fen

fen · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*pen-“bog, mire”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*fanją
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*fani
4. Old English · inherited fromfenn“fen; marsh; mud; dirt”
5. Middle English · inherited fromfen
6. English todayfen

From Middle English fen, fenne, from Old English fenn (“fen; marsh; mud; dirt”), Proto-West Germanic *fani, from Proto-Germanic *fanją, from Proto-Indo-European *pen- (“bog, mire”). See also West Frisian fean, Dutch veen, German Fenn, Norwegian fen; also Middle Irish en (“water”), enach (“swamp”), Old Prussian pannean (“peat-bog”), Sanskrit पङ्क (paṅka, “marsh, mud, mire, slough”).

fen · noun²

1. Chinese · borrowed from分
2. English todayfen

From Chinese 分 (fēn). Doublet of hoon and fan.

fen · noun³

From fan, by analogy with men as the plural of man.

fen · noun⁴

Clipping of fennec (“a small fox of the species Vulpes zerda, found in the Sahara (excluding the coast) and having distinctive oversized ears.”).

fen · interjection⁵

Compare fend.

fen · noun⁶

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*funiz
2. Old English · inherited fromfyne“moisture, mold, mildew”
3. Middle English · inherited from*vene
4. English todayfen

From Middle English *vene, Kentish variant of *fine, from Old English fyne (“moisture, mold, mildew”), from Proto-Germanic *funiz, *fun- (“moisture, mold”); compare vinew.

Words from the same roots