fang

fang · noun, verb¹

1. Old English · derived fromfengtōþ“molar tooth”
2. Middle English · derived from*fangtooth
3. English todayfang

From clipping of fangtooth, from Middle English *fangtooth, *fengtooth, from Old English fengtōþ (“molar tooth”), from feng, preterite of fōn (“to catch, take, seize”). Cognate with German Fangzahn (“fang”, literally “catch-tooth”) and Dutch vangtand. See also related senses of Etymology 3 below.

fang · verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*peh₂ḱ-“to attach”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*fanhaną
3. Old Norse · derived fromfanga“to fetch, capture”
4. Old English · inherited fromfōn“to take, grasp, seize, catch, capture, make prisoner, receive, accept, assume, undertake, meet with, encounter”
5. Middle English · inherited fromfangen
6. English todayfang

From Middle English fangen, fongen, from Old English fōn (“to take, grasp, seize, catch, capture, make prisoner, receive, accept, assume, undertake, meet with, encounter”), and Old Norse fanga (“to fetch, capture”), both from Proto-Germanic *fanhaną, *fangōną (“to catch, capture”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to attach”). Cognate with North Frisian fo, fu, füünj (“to get, obtain, receive”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian fange (“to catch”), Dutch vangen (“to catch”), German fangen, fahen (“to catch”), Low German fangen (“to catch”), Luxembourgish fänken (“to catch”), Faroese fá, fáa (“to get; to catch”), Icelandic fá (“to get, receive”), Danish, Norwegian, Swedish få (“to get, receive”), Albanian peng (“to hinder, hold captive”), Sanskrit पाशयति (pāśáyati, “(s)he binds”).

fang · noun, verb³

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*peh₂ḱ-“to attach”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*fangą“catch, catching, seizure”
3. Old Norse · derived fromfang“catch”
4. Old English · inherited fromfang
5. Middle English · inherited fromfang
6. English todayfang

From Middle English fang, possibly from Old English fang, feng (“grasp, catch”); alternatively borrowed from Old Norse fang (“catch”) or formed anew from the verb fangen, all from Proto-Germanic *fangą (“catch, catching, seizure”), from the verb *fanhaną (“to catch, capture”), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ḱ- (“to attach”). Compare Scots fang (“catch”), Dutch vang (“a catch”), Low German fangst (“a catch”), German Fang (“a catch, capture, booty”), Swedish fång, fångst, Icelandic fang. Related also to Latin pangere (“to solidify, drive in”), Albanian mpij (“to benumb, stiffen”), Ancient Greek πήγνυμι (pḗgnumi, “to stiffen, firm up”), Sanskrit पाशयति (pāśáyati, “(s)he binds”).

fang · verb⁴

The Macquarie Dictionary and the Australian National Dictionary Centre derive it from the name of Juan Fangio, Argentinian racing driver.

Fang · proper noun⁵

1. Mandarin · borrowed from房
2. English todayFang

The county sense is from Mandarin 房 (Fáng). The surname sense could be from Mandarin 方 (Fāng), 房 (Fáng), 芳 (Fāng), 仿 (Fǎng) or 放 (Fǎng).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• 16th cent. A long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh.
• 17th cent. Synonym of mandible, the long mouthpart of insects and other invertebrates.
• 18th cent. A long, pointed tooth in snakes, used for injecting venom.
• 19th cent. A pointed extension of the chelicera in spiders, used for injecting venom.
• 19th cent. Synonym of tooth, particularly in humans.
• 13th cent. A grasping; capture; the act or power of seizing; hold.
• 13th cent. That which is seized or carried off; booty; spoils; stolen goods.
• 16th cent. Synonym of trap or noose.