vane

English

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /veɪn/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪn
• Homophones: vain, vein

Noun

vane (plural vanes)

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. (ornithology) The flattened, web-like part of a feather, consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft.

   Synonym: vexillum

   Meronym: barb

4. (navigation) A sight on a sextant or compass.
5. (weaponry) One of the metal guidance or stabilizing fins attached to the tail of a bomb or other missile.

   Synonym: fin

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• weather vane on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Aven, Evan, Nave, Neva, Vena, aven, nave, neva

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Etymology 1

Noun

vane m

1. vocative singular of van

Etymology 2

Verb

vane

1. third-person singular present of vanout

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse vani.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaːnə/,

Noun

vane c (singular definite vanen, plural indefinite vaner)

1. habit
2. practice

Inflection

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvane/

• Audio

  (file)

Adverb

vane

1. in vain

Related terms

• vana (“fruitless”)

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈva.ne/
• Rhymes: -ane
• Hyphenation: và‧ne

Adjective

vane f pl

1. feminine plural of vano

Anagrams

• Neva, nave, vena

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯aː.ne/,
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈva.ne/,

Adjective

vāne

1. vocative masculine singular of vānus

Adverb

vānē (comparative vānius, superlative vānissimē)

1. in vain, vainly

   "dum bona vane laudata Pharisaei perierint, et peccata publicani accusata evanueritnt." Regula coenobialis

   While the good things of the vainly praised Pharisee will perish, also will the sins of the accused tax collector fade away.

References

• “vane”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• vane in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Noun

vane

1. Alternative form of fane (“flag, vane”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse vani.

Noun

vane m (definite singular vanen, indefinite plural vaner, definite plural vanene)

1. a habit, custom

Derived terms

• matvane

References

• “vane” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse vani.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²ʋɑːnə/

Noun

vane m (definite singular vanen, indefinite plural vanar, definite plural vanane)

1. a habit, custom
   • 1957, Tarjei Vesaas, Fuglane:

     Hege hadde for lang tid sidan slutta og bedi han halde seg ifrå denna trøyttande vanen.

     Hege had long ago stopped asking him to refrain from this tiresome habit.

Derived terms

• matvane

References

• “vane” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Pali

Alternative forms

Noun

vane

1. locative singular of vana (“forest; desire”)

Verb

vane

1. optative active singular of vanati (“to desire”)