English Explanatory Dictionary

fen

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A type of wetland fed by ground water and runoff, containing peat below the waterline, characteristically alkaline.
  2. Any swamp or mire (especially with negative connotations).
noun
  1. A unit of currency in China, one-hundredth of a yuan.
noun
  1. a plural of fan used by enthusiasts of science fiction, fantasy, and anime, partly from whimsy and partly to distinguish themselves from fans of sport, etc.
noun
  1. A fennec fox.
intj
  1. Used in children's games to prevent or forestall another player's action; a check or bar.
noun
  1. A kind of mildew that grows on hops.
name
  1. Initialism of Forsyth–Edwards Notation

Pronunciation

/fɛn/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-fen.wav

Word forms

fen fens

Etymology

From Middle English fen, fenne, from Old English fenn (“fen; marsh; mud; dirt”), Proto-West Germanic *fani, from Proto-Germanic *fanją, from Proto-Indo-European *pen- (“bog, mire”). See also West Frisian fean, Dutch veen, German Fenn, Norwegian fen; also Middle Irish en (“water”), enach (“swamp”), Old Prussian pannean (“peat-bog”), Sanskrit पङ्क (paṅka, “marsh, mud, mire, slough”).

Synonyms

marsh swamp bog mire

Related words

bog everglade marsh swamp vinnewed wetland

Derived words

fenberry fen cricket Fen Drayton fen fire fen goose fenland fenlike fenman fen nettle fen nightingale Fenning fennish fenny Fenway fenwoman Mareham le Fen Silicon Fen acafen aca-fen aca/fen actifen confen eofen fake fen fakefen fake-fen femfen femme fen femmefen fringefen furfen litfen mediafen neofen passifen stfen Trekfen trufen zinefen
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