fen

See also: fén, fèn, fēn, fěn, fën, fɛn, féŋ, fèŋ, fēŋ, fěŋ, and fé’n

English

Schematic illustration of a fen

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fɛn/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Rhymes: -ɛn

Etymology 1

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

Noun

fen (plural fens)

A type of wetland fed by ground water and runoff, containing peat below the waterline, characteristically alkaline.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii], page 4:
  Caliban: As wicked dewe, as ere my mother bruſh'd / With Rauens feather from vnwholeſome Fen / Drop on you both : A Southweſt blow on yee, / And bliſter you all ore.
- 1807, William Wordsworth, "England, 1802," collected in Poems (1807):
  Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
  England hath need of thee: she is a fen
  Of stagnant waters […]
- 1842, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Slave in the Dismal Swamp, from Poems on Slavery:
  In dark fens of the Dismal Swamp / The hunted Negro lay; [...]
- 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:
  He was freezing to death in the flat mud of the Suffolk fens, too proud to go home without a catch.

Derived terms

fenberry
fen cricket
fen fire
fenland
fenlike
fenman
fen nettle
fen nightingale
fennish
fennish
fenny
Fenway
fenwoman
Mareham le Fen
Silicon Fen

Translations

type of wetland

Bulgarian: мочурище n (močurište)
Catalan: mollera (ca) f, torbera baixa f
Czech: bažina (cs) f, močál m
Esperanto: marĉejo
Estonian: madalsoo
Finnish: letto (fi)
Hungarian: mocsár (hu), láp (hu)
Irish: moing f
Japanese: フェン (fen)
Latin: lāma f
Plautdietsch: Somp m
Persian: لشاب‎ (fa) (lešâb)
Polish: torfowisko niskie n
Portuguese: paul (pt) m, turfeira f
Russian: боло́то (ru) n (bolóto)
Scottish Gaelic: boglach f
Slovene: barje n
Spanish: turbera f
Tagalog: tunlak, tanlak, tarlak

Noun

fen (plural fens)

A unit of currency in China, one-hundredth of a yuan.

Translations

unit of Chinese currency

Chinese: 分 (zh)
Czech: fen (cs) m
Hungarian: fen (hu)
Polish: fen (pl) m

Etymology 3

From fan, by analogy with men as the plural of man.

Noun

fen pl (normally plural, singular fan)

(dated, fandom slang) Fans; a plural form used by enthusiasts of science fiction, fantasy, and anime, partly from whimsy and partly to distinguish themselves from fans of sport, etc.
- 1951 May 21, Sargeant, Winthrop, “Through the Interstellar Looking Glass”, in Life‎, volume 30, number 21, page 127:
  Sad to relate, some of the European delegates were probably insurgents rather than true fen. […] But the Europeans could be counted on to take the long view, and many of them would probably turn out to be real fen and fenne after all.
- 2016 September 3, lurkertype, “Worldcon 75 Chair Responds”, in File 770‎, Comments:
  So I’m glad the attached hotel block is entirely reserved for disabled fen! Traveling on mass transit is tiring even when everything’s up to code.

Coordinate terms

fenne

Derived terms

actifen
confen
eofen
fakefen
femfen
femme fen
femmefen
fringefen
litfen
mediafen
neofen
passifen
stfen
trufan
zinefen

Etymology 4

Compare fend.

Interjection

fen

(obsolete) Used in children's games to prevent or forestall another player's action; a check or bar.

Etymology 5

From Middle English *vene, Kentish variant of *fine, from Old English fyne (“moisture, mold, mildew”), from Proto-Germanic *funiz, *fun- (“moisture, mold”); compare vinew.

Noun

fen (uncountable)

(obsolete) A kind of mildew that grows on hops.
- 1769, The Complete Farmer: Or, a General Dictionary of Husbandry‎, second edition, page 339:
  […] whereby the ſtagnating ſap corrupts, and breeds mouldy fen, which often ſpoils whole tracts of, till then, flouriſhing hop-grounds.
- 1808, Thomas Potts, The British Farmer's Cyclopaedia or, Complete Agricultural Dictionary‎, Scatcherd and Letterman, page 96:
  Among these are reckoned the wire worm; the flea, and the fly; the fen or mould; the mildew ; and what are usually called fire blasts.
- 1848, John Marius Wilson, editor, The Rural Cyclopedia‎, volume 2, A. Fullarton, page 698:
  The mould, the fen, or the mouldy-fen, prevails more on hop-grounds which are low, moist, and sheltered, than on such as are high, dry, and open […]

