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The Fanatical Origin of Fan
There are a good number of etymological myths in the English language, stories about the origins of words (such as the widespread notion that posh originated as an acronym for “port out, starboard home”) which are, to put it kindly, inaccurate. But this does not mean that every vivid account of linguistic origin is fictitious. Many words, such as fan, do have colorful backstories.
Fan is generally–and very likely correctly–believed to be a shortened form of fanatic. The origin of fanatic (which can be traced back to the Latin word fanum, meaning “sanctuary, temple”) is less often commented on. In English, fan made an early appearance in the late 17th century only to disappear for two centuries, resurfacing in the late 19th century. In this later period of use, it often referred to the devoted observers of, or participants in, a sport. An 1885 article from The Kansas City Times, for example, contains the line “The base ball ‘fans’ of the ploice [sic] force and fire department engage in a ball game.”
Synonyms
Verb
Noun (2)
Examples of fan in a Sentence
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Apr. 2024
Just days after the show, fans had made their own versions of Galliano outfits and staged runway shows in their living rooms.
—TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
The Argentine star was back to his old self after a month-long injury layoff, scoring a scorching banger of a goal and delivering an assist in a 3-2 Inter Miami road win over Sporting Kansas City in front of 72,000 fans.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2024
Steve Kerr is a fan of the NBA play-in tournament, and not just because his Golden State Warriors were in it.
—Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 17 Apr. 2024
To be sure, such scams aren’t unique to Swift’s tour alone—fans of other artists like Harry Styles and Coldplay were also impacted.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 17 Apr. 2024
The revelation isn’t the first time the metaphor-loving Grammy winner has given fans a taste of the new album, which follows her 2022 Billboard 200-topping LP Midnights.
—Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 16 Apr. 2024
The theme runs from May 3 to July 6, and fans can book reservations online at OpenTable.
—Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Rap fans want to hear artists take it all the way there, not be overly conscientious and almost deferential on the battlefield.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 5 Apr. 2024
Mithil Aggarwal, NBC News, 16 Apr. 2024
However, Mikkola fanned, and Cousins pounced, scoring from the slot.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2024
Many firestorms, such as the disaster in Maui in August, have been fanned by downsloping winds.
—Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2024
Normally, such an addition of new jobs would raise concerns that a vibrant labor market would force companies to sharply raise pay to attract and keep workers, thereby fanning inflation pressures.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 6 Apr. 2024
Some commentators might also be tempted to fan the flames of inflation in hopes of influencing voters or policy makers.
—Kevin O'Marah, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Mya McGowan Poway Softball The junior pitcher threw three complete games, two of them shutouts, while fanning 19 batters.
—Steve Brand, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2024
Such huge fires, whether ignited by natural or human causes, are fanned by factors that include the expansion of suburbia into wildlands, land management and firefighting challenges and climate change, said McGinnis and others.
—USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2024
In her role as RNC chief, McDaniel also fanned the flames of election denialism after the 2020 presidential contest.
—Oliver Darcy, CNN, 22 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fan.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fan
Cite this Entry
“Fan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fan. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fan
2 of 3 verbfan
3 of 3 nounNoun
Old English fann "fan," from Latin vannus "fan"
Noun
probably a shortened form of fanatic
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