fang
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English fangen, from Old English fōn (“to take, grasp, seize, catch, capture, make prisoner, receive, accept, assume, undertake, meet with, encounter”), and Old Norse fanga (“to fetch, capture”), both from Proto-Germanic *fanhaną, *fangōną (“to catch, capture”), from Proto-Indo-European *paḱ- (“to fasten, place”). Cognate with West Frisian fange (“to catch”), Dutch vangen (“to catch”), German fangen (“to catch”), Danish fange (“to catch”), Albanian peng (“to hinder, hold captive”).
Verb
fang (third-person singular simple present fangs, present participle fanging, simple past and past participle fanged)
- (transitive, dialectal or archaic) To catch, capture; seize; grip; clutch; lay hold of.
- (transitive, dialectal or obsolete) To take; receive with assent; accept.
- (transitive, obsolete, as a guest) To receive with hospitality; welcome.
- (transitive, obsolete, a thing given or imposed) To receive.
- (transitive, dialectal) To receive or adopt into spiritual relation, as in baptism; be godfather or godmother to.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Middle English fang, feng (“a catching, capture, seizing”), from Old English fang, feng (“grip, embrace, grasp, grasping, capture, prey, booty, plunder”), from Proto-Germanic *fangą, *fangiz, *fanhiz (“catch, catching, seizure”), from *fanhaną (“to catch, capture”), from Proto-Indo-European *peHg̑- (“to fasten”). Cognate with Scots fang (“that which is taken, capture, catch, prey, booty”), Dutch vang (“a catch”), Low German fangst (“a catch”), German Fang (“a catch, capture, booty”), Swedish fång, fångst, Icelandic fang. Related also to Latin pangere (“to solidify, drive in”), Albanian mpij (“to benumb, stiffen”), Ancient Greek πήγνυμι (pḗgnumi, “to stiffen, firm up”), Sanskrit पाशयति (pāśáyati, “(s)he binds”).
Noun
fang (plural fangs)
- (Now chiefly dialetal, Scotland) A grasping; capture; the act or power of seizing; hold.
- That which is seized or carried off; booty; spoils; stolen goods.
- Any projection, catch, shoot, or other thing by which hold is taken; a prehensile part or organ.
- (mining) A channel cut in the rock, or a pipe of wood, used for conveying air.
- (rare, plural) Cage-shuts.
- (dialectal) The coil or bend of a rope; (by extension) a noose; a trap.
Derived terms
Etymology 3
From an abbreviation of fangtooth, from Middle English *fangtooth, *fengtooth, from Old English fængtōþ, fengtōþ (“canine tooth”, literally “catch-tooth”). Cognate with German Fangzahn (“fang”, literally “catch-tooth”) and Dutch vangtand.
Noun
fang (plural fangs)
- a long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh
- (in snakes) a long pointed tooth for injecting venom
Derived terms
Translations
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Verb
fang (third-person singular simple present fangs, present participle fanging, simple past and past participle fanged)
Mandarin
Romanization
fang
- Nonstandard spelling of fāng.
- Nonstandard spelling of fáng.
- Nonstandard spelling of fǎng.
- Nonstandard spelling of fàng.
Usage notes
English transcriptions of Chinese speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Chinese language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.