Rhenish fan

proper noun

A set of isoglosses in West Central German showing how the effect of the High German consonant shift gradually decreases towards the north-west (i.e. towards Low Franconian and Low Saxon)

OriginGerman Rheinischer Fächer →
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Meanings

Rhenish fan1

proper noun

alternative Rhenish Fan

  1. human sciencesA set of isoglosses in West Central German showing how the effect of the High German consonant shift gradually decreases towards the north-west (i.e. towards Low Franconian and Low Saxon)

Rhenish Fan2

proper noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of Rhenish fan.

Origin

  1. GermanRheinischer Fächer
  2. EnglishRhenish fan

Calque of German Rheinischer Fächer. So called because all or most of the isoglosses collapse in Hesse and fan out to the west.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch Rijnlandse waaier
  • Rijnlandse waaierTranslations
French éventail rhénan
  • éventail rhénanTranslations
German Rheinischer Fächer, rheinischer Fächer
  • Rheinischer FächerTranslations
  • rheinischer FächerTranslations
Italian ventaglio renano
  • ventaglio renanoTranslations
Russian рейнская переходная область, рейнский веер
  • рейнская переходная область (rejnskaja perexodnaja oblastʹ)Translations
  • рейнский веер (rejnskij vejer)Translations
Spanish abanico renano
  • abanico renanoTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

Rhenish fan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rhenish%20fan

MLA

“Rhenish fan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rhenish%20fan. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Rhenish fan,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rhenish%20fan.

Source: Rhenish fan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.