Anagrams

ENF, nef

Catalan

Verb

fen

third-person singular present indicative form of fendre
second-person singular imperative form of fendre

Chuukese

Adjective

fen

holy

Synonyms

pin

Adverb

fen

past tense marker for verbs
already

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈfɛn]
Rhymes: -ɛn

Noun

fen m

fen (unit of currency in China, one-hundredth of a yuan).
- 1962, Časopis Národního muzea, volume 131, page 165:
  Čínská poštovní správa v roce 1961 vydala ke Dni armády, tj. k 1. srpnu 1961 dvě známky, a to v hodnotách 8 fenů a 10 fenů […]
  (please add an English translation of this quote)

Declension

Declension of fen

	singular	plural
nominative	fen	feny
genitive	fenu	fenů
dative	fenu	fenům
accusative	fen	feny
vocative	fene	feny
locative	fenu	fenech
instrumental	fenem	feny

Noun

fen

genitive plural of fena

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin fīnitus. Compare Italian fino.

Adjective

fen (feminine faina)

fine
subtle
pure

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse fen, from Proto-Germanic *fanją.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /feːn/
Rhymes: -eːn

Noun

fen n (genitive singular fens, plural fen)

bog, quagmire

Declension

Declension of fen
n3	singular		plural
n3	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	fen	fenið	fen	fenini
accusative	fen	fenið	fen	fenini
dative	feni	feninum	fenum	fenunum
genitive	fens	fensins	fena	fenanna

Derived terms

fenbressa
fendíki
fenjutur

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin fēnum,from faenum.

Noun

fen m (plural fens)

hay

Related terms

fenoli

Hungarian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈfɛn]
Audio (file)
Hyphenation: fen
Rhymes: -ɛn

Etymology 1

From Proto-Ugric *pänV-, from Proto-Finno-Ugric *pänɜ (“grindstone; grind”).[1]

Verb

fen

(transitive) to sharpen, to whet, to hone
Synonyms: köszörül, élesít, élez
(dialectal) to rub, to smear
Synonyms: ken, dörgöl

Conjugation

conjugation of fen

			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
Indicative mood	Present	Indef.	fenek	fensz	fen	fenünk	fentek	fennek
		Def.	fenem	fened	feni	fenjük	fenitek	fenik
		2nd-p. o.	fenlek	―
	Past	Indef.	fentem	fentél	fent	fentünk	fentetek	fentek
		Def.	fentem	fented	fente	fentük	fentétek	fenték
		2nd-p. o.	fentelek	―
Conditional mood	Present	Indef.	fennék	fennél	fenne	fennénk	fennétek	fennének
		Def.	fenném	fennéd	fenné	fennénk (or fennők)	fennétek	fennék
		2nd-p. o.	fennélek	―
Subjunctive mood	Present	Indef.	fenjek	fenj or fenjél	fenjen	fenjünk	fenjetek	fenjenek
		Def.	fenjem	fend or fenjed	fenje	fenjük	fenjétek	fenjék
		2nd-p. o.	fenjelek	―
Infinitive	fenni		fennem	fenned	fennie	fennünk	fennetek	fenniük
Other nonfinite verb forms			Verbal noun	Present participle	Past participle	Future part.	Adverbial part.	Potential
Other nonfinite verb forms			fenés	fenő	fent	fenendő	fenve	fenhet

Derived terms

fenés
fenyeget

Compound words

fenőkő
fenőszíj
ken-fen
kikent-kifent

Expressions

feni a fogát

Noun

fen (plural fenek)

fen (unit of currency in China, one-hundredth of a yuan)
Holonyms: jüan, zsenminpi
Meronym: csiao

Declension

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	fen	fenek
accusative	fent	feneket
dative	fennek	feneknek
instrumental	fennel	fenekkel
causal-final	fenért	fenekért
translative	fenné	fenekké
terminative	fenig	fenekig
essive-formal	fenként	fenekként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	fenben	fenekben
superessive	fenen	feneken
adessive	fennél	feneknél
illative	fenbe	fenekbe
sublative	fenre	fenekre
allative	fenhez	fenekhez
elative	fenből	fenekből
delative	fenről	fenekről
ablative	fentől	fenektől
non-attributive possessive - singular	fené	feneké
non-attributive possessive - plural	fenéi	fenekéi

Possessive forms of fen
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	fenem	fenjeim
2nd person sing.	fened	fenjeid
3rd person sing.	fenje	fenjei
1st person plural	fenünk	fenjeink
2nd person plural	fenetek	fenjeitek
3rd person plural	fenjük	fenjeik

References

Entry #728 in Uralonet, online Uralic etymological database of the Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungary.

