vang

V4A1N1G2

verb

To take; undertake for.

Similar
fang
OriginMiddle English vangen ← Old English fōn ← Old Norse fanga →
Less commonScrabble 8
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Meanings

vang1

verbvang (third-person singular simple present vangs, present participle vanging, simple past and past participle vanged)

present singular third person vangs · participle present vanging · participle past vanged · past vanged · alternative fank · alternative fang

  1. dialectalobsoleteTo take; undertake for.
  2. dialectalTo undertake for at the baptismal font; be godfather or godmother to.

vang2

nounvang (plural vangs)

plural vangs · alternative fank · alternative fang

  1. nauticalA line extended down from the end of a gaff to regulate its position.

    Having the vang and the Cunningham in the right spot can be beneficial.

    2013, Frank Bethwaite, Fast Handling Technique, page 141

    Synonyms: fang

verbvang (third-person singular simple present vangs, present participle vanging, simple past and past participle vanged)

present singular third person vangs · participle present vanging · participle past vanged · past vanged · alternative fank · alternative fang

  1. nauticalTo flatten the sail and regulate its position with such a line.

    We needed to vang the main, pull it down to flatten it, and make it more efficient.

    2018, Henry R. Danielson, Island People: Finding Our Way
    2 more examples

    On a catamaran, the curved track has enough beam to allow the mainsheet to vang the boom throughout its entire arc.

    1998 February, Yachting, page 62

    The Patented Hoyt Jib Boom adds to offwind speed by vanging the jib and acting as a built in whisker pole.

    1999 January, Cruising World, volume 25, number 1, page 80

Vang3

proper nounVang (plural Vangs)

plural Vangs

  1. A surname
    1. A surname from the North Germanic languages
    2. A surname from Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish
    3. A surname from White Hmong
    4. A surname from Hmong
    5. A surname from Hmong

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA line extended down from the end of a gaff to regulate its position.

Similar
fang
Also see
fang

Origin

vang · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ph₂ḱ-“to fasten, place”
  2. Proto-Germanic*fanhaną, *fangōną“to catch, capture”
  3. Old Norsefanga“to fetch, capture”
  4. Old Englishfōn“to take, grasp, seize, catch, capture, make prisoner, receive, accept, assume, undertake, meet with, encounter”
  5. Middle Englishvangen
  6. Englishvang

From Middle English vangen, southern variant of fangen (“to seize, catch”), from Old English fōn (“to take, grasp, seize, catch, capture, make prisoner, receive, accept, assume, undertake, meet with, encounter”), and Old Norse fanga (“to fetch, capture”), both from Proto-Germanic *fanhaną, *fangōną (“to catch, capture”), from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂ḱ- (“to fasten, place”). Cognate with West Frisian fange (“to catch”), Dutch vangen (“to catch”), German fangen (“to catch”), Danish fange (“to catch”). More at fang.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →

vang · noun, verb

  1. Dutchvang
  2. Englishvang

From Dutch vang, from vangen (“to catch”), under influence of earlier English fang. Ultimately a doublet of Etymology 1 above.

More words from Dutch

Full word history & related roots →

Vang · proper noun

  1. Khmerវ៉ាង
  2. White HmongVaaj
  3. White HmongVaj
  4. Swedishvång
  5. Old Norsevangr“field”
  6. EnglishVang

* As a North Germanic surname, from derivatives of Old Norse vangr (“field”) (such as modern Swedish vång). * As a Jewish surname, spelling variant of Wang. * As a Hmongic surname, from White Hmong Vaj, White Hmong Vaaj, or Khmer វ៉ាង (vaang).

More words from Old Norse, Swedish, White Hmong

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Finnish ahdin
  • ahdinline down from the end of a gaff
Hebrew גִּיד
  • גִּיד (gid)line down from the end of a gaff
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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