English

Proper noun

Fang

1. (collective) A people of western Africa.
2. The dominant Bantu language of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, spoken by 1.3 million people, also called Pahouin.
3. A Southern Bantoid language of Cameroon, spoken by only 2400 people, so called because it is spoken in the village of Fang.

Translations

See also

• Wiktionary's coverage of Fang (Guinea) terms
• Ethnologue entry for Fang, fan
• Wiktionary's coverage of Fang (Cameroon) terms
• Ethnologue entry for Fang, fak

Fang (Guinea)

Proper noun

Fang

1. Fang people
2. Fang language (Pahouin)

German

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aŋ

Noun

Fang m ‎(genitive Fanges, plural Fänge)

1. catch, capture
2. booty, prey
3. haul, draught
4. fang, talon, claw, tusk
5. (hunting) coup de grâce
6. hunting, fishing (fish, whales)

Declension

English

Verb

fang ‎(third-person singular simple present fangs, present participle fanging, simple past and past participle fanged)

1. (transitive, dialectal or archaic) To catch, capture; seize; grip; clutch; lay hold of.
   • 1605, Webster, John, Northward Ho, Act 1, Scene 2:

     Gentlemen, break not the head of the peace: it's to no purpose, for he's in the law's clutches; you see he's fanged.

   • c. 1605–1606, Shakespeare, William, Timon of Athens, Act 4, Scene 3:

     Destruction fang mankind.

2. (transitive, dialectal or obsolete) To take; receive with assent; accept.
3. (transitive, obsolete, as a guest) To receive with hospitality; welcome.
4. (transitive, obsolete, a thing given or imposed) To receive.
5. (transitive, dialectal) To receive or adopt into spiritual relation, as in baptism; be godfather or godmother to.

Derived terms

• fanger
• fangle
• infang
• onfang
• underfang

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 *ph₂ǵ- ‎(“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 ‎(pāśayati, “(s)he binds”)|tr=pāśáyati.

Noun

fang ‎(plural fangs)

1. (now chiefly dialectal, Scotland) A grasping; capture; the act or power of seizing; hold.
2. That which is seized or carried off; booty; spoils; stolen goods.
3. Any projection, catch, shoot, or other thing by which hold is taken; a prehensile part or organ.
   • Evelyn

     the protuberant fangs of the yucca

4. (mining) A channel cut in the rock, or a pipe of wood, used for conveying air.
5. (rare, in the plural) Cage-shuts.
6. (nautical) The coil or bend of a rope; (by extension) a noose; a trap.
7. (nautical) The valve of a pump box.

Derived terms

• fanging

Verb

fang ‎(third-person singular simple present fangs, present participle fanging, simple past and past participle fanged)

1. (Scotland, transitive) To supply (a pump) with the water necessary for it to operate.

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)

1. a long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh
2. (in snakes) a long pointed tooth for injecting venom

Derived terms

• fanged
• fangless

Translations

Verb

fang ‎(third-person singular simple present fangs, present participle fanging, simple past and past participle fanged)

1. (rare) To strike or attack with the fangs.
2. To enable to catch or tear; to furnish with fangs.
   • Philips

     chariots fanged with scythes

Catalan

Noun

fang m ‎(plural fangs)

1. mud

See also

• llot m

Danish

Verb

fang

1. imperative of fange

1. Catch.
2. Capture.

Fang mig!‎

Catch me!

German

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aŋ

Verb

fang

1. Imperative singular of fangen.

Mandarin

Romanization

fang

1. Nonstandard spelling of fāng.
2. Nonstandard spelling of fáng.
3. Nonstandard spelling of fǎng.
4. Nonstandard spelling of fàng.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

fang n ‎(definite singular fanget, indefinite plural fang, definite plural fanga or fangene)

1. lap

Verb

fang

1. imperative of fange

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *fangą, *fangiz, *fanhiz ‎(“catch, catching, seizure”), from *fanhaną ‎(“to catch, capture”).

Pronunciation

Noun

fang m

1. plunder, booty

Declension

Related terms

• fōn

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish fang (compare Welsh gwanc ‎(“voracity”))

Noun

fang f ‎(genitive singular fainge, plural fangan)

1. vulture
2. raven

References

• Faclair Gàidhlig Dwelly Air Loidhne, Dwelly, Edward (1911), Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan/The Illustrated [Scottish] Gaelic-English Dictionary (10th ed.), Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, ISBN 0 901771 92 9
• “fang” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.