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse fen, from Proto-Germanic *fanją.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fɛːn/
Rhymes: -ɛːn

Noun

fen n (genitive singular fens, nominative plural fen)

fen, marsh, morass

Declension

declension of fen

	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
n-s	singular		plural
nominative	fen	fenið	fen	fenin
accusative	fen	fenið	fen	fenin
dative	feni	feninu	fenum	fenunum
genitive	fens	fensins	fena	fenanna

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin faenum.

Noun

fen

hay

Lombard

Etymology

Akin to Italian fieno, from Latin fenum.

Noun

fen

hay

Mandarin

Romanization

fen

Nonstandard spelling of fēn.
Nonstandard spelling of fén.
Nonstandard spelling of fěn.
Nonstandard spelling of fèn.

Usage notes

English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Middle English

Alternative forms

fenne, ven

Etymology

From Old English fenn; from Proto-Germanic *fanją. The "dung" sense is influenced by Old French fien.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fɛn/

Noun

fen (plural fennes)

fen, bog, swamp
dirt, muddiness
dung, feces
(rare) rubbish, refuse
(rare) quagmire, lure

Declension

Declension of fen

	Singular	Plural
nominative, accusative	fen	fennes
genitive	fennes	fenne, fennes
dative	fenne	fennen

Descendants

English: fen
Scots: fen
Yola: ven

References

“fen, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
“fen, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *fanją.

Noun

fen n (genitive fens, plural fen)

bog, quagmire
mýrar ok fen
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

Declension

Declension of fen (strong ja-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
neuter	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	fen	fenit	fen	fenin
accusative	fen	fenit	fen	fenin
dative	feni	feninu	fenjum	fenjunum
genitive	fens	fensins	fenja	fenjanna

References

“fen”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Polish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fɛn/
Rhymes: -ɛn
Syllabification: fen

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Föhn, from Old High German phonno, from Vulgar Latin *faōnius, from Latin Favōnius.

Noun

fen m inan

(meteorology) foehn (warm dry wind blowing down the northern sides of the Alps)
(meteorology) foehn (any similar wind)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Chinese 分.

Noun

fen m inan

fen (unit of Chinese currency)

Declension

Declension of fen

	singular	plural
nominative	fen	feny
genitive	fenu	fenów
dative	fenowi	fenom
accusative	fen	feny
instrumental	fenem	fenami
locative	fenie	fenach
vocative	fenie	feny

Derived terms

adjective

fenowy

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Föhn.

Noun

fȇn m (Cyrillic spelling фе̑н)

hair dryer
(meteorology) foehn

Declension

Declension of fen

	singular	plural
nominative	fen	fenovi
genitive	fena	fenova
dative	fenu	fenovima
accusative	fen	fenove
vocative	fene	fenovi
locative	fenu	fenovima
instrumental	fenom	fenovima

Swedish

Noun

fen

definite singular of fe.

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish فن‎ (fen, “kind, variety; art, science”), from Arabic فَنّ‎ (fann).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /fæn/

Noun

fen (definite accusative fenni, plural fenler or (archaic) fünun)

science

Declension

Inflection
Nominative	fen
Definite accusative	fenni
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	fen	fenler
Definite accusative	fenni	fenleri
Dative	fenne	fenlere
Locative	fende	fenlerde
Ablative	fenden	fenlerden
Genitive	fennin	fenlerin

Synonyms

ilim
bilim

Related terms

fennî (“scientific, technical”)
fünun (Arabic plural)

References

Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–), “fen”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
Redhouse, James W. (1890), “فن”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon, Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1397

[1] Entry #728 in Uralonet, online Uralic etymological database of the Research Institute for Linguistics, Hungary.

fen

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Noun

Translations

Etymology 3

Noun

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Etymology 4

Interjection

Etymology 5

Noun

See also

Anagrams

Catalan

Verb

Chuukese

Adjective

Synonyms

Adverb

Czech

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Noun

Further reading

Dalmatian

Etymology

Adjective

Faroese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Friulian

Etymology

Noun

Related terms

Hungarian

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Verb

Conjugation

Derived terms

Noun

Declension

References

Further reading

Icelandic

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Istriot

Etymology

Noun

Lombard

Etymology

Noun

Mandarin

Romanization

Usage notes

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Descendants

References

Old Norse

Etymology

Noun