fan

1. A device for creating a current of air or a breeze, especially:
   1. A machine using an electric motor to rotate thin, rigid vanes in order to move air, as for cooling.
   2. A collapsible, usually wedge-shaped device made of a light material such as silk, paper, or plastic.
2. A machine for winnowing.
3. Something resembling an open fan in shape: a peacock's fan.

1. To move or cause a current of (air) with or as if with a fan.
2. To direct a current of air or a breeze upon, especially in order to cool: fan one's face.
3. To stir (something) up by or as if by fanning: fanned the flames in the fireplace; a troublemaker who fanned resentment among the staff.
4. To open (something) out into the shape of a fan: The bird fanned its colorful tail.
5. 1. To fire (an automatic gun) in a continuous sweep by keeping one's finger on the trigger.
   2. To fire (a nonautomatic gun) rapidly by chopping the hammer with the palm.
6. To winnow.
7. Baseball. To strike out (a batter).

1. To spread out like a fan: The troops fanned out from the beachhead.
2. Baseball. To strike out.

[Middle English, winnowing fan, from Old English fann, from Latin vannus.]

[Short for FANATIC.]

For more information on fan, visit Britannica.com.

A fan moves gases by producing a low compression ratio, as in ventilation and pneumatic conveying of materials. The increase in density of the gas in passing through a fan is generally negligible; the pressure increase or head is usually measured in inches of water.

Blowers are fans that operate where the resistance to gas flow is predominantly downstream of the fan. Exhausters are fans that operate where the flow resistance is mainly upstream of the fan.

Fans are further classified as centrifugal or axial (see illustration). The housing provides an inlet and an outlet and confines the flow to the region swept out by the rotating impeller. The impeller imparts velocity to the gas, and this velocity changes to a pressure differential under the influence of the housing and ducts connected to inlet and outlet.

Fan types. (a) Centrifugal. (b) Axial.

A device that uses motor-driven blades to circulate the air in a computer or other electronic system. Today's CPUs run extremely hot, and large computer cabinets use two and three fans to reduce temperature. See FanCard.

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verb

To move or arrange so as to cover a larger area. expand, extend, open (out or up), outstretch, spread, stretch, unfold, unroll. See move/halt.

noun

1. One who ardently admires: admirer, devotee, enthusiast, fancier, lover. See like/dislike, love/hatred, praise/blame.
2. A person who is ardently devoted to a particular subject or activity: bug, devotee, enthusiast, fanatic, maniac, zealot. Informal buff², fiend. Slang freak, nut. See concern/unconcern.

Idioms beginning with fan:
fan the flames

In addition to the idiom beginning with fan, also see shit will hit the fan.

Definition: enthusiast
Antonyms: cynic, naysayer

While fanatics abounded in the Old World, we Americans can claim credit for inventing a kinder, gentler version: the baseball fan. It happened in the 1880s, apparently thanks to Ted Sullivan, manager of the St. Louis Browns. According to an 1887 article in Sporting Life, a Philadelphia publication, "It was Ted who gave the nick-name of 'fans' to base ball cranks. You never hear a man called a 'fiend' out in the Western League cities. 'Fan' is the word that is invariably used. It is a quick way of saying 'fanatic.'"

A few years later, in 1896, Sullivan himself explained how he came up with the term: "The first season I was with [Chris] Von der Ahe [the team owner], Chris had a board of directors made up of cranks who had baseball on the brain, and they were always interfering with me and telling Chris how the team ought to be run. I told Chris that I didn't propose to be advised by a lot of fanatics. 'Vat dat you call it? Fans, eh?' said Chris. 'Yes, fans for short. They're a lot of fans, Chris,' I said. The expression was a hit with me. Comiskey and the players took it up, and then the newspapers."

By the turn of the century, the fiends (1865) and cranks (1882) were gone. A 1901 glossary noted that fan was "common among reporters," perhaps for its innocuous sound and breezy humor. Fan would also appeal to headline writers, hungry for short words.

As the first American sport to turn professional, baseball modeled fandom (1903) for the others. And fans were too useful to confine to sports. From early in the twentieth century, entertainers of all sorts, especially movie stars, cultivated their fans, leading to such phenomena as fan mail (1924), the fan letter (1932), and fan clubs (1941). Even science fiction got into the act with fan magazines in the 1930s, known also since 1940 as fanzines.

Without qualification, indicates a fan of science fiction, especially one who goes to cons and tends to hang out with other fans. Many hackers are fans, so this term has been imported from fannish slang; however, unlike much fannish slang it is recognized by most non-fannish hackers. Among SF fans the plural is correctly fen, but this usage is not automatic to hackers. “Laura reads the stuff occasionally but isn't really a fan.”

1. An air-moving device composed of a wheel or blade and housing or orifice plate. 2. During construction or demolition of a building, an upwardly projecting arrangement of scaffolding and netting that is intended to catch any debris that might otherwise fall to the ground. Also see axial-flow fan, centrifugal fan, plenum fan, propeller fan, return fan, supply fan, tubeaxial fan, vaneaxial fan.

An individual who is devoted to and enthusiastic about a given sport.

Fans are used to "cool off," a common metaphor for calming down after being in a highly emotional state. Fans can also have the opposite effect, however, by increasing the power of a raging fire (by feeding it with oxygen)-the source of such expressions as "fanning the flames." Old-fashioned folding fans can symbolize both women and the phases of the moon. Finally, electric fans can represent danger because of their blades and their potential for causing electrocution.

