Meaning and Origin
What does the name Vane mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
Origin and Meaning of Vane
User Submitted Origins
English
50%
Spanish
25%
African American
6%
Italian
6%
Hebrew
6%
Slavic
6%
User Submitted Meanings
- A user from Philippines says the name Vane means "Banner".
- According to a user from Australia, the name Vane means "happy".
International Interest
Also see international interest
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Vane
Senses
- A contrivance attached to some elevated object for the purpose of showing which way the wind blows; a weathercock. It is usually a plate or strip of metal, or slip of wood, often cut into some fanciful form, and placed upon a perpendicular axis around which it moves freely."Aye undiscreet, and changing as a vane." [Chaucer.]
- Any flat, extended surface attached to an axis and moved by the wind; as, the vane of a windmill; hence, a similar fixture of any form moved in or by water, air, or other fluid; as, the vane of a screw propeller, a fan blower, an anemometer, etc.
- [Zoöl] The rhachis and web of a feather taken together.
- One of the sights of a compass, quadrant, etc.
Etymology: OE. & Prov. E. fane weathercock, banner, AS. fana a banner, flag; akin to D. vaan, G. fahne, OHG. fano cloth, gund fano flag, Icel. fāni, Sw. fana, Dan. fane, Goth. fana cloth, L. pannus, and perhaps to Gr. ph^nos a web, phni`on a bobbin, spool. Cf. Fanon Pane a compartment, panel
Other Dictionary Sources
- The flattened weblike part of a feather consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft
- Flat surface that rotates and pushes against air or water
- A fin attached to the tail of an arrow, bomb or missile in order to stabilize or guide it
- Mechanical device attached to an elevated structure; rotates freely to show the direction of the wind
Wiktionary
From Middle English vane, Southern variant of fane, from Old English fana (“cloth, banner, flag”), from Proto-Germanic *fanô. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Foone (“flag, banner”). Compare fane.
- (countable) A weather vane.
- 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.
- (ornithology) The flattened, web-like part of a feather, consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft.
- A sight on a sextant or compass.
- One of the metal guidance or stabilizing fins attached to the tail of a bomb or other missile.
vane was also found in the following language(s): Danish, Esperanto, Italian, Latin, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk