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flabellum

[fluh-bel-uh m]
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noun, plural fla·bel·la [fluh-bel-uh] /fləˈbɛl ə/.
  1. a fan, especially one used in religious ceremonies.
  2. a fan-shaped part.
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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

Examples from the Web for flabella

Historical Examples

  • 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)
  1. a fan-shaped organ or part, such as the tip of the proboscis of a honeybee
  2. RC Church a large ceremonial fan
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Word Origin

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