释义 |
vane \ˈvān\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English (southern dialect), from Old English fana flag, banner; akin to Old High German fano cloth, gundfano war flag, gonfalon, Old Norse gunnfani, Gothic fana piece of cloth, rag, Latin pannus, Greek pēnē thread on a bobbin, woof, web 1. a. : a movable device attached to a spire, mast, or other elevated object for showing the direction of the wind b. : one that is changeable or inconstant 2. : a flat or curved surface exposed to a flow of air, gas, or liquid so as to be impelled to move or to rotate about an axis, to redirect the flow (as in a turbine), or itself to be the impeller < the vanes of a windmill > < the vanes of a fan blower > < the vanes of a ship's screw > < the vanes of a washing machine agitator > < the vanes of an aerial bomb > 3. : the web or flat expanded part of a feather formed of the barbs and their appendages 4. : a feather fastened to the shaft near the nock of an arrow 5. a. : the target of a leveling rod b. : one of the sights of a compass or quadrant |