vaan

vaan

See also: vään

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch vāne, from Old Dutch *fano, from Proto-Germanic *fanô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaːn/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: vaan
• Rhymes: -aːn

Noun

vaan f or n (plural vanen, diminutive vaantje n)

1. vane, small flag (often pointed or pronged)
2. banner, battle standard

   Synonyms: banier, krijgsstandaard, standaard

3. weathervane

   Synonyms: windvaan, windwijzer

4. (historical, otherwise archaic) A measure of volume for beer and other drinks, equivalent to about 5 litres.

Derived terms

• riddervaan
• scheepsvaan
• vaandrager
• vaansmid
• vaanvoerder
• windvaan

Related terms

• vaandrig

---

Finnish

Etymology

Related to vain; the words were originally interchangeable.

Conjunction

vaan

1. but (... instead)

   Se ei ole musta, vaan punainen.

   It is not black, but red.

2. (colloquial) just, only

   Elämä on unta vaan. > Elämä on unta vain.

   Life is but a dream.

   Sä annoit mulle vaan kaks' euroo. > (Sinä) annoit minulle vain kaksi euroa.

   You gave to me only two euros.

3. yet (but, however)

   Vaan kuinka väärässä olinkaan.

   Yet how wrong I was.

Synonyms

• (just, only): vain

Anagrams

• vana