fan
noun
[ fan ]
• an apparatus with rotating blades that creates a current of air for cooling or ventilation.
• "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.
• "the girls were giggling behind their fans"
fan
verb
• cool (someone or something) by waving an object to create a current of air.
• "he fanned himself with his hat"
• increase the strength of (a fire) by blowing on it or stirring up the air near it.
• "fanned by an easterly wind, the fire spread rapidly"
Similar:
stir up,
whip up,
encourage,
incite,
stoke up,
fuel,
kindle,
ignite,
inflame,
stimulate,
instigate,
provoke,
excite,
arouse,
awaken,
waken,
inspire,
trigger,
spark off,
ferment,
foment,
enkindle,
• disperse or radiate from a central point to cover a wide area.
• "the arriving passengers began to fan out through the town in search of lodgings"
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
• a person who has a strong interest in or admiration for a particular person or thing.
• "football fans"
Similar:
enthusiast,
devotee,
admirer,
lover,
addict,
supporter,
follower,
disciple,
adherent,
backer,
zealot,
champion,
votary,
expert,
connoisseur,
aficionado,
buff,
fiend,
freak,
bug,
nut,
maniac,
groupie,
junkie,
jock,
barmy army,
Origin:
late 19th century (originally US): abbreviation of fanatic.
Fang
noun
• a member of a people inhabiting parts of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon.
• the Bantu language of the Fang, with over 500,000 speakers.
Fang
adjective
• relating to the Fang or their language.
Origin:
French, probably from Fang Pangwe .
