Meanings
fanon1
plural fanons
- A vestment reserved only for the Pope for use during a pontifical Mass.
- A maniple.
- medicineA fold of linen laid under a splint.
fanon2
- slanguncountablelifestyleElements introduced by fans which are not in the official canon of a fictional world but are widely believed to be or treated as if canonical.
So in a fandom as old as Austen's, how does fanon get created?
2019, Holly Luetkenhaus, Zoe Weinstein, Austentatious: The Evolving World of Jane Austen Fans, page 242 more examples
In this way, smaller groups within a fandom agree on readings which may be completely at odds with the canon, but which in time acquire legitimacy as fanon.
2014, Maria Lindgren Leavenworth, Malin Isaksson, Fanged Fan Fiction: Variations on Twilight, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries, page 53Loyalty is one aspect of Slytherin that canon and fanon readings technically agree on, but fans are significantly more sincere about this characterization.
2018, Kali DeDominicis, “Fitting Him for Leather Trousers: Fanon and the Reclamation of Draco Malfoy and Slytherin House”, in Amanda Firestone, Leisa A. Clark, editors, Harry Potter and Convergence Culture: Essays on Fandom and the Expanding Potterverse, page 97
Fanon3
- A surname.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
fanon · noun
- Proto-Germanic*fanô
- Frankish*fano
- Medieval Latinfanō
- Old Frenchfanon
- Middle Englishfanon
- Englishfanon
From Middle English fanon, fanoun, from Old French fanon, from Medieval Latin fanō, from Frankish *fano, from Proto-Germanic *fanô. Doublet of fane and vane.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with fanon
All rhymes →Cite this entry
fanon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanon
“fanon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanon. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fanon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanon.
Source: fanon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.