flabellum

[fluh-bel-uh m]

noun, plural fla·bel·la

[fluh-bel-uh] /fləˈbɛl ə/.

a fan, especially one used in religious ceremonies.
a fan-shaped part.

Origin of flabellum

1865–70; < Latin flābellum fan, diminutive of flābra breezes, equivalent to flā(re) to blow² + -bra, plural of -brum noun suffix of means; see castellum for formation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for flabella

leaf, blade, draft, propeller, vane, windmill, ventilator, flabellum

Examples from the Web for flabella

Historical Examples of flabella

The Pope, triple-crowned, and borne with flabella through St. Peter's, is not successful—for he might be canonised into a saint.
Ellen Terry and Her Sisters
T. Edgar Pemberton

British Dictionary definitions for flabella

flabellum

noun plural -la (-lə)

a fan-shaped organ or part, such as the tip of the proboscis of a honeybee
RC Church a large ceremonial fan

Word Origin for flabellum

C19: from Latin: small fan, from flābra breezes, from flāre to blow

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