vane
noun
- a flat piece of metal, strip of cloth, etc. set up high to swing with the wind and show which way it is blowing; weather vane
- any of several flat or curved pieces set around an axle and rotated about it by moving air, water, etc. [the vanes of a windmill], or mechanically rotated to move the air or water [the vanes of a turbine] or to compress the air [the vanes of a supercharger]
- a projecting fixed or movable plate or strip of metal attached to a rocket, missile, etc. to provide stability or guidance
- a target set to slide on a leveling rod, for use in surveying
- any of the sights on a compass, quadrant, etc.
- the flat part of a feather with barbs; web
- a feather on an arrow, used to stabilize flight
See vane in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(vān)
noun- A weathervane.
- Any of several usually relatively thin, rigid, flat, or sometimes curved surfaces radially mounted along an axis, as a blade in a turbine or a sail on a windmill, that is turned by or used to turn a fluid.
- The flattened, weblike part of a feather, consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft.
a. The movable target on a leveling rod.
b. A sight on a quadrant or compass.
- One of the metal guidance or stabilizing fins attached to the tail of a bomb or other missile.
(vān), Sir Henry or Harry 1613-1662.
English politician and colonial administrator who was governor of Massachusetts (1636-1637) and a leading Parliamentarian during the English Civil War. He was tried and executed for high treason after the restoration of the monarchy.
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