flabellum

[ fluh-bel-uhm ]
See synonyms for flabellum on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural fla·bel·la [fluh-bel-uh]. /fləˈbɛl ə/.
  1. a fan, especially one used in religious ceremonies.

  2. a fan-shaped part.

Origin of flabellum

1
1865–70; <Latin flābellum fan, diminutive of flābra breezes, equivalent to flā(re) to blow2 + -bra, plural of -brum noun suffix of means; see castellum for formation

Words Nearby flabellum

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How to use flabellum in a sentence

  • The large organ of the flabellum and the branchial organs he has not taken into consideration.

    The Origin of Vertebrates | Walter Holbrook Gaskell
  • A special sense-organ, such as the flabellum of Limulus or the pecten of scorpion, remains and gives rise to the auditory organ.

    The Origin of Vertebrates | Walter Holbrook Gaskell
  • Upon the completion of the victory, four fan-bearers, each with crook and flabellum, offer the spoils of conquest to the king.

    History of the Fan | George Woolliscroft Rhead
  • There is also in the same collection a capital of morse ivory for the handle of a flabellum, North German, twelfth century.

    History of the Fan | George Woolliscroft Rhead
  • A portion of the cylindrical stem of a flabellum or aspergillum, probably French of the twelfth century, is in the British Museum.

    History of the Fan | George Woolliscroft Rhead

British Dictionary definitions for flabellum

flabellum

/ (fləˈbɛləm) /


nounplural -la (-lə)
  1. a fan-shaped organ or part, such as the tip of the proboscis of a honeybee

  2. RC Church a large ceremonial fan

Origin of flabellum

1
C19: from Latin: small fan, from flābra breezes, from flāre to blow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012