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fan palm

American  

noun

  1. a palm having fan-shaped leaves, as the talipot.

  2. Chinese fan palm.


fan palm British  

noun

  1. any of various palm trees, such as the talipot and palmetto, that have fan-shaped leaves Compare feather palm

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fan palm

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Cholla gardens and brittlebush rise from pale alluvial slopes, and a seasonal stream leads to one of California’s few native fan palm oases.

From Los Angeles Times Apr. 7, 2026

Our native palm is the California fan palm, reaching five, six, even eight stories tall.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 20, 2025

That, he told me, is the Mexican fan palm, Washingtonia robusta, which only survives down to about 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

From Slate Sep. 5, 2023

In Palm Canyon, you find the world’s largest California fan palm oasis.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 8, 2023

Most days, Celia lay under a fan palm beside the bofuo, its thatched roof steaming after the morning rains.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

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