• IPA: /fæn/
• (Standard Southern British) IPA: /faːn/
• (æ-tensing) IPA: [fɛən], [feən], [fɛːn]

• Latin ventus
• Dutch wan
• German Wanne
• Swedish vanna
• Old English windwian.

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

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

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

• French: éventail
• German: Fächer
• Italian: ventaglio
• Portuguese: leque
• Russian: ве́ер
• Spanish: abanico, abano

• French: ventilateur
• German: Ventilator, Gebläse, Lüfter
• Italian: ventilatore
• Portuguese: ventoinha, ventilador
• Russian: вентиля́тор
• Spanish: ventilador, abanico (Colombian Atlantic Coast), abano, molinete

• German: Fächer
• Portuguese: leque, abano, abanico, flabelo
• Russian: ве́ер

fan (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).
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.
6. (metaphoric) To invigorate, like flames when fanned.
7. To winnow grain.
8. (railroading, 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

• French: éventer
• German: ventilieren, belüften, anfachen fire, embers, anwehen, zufächern
• Portuguese: ventilar
• Russian: обдува́ть
• Spanish: ventilar

• French: éventer
• German: fächeln
• Portuguese: abanar, flabelar
• Spanish: abanicar, abanar

• German: klopfen, klapsen, schlagen

• French: disperser
• German: fächern fan, auffächern fan out, verteilen
• Portuguese: espalhar-se
• Russian: рассредото́чиваться

fan (plural fans)

1. 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.

• See Thesaurus:fan

• anti-fan
• hater

• French: fan, admirateur, admiratrice, supporteur
• German: Fan, Liebhaber, Anhänger, Bewunderer, Entourage, Gefolge, Anhängerschaft, Enthusiast, Verehrer, Anhängerschaft, Enthusiast, Verehrer
• Italian: tifo, tifoso
• Portuguese: fã, adepto, torcedor (sports)
• Russian: боле́льщик
• Spanish: fan, hincha, aficionado, seguidor, forofo

From Cantonese 分.

fan (plural fan)

1. (Hong Kong, dated) A unit of length, equivalent to 0.1 tsun (0.01 chek), or 0.00371475 metres.

Shortening of Fanny, itself a short form of Frances.

1. A diminutive of Frances.

From Mandarin 范.

1. A county in Puyang, Henan.
2. Surname

• Fanxian (county)

1. (rail transport) The station code of Fanling in Hong Kong.

fan

1. Init of file area network
2. (brewing) Init of free amino nitrogen, amino acids available for yeast metabolism.