fantail

American  

[fan-teyl] / ˈfænˌteɪl /

noun

1. a tail, end, or part shaped like a fan.

2. one of a breed of domestic pigeons, having a fan-shaped tail.

3. any of various small birds having fanlike tails, as the Old World flycatchers of the genus Rhipidura and the American wood warblers of the genus Euthlypis.

4. fantail goldfish.

5. Building Trades, Architecture. a structure or structural member having a number of radiating parts, as an arch centering.

6. Nautical.

   1. the part of a rounded stern extending abaft the aftermost perpendicular; rounded counter.

   2. the area within this.

7. Western U.S. a mustang.

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adjective

1. Cooking. (of shrimp) shelled, split almost through, and flattened slightly before cooking.

fantail British  

/ ˈfænˌteɪl /

noun

1. a breed of domestic pigeon having a large tail that can be opened like a fan

2. any Old World flycatcher of the genus Rhipidura , of Australia, New Zealand, and SE Asia, having a broad fan-shaped tail

3. a tail shaped like an outspread fan

4. architect a part or structure having a number of components radiating from a common centre

5. a burner that ejects fuel to produce a wide flat flame in a lamp or furnace

6. a flat jet of air and coal dust projected into the air stream of a pulverized-coal furnace

7. an auxiliary sail on the upper portion of a windmill that turns the mill to face the wind

8. a curved part of the deck projecting aft of the sternpost of a ship

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Other Word Forms

• fan-tailed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of fantail

First recorded in 1720–30; fan ¹ + tail ¹

Example Sentences

These interrelated crises center on three all-powerful tech companies — Fantail, Medlar, Anvil — and their CEOs, playful analogues of our real-world tycoons.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 3, 2023

Fantail birds tumble about Aunty Sugar’s feet as she walks across the small Māori marae, or meeting grounds, that she runs on the banks of the river in the town of Koriniti.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 14, 2022

To see Mrs. Fantail of an evening is to behold a magnificent sight.

From The Christmas Books of Mr. M.A. Titmarsh by Thackeray, William Makepeace

Pigeons are of many kinds, the commonest of which is perhaps the Runt, and the prettiest a white Fantail.

From What Shall We Do Now?: Five Hundred Games and Pastimes by Fisher, Dorothy Canfield

Second prize     Red Fantail, hen, Second prize     Red or Yellow Fantail, 1904.

From New York at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis 1904 Report of the New York State Commission by Ellis, DeLancey M.