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dogvane. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
dogvane, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
dogvane in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
dogvane you have here. The definition of the word
dogvane will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
dogvane, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
dog + vane
Noun
dogvane (plural dogvanes)
- (nautical) A small vane of bunting, feathers, or other light material, fastened to the end of a short staff and placed on the weather gunwale of a sailing ship to assist the helmsman to judge the direction of the wind.
1826, Old Sailor, Greenwich Hospital:she had an ugly knack of stopping, and swinging one leg all manner of ways, like a dogvane in a calm.
1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick or the Whale:Nor was any mariner surprised when, after inspecting the compass, and then the dog-vane, and then ascertaining the precise bearing of the odor as nearly as possible, Ahab rapidly ordered the ship’s course to be slightly altered, and the sail to be shortened.
- (obsolete, nautical) A cockade worn on a hat (worn in the British Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries)