fan-palm
|fan-palm|
🇺🇸
/ˈfæn pɑm/
🇬🇧
/ˈfæn pɑːm/
palm with fan-shaped leaves
Etymology
'fan-palm' is a compound of 'fan' + 'palm'. 'fan' ultimately comes from Old English 'fann' (from Latin 'vannus') meaning 'winnowing device' or 'fan', and 'palm' comes from Latin 'palma' meaning 'palm (of the hand)' and by extension the palm tree.
'fan' passed into English from Latin 'vannus' via Old English 'fann'; 'palm' appears in Old English from Latin 'palma'. The compound form (often written 'fan palm' or 'fan-palm') arose in Modern English to describe palms with fan-shaped leaves.
Initially the components referred separately to a hand-held fan and to the palm tree; over time the compound came to denote specifically palms (or their leaves) that have a fan-shaped form.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a type of palm tree (or group of palms) characterized by large, fan-shaped leaves; includes genera such as Washingtonia and Livistona.
The garden was planted with several fan-palms that provided broad, shaded fronds.
Synonyms
Noun 2
a single leaf (frond) of such a palm that is shaped like a fan; used in botanical descriptions.
Each fan-palm on the specimen had multiple segmented fronds radiating from a central point.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/25 18:47