English word origin

Etymology of fane

From Middle English fane, from Old English fana (“cloth, banner”), from Proto-West Germanic *fanō, from Proto-Germanic *fanô (“cloth, flag”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“to weave; something woven; cloth, fabric, t

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary 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 ↗

noun

A weathercock, a weather vane. · A banner, especially a military banner.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionfaneenm
Derivation mentionfanaang
Derivation mention*fanōgmw-pro
Derivation mention*fanôgem-pro
Derivation mention*peh₂n-ine-pro
Doublet mentionfanonen
Doublet mentionvaneen

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "fane"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English fane"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "fana",
        "4": "",
        "5": "cloth, banner"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English fana (“cloth, banner”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*fanō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *fanō"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*fanô",
        "4": "",
        "5": "cloth, flag"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *fanô (“cloth, flag”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*peh₂n-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to weave; something woven; cloth, fabric, tissue"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *peh₂n- (“to weave; something woven; cloth, fabric, tissue”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fanon",
        "3": "vane"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of fanon and vane"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "fane",
      "fane#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "fana",
      "fana#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*fanō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/fanō"
    ],
    [
      "*fanô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/fanô"
    ],
    [
      "*peh₂n-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/peh₂n-"
    ],
    [
      "fanon",
      "fanon#English"
    ],
    [
      "vane",
      "vane#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A weathercock, a weather vane.",
        "A banner, especially a military banner."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A temple or sacred place.

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

From Middle English fane (“temple”), from Latin fānum (“temple, place dedicated to a deity”). Doublet of fanum.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionfaneenm · temple
Derivation mentionfānumla
Doublet mentionfanumen

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "English Etymology 2"
      },
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    },
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        "3": "fane",
        "id": "temple",
        "t": "temple"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English fane (“temple”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "fānum",
        "4": "",
        "5": "temple, place dedicated to a deity"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin fānum (“temple, place dedicated to a deity”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fanum"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of fanum"
    }
  ],
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      "fane#Middle_English:_temple"
    ],
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      "fānum",
      "fanum#Latin"
    ],
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      "fanum#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
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        "A temple or sacred place."
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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 fane →

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-ZmFuZQ