.
• Richard Nci Diarra, Lexique bambara-français-anglais, December 13, 2010

• Rhymes: -an

fan

1. third-person plural present indicative of fer

• IPA^(key): /βan/

fan

1. alternative form of ban

• 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.

fan

1. church (building)

   Ka mochen fiti fan? ― Do you want to attend church?

2. 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."

fan

1. under

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

fan (Sette Comuni)

1. on

   au fan tiss ― on the table (literally, “up on table”)

2. in

   übar fan Ròan ― in Canove (literally, “over in Canove”)

Often used in conjunction with adverbs, such as au (“up”), übar (“over”), abe (“down”).

• “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

Borrowed from English fan.

• (Belgium) IPA^(key): /fɑn/
• (Netherlands) IPA^(key): /fɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

fan m (plural fans, diminutive fannetje n)

1. fan (admirer)

• aanhanger
• bewonderaar
• supporter

From English fan.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɑn/, [ˈfɑ̝n]
• IPA^(key): /ˈfæn/, [ˈfæn]
• Rhymes: -ɑn
• Syllabification^(key): fan
• Hyphenation^(key): fan

fan

1. fan, admirer, aficionado

• fani

• “fan”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

• IPA^(key): /fan/

Borrowed from English fan, 1920s.

fan m or f by sense (plural fans)

1. fan (admirer, supporter)

Borrowed from English fan.

fan f (plural fans)

1. (North America) fan (ventilator)

• “fan”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Latin famēs.

fan f

1. hunger

• famâ

Borrowed from English fan.

fan m or f by sense (plural fans)

1. fan (admirer or aficionado)

• fanático
• fanatismo

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

fan

1. third-person plural present indicative of facer

• “fan”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

fan

1. romanization of 𐍆𐌰𐌽

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɒn]
• Hyphenation: fan

From Proto-Finno-Ugric *puna (“hair”).^[1] Possibly a doublet of pina.^[2] Cognates include Northern Mansi пун (pun, “feather, fur, wool”).

fan (plural fanok)

1. (obsolete) pubis

   Synonyms: (the region) szeméremtájék, (the bone) szeméremcsont, (mons pubis) szeméremdomb

2. (obsolete) pubic hair

   Synonyms: szeméremszőrzet, fanszőrzet

Today it is used only in compounds.

From English fan.

fan (plural fanok)

1. (neologism, colloquial) fan (a person who is fond of something or someone, especially an admirer of a performer or aficionado of a sport)

   Synonym: rajongó

• (pubis; admirer, aficionado): fan in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).
• (pubis): fan , mostly redirecting to fanszőr in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh: A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“An Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
• (pubis): fan in Czuczor, Gergely and János Fogarasi: A magyar nyelv szótára (“A Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”). Pest: Emich Gusztáv Magyar Akadémiai Nyomdász, 1862–1874.
• (pubis): fan at A Pallas nagy lexikona, Pallas Irodalmi és Nyomdai Rt., Budapest, 1897
• (pubis): László Országh, Magyar–angol szótár (“Hungarian–English Dictionary”), Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1977

From English fan (“a person who is fond of something or someone”), clipping of fanatic.

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɛn]
• Hyphenation: fan

fan (plural fan-fan)

1. fan: a person who is fond of something or someone

   Synonyms: pengagum, penggemar

2. fan device

• “fan” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

From Middle Irish fanaid, from Old Irish anaid (“to stay, remain, abide”).

• IPA^(key): /fˠanˠ/

fan (present analytic fanann, future analytic fanfaidh, verbal noun fanacht, past participle fanta)

1. to wait
2. to stay

From Latin fāmes.

fan

1. hunger

Borrowed from English fan.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfan/, /ˈfɛn/^[1]
• Rhymes: -an, -ɛn
• Hyphenation: fàn

fan m or f by sense (plural fans)

1. fan (admirer or follower)

• IPA^(key): /ˈfan/
• Rhymes: -an
• Hyphenation: fàn

fan

1. apocopic form of fanno

fan

1. Rōmaji transcription of ファン

fàn+

1. hear
2. understand
3. feel

fan

1. nonstandard spelling of fān
2. nonstandard spelling of fán
3. nonstandard spelling of fǎn
4. nonstandard spelling of fàn

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

From Old English fann, from Latin vannus. Forms in v- are due to a combination of Southern Middle English voicing of initial fricatives and influence from the ultimate Latin etymon.

