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fan
Definitions
[fan], (Noun)
Definitions:
- an apparatus with rotating blades that creates a current of air for cooling or ventilation
(e.g: a couple of ceiling fans, lazily turning)
- a handheld device, typically folding and shaped like a segment of a circle when spread out, that is waved so as to cool the person holding it
(e.g: the girls were giggling behind their fans)
Phrases:
- fan the flames
Origin
:
Old English fann (as a noun denoting a device for winnowing grain), fannian (verb), from Latin vannus ‘winnowing fan’. Compare with vane
[fan], (Verb)
Definitions:
- cool (someone or something) by waving an object to create a current of air
(e.g: he fanned himself with his hat)
- increase the strength of (a fire) by blowing on it or stirring up the air near it
(e.g: fanned by an easterly wind, the fire spread rapidly)
- disperse or radiate from a central point to cover a wide area
(e.g: the arriving passengers began to fan out through the town in search of lodgings)
Phrases:
- fan the flames
Origin
:
Old English fann (as a noun denoting a device for winnowing grain), fannian (verb), from Latin vannus ‘winnowing fan’. Compare with vane
[fan], (Noun)
Definitions:
- a person who has a strong interest in or admiration for a particular person or thing
(e.g: football fans)
Phrases:
Origin
:
late 19th century (originally US): abbreviation of fanatic
Click here to see the free dictionary definition for fan
definition by Oxford Dictionaries