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vane

[veyn]

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noun

weather vane.

a blade, plate, sail, etc., in the wheel of a windmill, to be moved by the air.

any of a number of blades or plates attached radially to a rotating drum or cylinder, as in a turbine or pump, that move or are moved by a fluid, as steam, water, hot gases, or air.

a person who is readily changeable or fickle.

Aerospace.

any fixed or movable plane surface on the outside of a rocket providing directional control while the rocket is within the atmosphere.

a similar plane surface located in the exhaust jet of a reaction engine, providing directional control while the engine is firing.

EXPAND

Ornithology. the web of a feather.

Navigation, Surveying. either of two fixed projections for sighting an alidade or the like.

Archery. feather (def. 5).

COLLAPSE

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Origin:
before 1100; Middle English; Old English fana flag; cognate with German Fahne flag, Gothic fana segment of cloth; compare gonfanon

Related forms

vaned, adjective

vane·less, adjective

mul·ti·vane, adjective

Can be confused: vain, vane, vein.

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Vane is always a great word to know.

So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

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Example Sentences

So it's vane to talk about blood since it's wrong to judge national background on this single factor.

He's a bombast anyway, a vane orator, the way so many pol's are.

Scan a feather and enlarge it to poster size and you'll see each vane and barb.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

Sir Henry (Sir Harry Vane), 1613–62, British statesman and author.

Link To Vane

Collins

World English Dictionary

vane (veɪn)

—n
1.	weather vane, Also called: wind vane a flat plate or blade of metal mounted on a vertical axis in an exposed position to indicate wind direction
2.	any one of the flat blades or sails forming part of the wheel of a windmill
3.	any flat or shaped plate used to direct fluid flow, esp a stator blade in a turbine, etc
4.	a fin or plate fitted to a projectile or missile to provide stabilization or guidance
5.	ornithol the flat part of a feather, consisting of two rows of barbs on either side of the shaft
6.	surveying
	a. a sight on a quadrant or compass
	b. the movable marker on a levelling staff

[Old English fana; related to Old Saxon, Old High German fano, Old Norse fani, Latin pannus cloth]

vaned

—*adj*

'vaneless

—*adj*

Vane (veɪn)

—n
	Sir Henry, known as Sir Harry Vane. 1613--62, English Puritan statesman and colonial administrator; governor of Massachusetts (1636--37). He was executed for high treason after the Restoration

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

vane

"wind indicator," early 15c., southern England alteration (see V) of fane.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

Vane (vān), John Robert. Born 1927.

British pharmacologist. He shared a 1982 Nobel Prize for research on prostaglandins.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

vane (vān) Pronunciation Key
The flattened, weblike part of a feather, consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the rachis.

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