English word origin

Etymology of Fan

Shortening of Fanny, itself a short form of Frances.

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

name

A diminutive of Frances.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Shortening of Fanny, itself a short form of Frances.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "Fanny",
      "Fanny#English"
    ],
    [
      "Frances",
      "Frances#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A diminutive of Frances."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "349fac849db86c07aacfd803ef17a11db26739d50b5e175db8b036e881400a11",
      "rawRecordSha256": "aa6bb48f7eaf31ac52b7de32fd15ff11cdc39c946676823147ed882e64aba2f5",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 325891
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

name

A county of Puyang, Henan, China. · A surname from Mandarin.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Mandarin 范 (Fàn).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mention范cmn

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "interproject-box",
      "args": {
        "logo": "Commons-logo.svg",
        "logolink": "commons:Category:Fan County",
        "intro": "Wikimedia Commons has media about",
        "noitalic": "",
        "link": "Fan County"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "commonscat",
      "args": {
        "1": "Fan County"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "范",
        "tr": "Fàn"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin 范 (Fàn)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "范",
      "范#Mandarin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A county of Puyang, Henan, China.",
        "A surname from Mandarin."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Fan →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-RmFu