WikiWord

English

vane

/veɪn/ · noun

Meaning

  1. A weather vane.
  2. Any of several usually relatively thin, rigid, flat, or sometimes curved surfaces radially mounted along an axis, as a blade in a turbine or a sail on a windmill, that is turned by or used to turn a fluid.
  3. The flattened, web-like part of a feather, consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft.
  4. A sight on a sextant or compass.
  5. One of the metal guidance or stabilizing fins attached to the tail of a bomb or other missile.
  6. A surname.

Etymology / origin

From Middle English vane, Southern Middle English variant of fane, from Old English fana (“cloth, banner, flag”), from Proto-West Germanic *fanō, from Proto-Germanic *fanô, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“something woven; weave; tissue; fabric; cloth”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Foone (“flag, banner”), Dutch vaan (“banner, flag”), German Low German Fahn (“flag”), German Fahne. Doublet of obsolete fane (“weathercock; banner”) and fanon.

  1. Fahne(German)→
  2. Fahn(nds-de)→
  3. vaan(Dutch)→
  4. Foone(Saterland Frisian)→
  5. *peh₂n-(ine-pro)→
  6. *fanô(gem-pro)→
  7. *fanō(gmw-pro)→
  8. fana(Old English)→
  9. vane(Middle English)→
  10. vane (English)
  11. Relations: inh, inh, inh, inh, der, cog, cog, cog, cog

Related words

vane(Middle English)fana(Old English)*fanō(gmw-pro)*fanô(gem-pro)*peh₂n-(ine-pro)Foone(Saterland Frisian)vaan(Dutch)Fahn(nds-de)Fahne(German)Faane(Alemannic German)

Descendant words

Sources

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