fanny

F4A1N1N1Y4
/ˈfæni/

noun

The female genitalia.

“get some fanny tonight”

Less commonFirst used 1830sScrabble 11

Meanings

fanny1

nounfanny (countable and uncountable, plural fannies)

plural fannies

  1. AustraliaIrelandNew ZealandSouth AfricaUKcountableuncountablevulgarThe female genitalia.First known use 1830s

    Her dress was so short you could nearly see her fanny.

    Synonyms: bearded clam

  2. CanadaUScountableinformaluncountableThe buttocks; arguably the most nearly polite of several euphemisms.First known use 1910s

    Get off your fanny and get back to work!

    1 more example

    Children, sit down on your fannies, and eat your lunch.

    Synonyms: arse

  3. UKcountableuncountablevulgarSexual intercourse with a woman.

    get some fanny tonight

  4. UKuncountablevulgarWomen, regarded as sex objects.

    This club is full of fanny.

fanny2

nounfanny (plural fannies)

plural fannies

  1. UKslanggovernmentMess kettle or cooking pot.

    I put on a big fanny of Ky, that is a straight-sided pot of cocoa for them returning.

    2005, Patrick Halliday, Survival, page 24

Fanny3

proper nounFanny (plural Fannys)

plural Fannys · alternative Fannie

  1. A diminutive of the female given name Frances, itself also becoming a given name.

    "My name is Frances. Don't call me Fanny!" "Why not?" "Because it's too absurd to be endured! What does the mere sound of Fanny suggest? A flirting dancing creature - plump and fair, and playful and pretty!"

    1883, Wilkie Collins, Heart and Science, Chatto and Windus, page 227
    2 more examples

    They listened to the sound of Fanny’s retreating footsteps. ‘Well, well!’ said Marcus. ‘Oh, take no notice Jess. You know what our Frances Maud is like! It’s nothing to cry about!’ To her humiliation Jessamy found there were tears trickling down her cheeks. ‘Always getting worked up about something, Fanny is.’ – page 105: As she did so Fanny put down her book , stood up and stretched her arms, and at once Jessamy noticed a difference. It was the same Fanny but not the Fanny who climbed trees and tore her frock playing in the garden. It was as though a young lady film had settled over her, neatening her unruly hair, which was tied back with a large black bow, and primly composing her small mouth.

    1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 48

    "I spose you want to be a cattleboy," drawled the multicolored beard whose name was Carrol Day, a curiously feminine name, thought Martin, not yet acquaintanced with the bearded Marions, Fannys and Abbys of Texas who, saddled by their unthinking mothers with dainty names, built savagely masculine frames of character.

    2002, Annie Proulx, That Old Ace in the Hole, →ISBN, page 81

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe female genitalia.

nounThe buttocks; arguably the most nearly polite of several euphemisms.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nounexternal female sex organs

Similar
female genitaliafemale genitalsfemale genital organ

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

fanny · noun

19th century. Ultimately from Fanny, pet form of the name Frances. Compare dick, John Thomas, mickey.

Full word history & related roots →

fanny · noun

The British naval slang sense derives from Fanny Adams. Tins of mutton introduced as rations were not liked by the sailors and were taken by them to contain the butchered remains of Fanny Adams who had been brutally murdered and dismembered. The tins were re-used for eating from and cooking with.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Danish Fanny
  • Fannyfemale given name
Finnish Fanni
  • Fannifemale given name
French Fanny
  • Fannyfemale given name
German Fanny
  • Fannyfemale given name
Swedish Fanny
  • Fannyfemale given name

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with fanny

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

fanny. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanny

MLA

“fanny.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanny. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fanny,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fanny.

Source: fanny on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.