fantail

F4A1N1T1A1I1L1
US/ˈfænˌteɪl/

noun

Any of several birds, of the genus Rhipidura, from Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

UncommonScrabble 10

Meanings

nounfantail (plural fantails)

plural fantails

  1. Any of several birds, of the genus Rhipidura, from Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
  2. Any of several domestic varieties of pigeon having a fan-shaped tail.
  3. Any of several goldfish having a large fan-shaped tail.
  4. nauticalAn overhanging deck at the stern of a ship.

    The Paranoids cast off, backed the Godzilla II out from the pier, turned and with a concerted whoop took off like a bat out of hell, nearly sending Di Presso over the fantail.

    1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 3, in The Crying of Lot 49, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published November 1976, →ISBN, page 38
  5. A small windmill mounted at right angles to the sails, at the rear of the windmill, used to turn the cap automatically to bring it into the wind.
  6. A brimmed hat with just the back of the brim turned up.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

  1. translingualRhipidura
  2. Englishfantail

From fan + tail. The sense of Rhipidura-genus birds is a calque of translingual Rhipidura.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan cua de ventall
  • cua de ventallbird of the genus Rhipidura
Finnish viuhkamonarkki
  • viuhkamonarkkibird of the genus Rhipidura
German Fächerschwanz
  • Fächerschwanzbird of the genus Rhipidura
Polish gołąb pawik
  • gołąb pawikbird of the genus Rhipidura

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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