• fanne, ffanne, vanne

• IPA^(key): /fan/, /van/

fan (plural fannes)

1. A mechanism or device for removing chaff from grain (i.e. winnowing).
2. A training or practice shield manufactured out of twigs or wickerwork.
3. (rare) A fan; a device for blowing air as to cool.

• English: fan, van
• Scots: fan

• “fan(ne, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 31 December 2018.

fan

1. alternative form of fannen

Borrowed from English fan, where it was a clipping of fanatic.

• IPA^(key): /fæn/

fan m (definite singular fanen, indefinite plural fans, definite plural fanane)

1. (countable) a fan (person who is fond of someone or something)

fan m

1. (swear word, in juxtapositions) alternative form of faen

   Han er ein feig fan.

   He's a wimpy fucker.

• “fan” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• Audio:

  (file)

fan

1. third-person plural present indicative of faire

From Proto-Germanic *fanē.

fan

1. off, from

• Middle Dutch: van
  • Dutch: van
    • Afrikaans: van
    • Berbice Creole Dutch: fan
    • Javindo: fan
    • Jersey Dutch: vān, fān, f'n
    • Negerhollands: van, fan, fa
      • → Virgin Islands Creole: fam
    • Skepi Creole Dutch: fan
  • Limburgish: ven

• “fan”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

From Proto-West Germanic *fą̄han.

fān

1. to catch

• anafān
• antfān
• bifān

• Middle Dutch: vâen
  • Dutch: vangen
    • Afrikaans: vang
    • Berbice Creole Dutch: fanggi
    • Negerhollands: vang, faṅ
    • Skepi Creole Dutch: fank
    • → Aukan: fanga
    • → Sranan Tongo: fanga
      • → Caribbean Javanese: fangah, mangah
  • Limburgish: vange

• “fān”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

fan f

1. alternative form of fann

• fana, fon

From Proto-Germanic *afanē, *fanē, whence also Old High German fon.

• IPA^(key): /fɑn/

fan

1. from
   • Heliand, verse 2984-2985

     Thar imu tegėgnes quam ēn idis fan āðrom thiodun; siu was iru aðaligeburdeo...

     There towards him a woman came from another nation; she was of their noble-birth...

• Middle Low German: van, von
  • Dutch Low Saxon: van
  • German Low German: van, von, vun

Köbler, Gerhard (2014) Altsächsisches Wörterbuch‎^[3] (in German), 5th edition

Borrowed from English fan.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfan/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: fan

fan m pers (female equivalent fanka, related adjective fanowski)

1. fan (person who is fond of something or someone, especially an admirer of a performer or aficionado of a sport)

   Synonyms: entuzjasta, wielbiciel, miłośnik, zapaleniec

• fan in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• fan in Polish dictionaries at PWN

fan

1. betel leaf

Unadapted borrowing from English fan or French fan.

fan m (plural fani)

1. fan (admirer, supporter)

fan

1. Doric Scots form of whan

fan (not comparable)

1. Doric Scots form of whan

From Middle Irish fanaid (“stays, remains, abides”), from Old Irish anaid.

fan (past dh'fhan, future fanaidh, verbal noun fantail or fantainn or fanachd)

1. stay, remain
2. wait

• feith
• fuirich

Borrowed from English fan.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfan/ [ˈfãn]
• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: fan

fan m or f by sense (plural (proscribed) fans or (less common) fanes)^[1]

1. fan

   Synonyms: aficionado, admirador, entusiasta, fanático, hincha

   Ella es una gran fan tuya.

