*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of fang

From clipping of fangtooth, from Middle English *fangtooth, *fengtooth, from Old English fengtōþ (“molar tooth”), from feng, preterite of fōn (“to catch, take, seize”). Cognate with German Fangzahn (“fang”, literally “ca

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 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 ↗
verb

To strike or attack with the fangs. · To enable to catch or tear; to furnish with fangs.

noun

A long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh. · Synonym of mandible, the long mouthpart of insects and other invertebrates. · A long, pointed tooth in snakes, used for injecting venom. · A pointed extension of the chelicera in spiders, used for injecting venom.

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

From clipping of fangtooth, from Middle English *fangtooth, *fengtooth, from Old English fengtōþ (“molar tooth”), from feng, preterite of fōn (“to catch, take, seize”). Cognate with German Fangzahn (“fang”, literally “catch-tooth”) and Dutch vangtand. See also related senses of Etymology 3 below.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "*fangtooth"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English *fangtooth"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "fengtōþ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "molar tooth"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English fengtōþ (“molar tooth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Fangzahn",
        "3": "",
        "4": "fang",
        "lit": "catch-tooth"
      },
      "expansion": "German Fangzahn (“fang”, literally “catch-tooth”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "vangtand"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch vangtand"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "fangtooth",
      "fangtooth#English"
    ],
    [
      "*fangtooth",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/fangtooth"
    ],
    [
      "*fengtooth",
      "Reconstruction:Middle English/fengtooth"
    ],
    [
      "fengtōþ",
      "fengtoþ#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "molar",
      "molar"
    ],
    [
      "tooth",
      "tooth"
    ],
    [
      "feng",
      "feng#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "preterite",
      "preterite"
    ],
    [
      "fōn",
      "fon#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "catch",
      "catch"
    ],
    [
      "take",
      "take"
    ],
    [
      "seize",
      "seize"
    ],
    [
      "Fangzahn",
      "Fangzahn#German"
    ],
    [
      "vangtand",
      "vangtand#Dutch"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To strike or attack with the fangs.",
        "To enable to catch or tear; to furnish with fangs."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "rare"
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh.",
        "Synonym of mandible, the long mouthpart of insects and other invertebrates.",
        "A long, pointed tooth in snakes, used for injecting venom.",
        "A pointed extension of the chelicera in spiders, used for injecting venom."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To catch, capture; seize. · To take; receive with assent; accept. · To receive with hospitality. · To receive.

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

From Middle English fangen, fongen, from Old English fōn (“to take, grasp, seize, catch, capture, make prisoner, receive, accept, assume, undertake, meet with, encounter”), and Old Norse fanga (“to fetch, capture”), both from Proto-Germanic *fanhaną, *fangōną (“to catch, capture”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to attach”). Cognate with North Frisian fo, fu, füünj (“to get, obtain, receive”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian fange (“to catch”), Dutch vangen (“to catch”), German fangen, fahen (“to catch”), Low German fangen (“to catch”), Luxembourgish fänken (“to catch”), Faroese fá, fáa (“to get; to catch”), Icelandic fá (“to get, receive”), Danish, Norwegian, Swedish få (“to get, receive”), Albanian peng (“to hinder, hold captive”), Sanskrit पाशयति (pāśáyati, “(s)he binds”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "fangen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English fangen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "fōn",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to take, grasp, seize, catch, capture, make prisoner, receive, accept, assume, undertake, meet with, encounter"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English fōn (“to take, grasp, seize, catch, capture, make prisoner, receive, accept, assume, undertake, meet with, encounter”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "fanga",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to fetch, capture"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse fanga (“to fetch, capture”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*fanhaną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *fanhaną"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*peh₂ḱ-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to attach"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to attach”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "frr",
        "2": "fo"
      },
      "expansion": "North Frisian fo"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Saterland Frisian"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "fange",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to catch"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian fange (“to catch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "vangen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to catch"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch vangen (“to catch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "fangen"
      },
      "expansion": "German fangen"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "fangen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to catch"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German fangen (“to catch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lb",
        "2": "fänken",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to catch"
      },
      "expansion": "Luxembourgish fänken (“to catch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fo",
        "2": "fá"
      },
      "expansion": "Faroese fá"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "fá",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to get, receive"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic fá (“to get, receive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "no",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "få",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to get, receive"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish få (“to get, receive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "peng",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to hinder, hold captive"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian peng (“to hinder, hold captive”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "पाशयति",
        "3": "",
        "4": "(s)he binds",
        "tr": "pāśáyati"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit पाशयति (pāśáyati, “(s)he binds”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "fangen",
      "fangen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "fongen",
      "fongen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "fōn",
      "fon#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "fanga",
      "fanga#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*fanhaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/fanhaną"
    ],
    [
      "*fangōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/fangōną"
    ],
    [
      "*peh₂ḱ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/peh₂ḱ-"
    ],
    [
      "fo",
      "fo#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "fu",
      "fu#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "füünj",
      "füünj#North_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "fange",
      "fange#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "vangen",
      "vangen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "fangen",
      "fangen#German"
    ],
    [
      "fahen",
      "fahen#German"
    ],
    [
      "fangen",
      "fangen#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "fänken",
      "fänken#Luxembourgish"
    ],
    [
      "fá",
      "fá#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "fáa",
      "fáa#Faroese"
    ],
    [
      "fá",
      "fá#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "få",
      "få#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "peng",
      "peng#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "पाशयति",
      "पाशयति#Sanskrit"
    ]
  ],
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        "To catch, capture; seize.",
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        "To receive."
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
verb

