Vane
[veɪn] or [ven]
Definition
(noun.) the flattened weblike part of a feather consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft.
(noun.) a fin attached to the tail of an arrow, bomb or missile in order to stabilize or guide it.
Checker: Wendy--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) A contrivance attached to some elevated object for the purpose of showing which way the wind blows; a weathercock. It is usually a plate or strip of metal, or slip of wood, often cut into some fanciful form, and placed upon a perpendicular axis around which it moves freely.
(n.) Any flat, extended surface attached to an axis and moved by the wind; as, the vane of a windmill; hence, a similar fixture of any form moved in or by water, air, or other fluid; as, the vane of a screw propeller, a fan blower, an anemometer, etc.
(n.) The rhachis and web of a feather taken together.
(n.) One of the sights of a compass, quadrant, etc.
Typist: Nathaniel
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Weather-cock.[2]. Blade (of a windmill, propeller, &c.).
Checker: Thomas
Definition
n. a flag or banner: a thin slip of wood or metal at the top of a spire &c. to show which way the wind blows: a weather-cock: the thin web of a feather: one of the blades of a windmill.—adjs. Vaned furnished with vanes; Vane′less.
Typed by Gordon
Examples
- Then suddenly pointing to a weather-vane on the freight depot, he pulled out a Colt revolver and fired through the window, hitting the vane. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- In 1784, Mr. Bramah obtained a patent for a propeller similar in its forms to the vanes of a windmill, which by acting obliquely on the water as it revolved, pushed the boat forward. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- It had a reel with twelve vanes to press the grain toward the cutters, and cause it to fall upon a travelling apron which carried away cut grain and deposited it at the side of the machine. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- In Mr. Gwynne's and Mr. Bessemer's pumps, which had straight vanes, the ratio of power to the effect did not exceed 0·19. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- To maintain the vessel on an even keel he introduced four vanes, called hydroplanes, for regulating the depth of descent. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The paddle, or vanes, as he called them, were placed at the stern, between two wheels, which were turned by ropes passing over their peripheries. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
Edited by Katy