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - vifte, ventilator, avneblæser, kasteskovl, vindfang, krøjeanordning
v. tr. - vifte, vifte væk, få til at flamme op
v. intr. - sprede sig vifteformet ud, slå ud

idioms:

• fan belt    ventilatorrem, kilerem
• fan out    sprede ud i vifteform
• fan the flames    puste til ilden

2.
n. - fan, entusiast, ivrig dyrker af, beundrer

idioms:

• fan club    fanklub
• fan mail    breve fra beundrere

Nederlands (Dutch)
fan, waaier, ventilator, propeller, windvaantje, gereedschap voor dorsen, waaiervormig lichaam van los gesteente, aanwakkeren, toewaaien, koelte toewaaien, wapperen, uitspreiden, dorsen, slaan, uit slaan (in honkbal), een serie kogels schieten

Français (French)
1.
n. - éventail, ventilateur, (Ind) soufflet, (Agric) tarare
v. tr. - éventer, souffler sur, (fig) attiser, envenimer, (Agric) vanner (le grain)
v. intr. - s'étaler en éventail

idioms:

• fan belt    courroie de ventilateur
• fan out    se déployer/s'étaler en éventail, étaler en éventail
• fan the flames    attiser les flammes

2.
n. - fanatique, fana, admirateur

idioms:

• fan club    club de fans, club d'admirateurs
• fan mail    courrier des admirateurs

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Fächer, Leitrad, Ventilator, Gebläse
v. - anfachen, fächeln, zufächeln

idioms:

• fan belt    Keilriemen
• fan out    fächern
• fan the flames    das Feuer anfachen

2.
n. - Anhänger

idioms:

• fan club    Fanklub
• fan mail    Fanpost

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - βεντάλια, (μηχαν.) ανεμιστήρας, (καθομ.) θαυμαστής, οπαδός
v. - ριπίζω, ανεμίζω, αερίζω, κάνω αέρα (με βεντάλια κ.λπ.), φυσώ, αναρριπίζω (φωτιά κ.λπ.)

idioms:

• fan belt    ιμάντας φτερωτής (αυτοκινήτου)
• fan club    λέσχη θαυμαστών
• fan mail    αλληλογραφία ή επιστολές θαυμαστών
• fan out    απλώνομαι σε σχήμα βεντάλιας
• fan the flames    αναρριπίζω πάθη, ρίχνω λάδι στη φωτιά

Italiano (Italian)
soffiare, attizzare, sventolare, fare vento a, fan, patito, tifoso, ventaglio, ventilatore, ventola

idioms:

• fan belt    cinghia della ventola
• fan club    circolo di ammiratori
• fan mail    posta di ammiratori
• fan out    aprirsi a ventaglio
• fan the flames    soffiare sul fuoco

Português (Portuguese)
n. - fã (f) (m), ventilador (m)
v. - ventilar

idioms:

• fan belt    correia de ventilador
• fan club    fã-clube
• fan mail    cartas enviadas por fãs
• fan out    espalhar-se
• fan the flames    incitar (uma rebelião)

Русский (Russian)
обмахивать, раздувать, веер, кондиционер, поклонник

idioms:

• fan belt    ремень вентилятора
• fan club    фан-клуб
• fan mail    письма от поклонников
• fan out    расходиться, развертываться
• fan the flames    раздувать пламя, разжигать

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - abanico, aventador, ventilador
v. tr. - soplar, avivar, avivar soplando, abanicar
v. intr. - pegarle repetidas veces a un animal en el flanco con un sombrero para que se mueva más rápido, extenderse en forma de abanico, lanzarse

idioms:

• fan belt    correa del ventilador
• fan out    desplegarse en abanico, abrir en abanico
• fan the flames    avivar la llama

2.
n. - admirador, aficionado

idioms:

• fan club    club de admiradores
• fan mail    cartas de los admiradores

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - solfjäder, fläkt, fläktvanna, propeller
v. - fläkta på, underblåsa, sprida i solfjädersform, vanna (säd)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 扇子, 鼓风机, 风扇, 扇形物, 扇, 激起, 煽动, 驱走, 飘动, 拍翅

idioms:

• fan belt    风扇皮带
• fan club    爱好者指球迷影迷歌迷等俱乐部
• fan mail    狂热者寄来的信
• fan out    散开
• fan the flames    煽风点火

2. 狂热爱好者, 迷, 狂热仰慕者

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 狂熱愛好者, 迷, 狂熱仰慕者

2.
n. - 扇子, 鼓風機, 風扇, 扇形物
v. tr. - 扇, 激起, 煽動, 驅走
v. intr. - 飄動, 拍翅

idioms:

• fan belt    風扇皮帶
• fan club    愛好者指球迷影迷歌迷等俱樂部
• fan mail    狂熱者寄來的信
• fan out    散開
• fan the flames    煽風點火

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 선풍기, 부채
v. tr. - (바람을) 일으키다
v. intr. - (바람이) 솔솔 불다

idioms:

• fan out    (날개 등을) 펼치다

2.
n. - (운동, 연예 등의) 열정적 애호가

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - うちわ, 扇, 扇風機, 扇形のもの, 箕, 三振, 熱心な愛好家
v. - 扇であおぐ, 吹き分ける, 扇形に広げる, 散開する, あおぐ, 扇動する

idioms:

• fan belt    ファンベルト
• fan club    ファンクラブ
• fan mail    ファンレター
• fan out    ファンアウト
• fan the flames    激情をあおり立てる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) معجب , مروحه (فعل) يهوي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מניפה, מאוורר, מכשיר להפרדת חיטה מקש‬
v. tr. - ‮איוורר, ליבה (אש, זעם)‬
v. intr. - ‮נפרש בצורת מניפה, ליבה (אש, זעם)‬
n. - ‮מעריץ של פעילות מסוימת או בדרן וכו', אוהד‬

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