To supply (a pump) with the water necessary for it to operate.

noun

A grasping; capture; the act or power of seizing; hold. · That which is seized or carried off; booty; spoils; stolen goods. · Synonym of trap or noose. · Synonym of root, the part of a tooth embedded in the gums.

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

From Middle English fang, possibly from Old English fang, feng (“grasp, catch”); alternatively borrowed from Old Norse fang (“catch”) or formed anew from the verb fangen, all from Proto-Germanic *fangą (“catch, catching, seizure”), from the verb *fanhaną (“to catch, capture”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to attach”). Compare Scots fang (“catch”), 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 (pāśáyati, “(s)he binds”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

This page abbreviates 8 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "fang"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English fang"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "fang"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English fang"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "fang",
        "t": "catch"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse fang (“catch”)"
    },
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      },
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    },
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        "3": "*peh₂ḱ-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to attach"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to attach”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "fang",
        "3": "",
        "4": "catch"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots fang (“catch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "vang",
        "3": "",
        "4": "a catch"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch vang (“a catch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nds",
        "2": "fangst",
        "3": "",
        "4": "a catch"
      },
      "expansion": "Low German fangst (“a catch”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Fang",
        "3": "",
        "4": "a catch, capture, booty"
      },
      "expansion": "German Fang (“a catch, capture, booty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "fång"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish fång"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "fang"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic fang"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "pangere",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to solidify, drive in"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin pangere (“to solidify, drive in”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sq",
        "2": "mpij",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to benumb, stiffen"
      },
      "expansion": "Albanian mpij (“to benumb, stiffen”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "grc",
        "2": "πήγνυμι",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to stiffen, firm up"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek πήγνυμι (pḗgnumi, “to stiffen, firm up”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "पाशयति",
        "3": "",
        "4": "(s)he binds",
        "tr": "pāśáyati"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit पाशयति (pāśáyati, “(s)he binds”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "fang",
      "fang#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "fang",
      "fang#Old_English"
    ],
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      "feng",
      "feng#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "fang",
      "fang#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "fangen",
      "fangen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*fangą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/fangą"
    ],
    [
      "*fanhaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/fanhaną"
    ],
    [
      "*peh₂ḱ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/peh₂ḱ-"
    ],
    [
      "fang",
      "fang#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "vang",
      "vang#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "fangst",
      "fangst#Low_German"
    ],
    [
      "Fang",
      "Fang#German"
    ],
    [
      "fång",
      "fång#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "fångst",
      "fångst#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "fang",
      "fang#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "pangere",
      "pangere#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "mpij",
      "mpij#Albanian"
    ],
    [
      "πήγνυμι",
      "πήγνυμι#Ancient_Greek"
    ],
    [
      "पाशयति",
      "पाशयति#Sanskrit"
    ]
  ],
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        "To supply (a pump) with the water necessary for it to operate."
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        "transitive"
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        "A grasping; capture; the act or power of seizing; hold.",
        "That which is seized or carried off; booty; spoils; stolen goods.",
        "Synonym of trap or noose.",
        "Synonym of root, the part of a tooth embedded in the gums."
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}

Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
verb

To drive, ride, etc. at high speed or recklessly.

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

The Macquarie Dictionary and the Australian National Dictionary Centre derive it from the name of Juan Fangio, Argentinian racing driver.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To drive, ride, etc. at high speed or recklessly."
      ],
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        "Australia",
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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 fang →

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-ZmFuZw