   She's a big fan of yours.

fan

1. third-person plural present indicative of far

• “fan”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024

Probably from Ewe ɸā́n (“clear, light”).^[1]

fan

1. Signifies whiteness

From Late Old Norse fendinn, perhaps from Old Frisian fandiand, present participle of fandia (“tempt”), from Proto-Germanic *fandōną (“seek, search for, examine”). Cognate with Danish fanden and Norwegian Bokmål faen.

• IPA^(key): /faːn/, /ˈfaːˌa(ː)n/
• Rhymes: -aːn

• Audio:

  (file)

fan c

1. the devil, Satan

   (Må) fan ta dig!

   (May) the devil take you! ("Fuck you!"/"Screw you!", usually without må)

2. (offensive, vulgar) a bastard, a motherfucker

   Synonym: jävel

   Du var mig en jobbig fan

   You're one annoying son of a bitch

Traditionally not capitalized.

• On capitalization, from TT

fan

1. (vulgar, sometimes followed by också or preceded by va or vad) damn (referring to the devil)

   Fan (också)! Jag glömde nycklarna.

   Damn! I forgot my keys.

   (Va) fan!

   Damnit!

   Va fan?

   What the hell?

   Vad i självaste fan?

   What in the ever-loving hell? (Literally, "What in the very devil himself?")

   Det var då själva fan!

   Oh for fuck's sake! (Roughly, "It was the devil himself!")

fan (not comparable)

1. (vulgar) A (positive or negative) intensifier.

   Fan vilken bra låt!

   Damn, what a great song!

   Fan vad trist att din katt dog

   How bloody sad that your cat died (with a sincere tone)

   Det var fan på tiden!

   It's about bloody time!

   Vem fan är det där?

   Who the hell is that?

   Fan vad konstigt

   That's bloody strange

• Closer to English fuck than damn in offensiveness.
• Often said with a doubly emphasized A for emphasis, like "fa-an."

Borrowed from English fan, short for fanatic, related to the Swedish words fanatisk and fanatiker.

• IPA^(key): /fɛːn/
• Rhymes: -ɛːn
• Homophone: fän

fan c or n

1. a fan (admirer)

   Jag är ett jättestort fan av saffransbullar

   I'm a huge fan of saffron buns

Borrowed from Low German fan, used since 1772, closely related to Swedish fana (“flag”).

• IPA^(key): /fɑːn/
• Rhymes: -ɑːn

fan n

1. a vane, a web (part of the anatomy of a bird's feather)

• fan in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• fan in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• fan in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• Fula Ordboken

fan

1. bait

Borrowed from Arabic فَنّ (fann).

fan (plural fanlar)

1. science

• ilm

Borrowed from English fan.

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [faːn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [faːŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [faːŋ˧˧]
• Phonetic spelling: phan

fan

1. fan (admirer, aficionado)

   fan bóng đá

   football aficionados

• IPA^(key): /van/
• Rhymes: -an

Borrowed from English van.

fan f (plural faniau, not mutable)

1. van

fan

1. soft mutation of man

fan

1. soft mutation of ban

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “fan”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

From Old Frisian fon, from Proto-Germanic *fanē.

• IPA^(key): /fɔn/

fan

1. from
2. of

• “fan (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

• van, phen

From Middle English hwan, from Old English hwonne, from Proto-West Germanic *hwannā.

• IPA^(key): /fan/, /van/, /fɛn/

fan

1. when
   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 4, page 84:

     Zitch vaperreen, an shimmereen, fan ee-daff ee aar scoth!

     Such vapouring and glittering when stript in their shirts!

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 4, page 84:

     Zitch blakeen, an blayeen, fan ee ball was ee-drowe!

     Such bawling and shouting, when the ball was thrown!

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 9, page 88:

     Fan Cournug yate a rishp, an Treblere pit w'eeme.

     When Cournug gave a stroke, and Treblere put with him.

   • 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page 102:

     Dhicka die fan ich want to a mile.

     That day when I went to the mill.

   • 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 4, page 104:

     Fan ich aam in this miseree.

     When I am in this misery.

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 39