weather vane

or weath·er·vane

noun

a device, as a rod to which a freely rotating pointer is attached, for indicating the direction of the wind.

Origin of weather vane

First recorded in 1715–25

Also called vane, wind vane.

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

Related Words for weather-vane

cock, vane, anemometer, weathercock, windsock

Examples from the Web for weather-vane

Historical Examples of weather-vane

His plans were like a weather-vane, altered by every breeze.
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
Every year a man climbs to the top to grease the weather-vane.
Harper's Young People, August 3, 1880
Various
Standing there, he succeeded in straightening the rod that held the weather-vane.
Harper's Young People, August 3, 1880
Various
Ross also looked at the weather-vane, and then at the advancing cloud.
The Boy with the U. S. Weather Men
Francis William Rolt-Wheeler
This species of weather-vane which looked upon the pavement was the signboard.
Notre-Dame de Paris
Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for weather-vane

weather vane

noun

a vane designed to indicate the direction in which the wind is blowing

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

Word Origin and History for weather-vane

also weathervane, 1721, from weather (n.) + vane.