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Origin of fang
1before 1050; Middle English, Old English: something caught; cognate with German Fang capture, booty, Old Norse fang a grasp, hold. See fang2
Related formsfanged [fangd] /fæŋd/, adjectivefang·less, adjectivefang·like, adjectiveun·fanged, adjective
Definition for fang (2 of 3)
fang
2[ fang ]
/ fæŋ /
verb (used with object) British Dialect.
to seize; grab.
Origin of fang
2before 900; Middle English fangen to seize, catch; cognate with Old Saxon fangan, German fangen, variant of proto-Germanic *fanhan-, whence Old English fōn, cognate with Old Saxon, Old High German, Gothic fāhan, Old Norse fā; akin to Old English gefangian to fasten
Definition for fang (3 of 3)
Fang
[ fang, fahng, fahn ]
/ fæŋ, fɑŋ, fɑ̃ /
noun, plural Fangs, (especially collectively) Fang for 1.
Also Fan.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for fang
British Dictionary definitions for fang (1 of 3)
fang
1/ (fæŋ) /
noun
the long pointed hollow or grooved tooth of a venomous snake through which venom is injected
any large pointed tooth, esp the canine or carnassial tooth of a carnivorous mammal
the root of a tooth
(usually plural) British informal toothclean your fangs
Derived Formsfanged, adjectivefangless, adjectivefanglike, adjective
Word Origin for fang
Old English fang what is caught, prey; related to Old Norse fang a grip, German Fang booty
British Dictionary definitions for fang (2 of 3)
fang
2/ (fæŋ) Australian informal /
verb (intr)
to drive at great speed
noun
an act or instance of driving in such a waywe took the car for a fang
Word Origin for fang
C20: from Juan Manuel Fangio
British Dictionary definitions for fang (3 of 3)
Fang
/ (fæŋ, fɑːŋ) /
noun
plural Fangs or Fang a member of a Negroid people of W Africa, living chiefly in the rain forests of Gabon and Rio Muni: noted for their use of iron and copper money and for their sculpture
the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for fang
fang
Old English fang "prey, spoils, plunder, booty; a seizing or taking," from gefangen, past participle of fon "seize, take, capture," from Proto-Germanic *fango- (cf. Old Frisian fangia, Middle Dutch and Dutch vangen, Old Norse fanga, German fangen, Gothic fahan), from PIE root *pag- "to make firm, fix;" connected to Latin pax (genitive pacis) "peace" (see pact).
The sense of "canine tooth" (1550s) probably developed from Old English fengtoð, literally "catching- or grasping-tooth." Transferred to the venom tooth of a serpent, etc., by 1800.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science definitions for fang
fang
[ făng ]
A long, pointed tooth in vertebrate animals or a similar structure in spiders, used to seize prey and sometimes to inject venom. The fangs of a poisonous snake, for example, have a hollow groove through which venom flows.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.