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Van

//væn// name, noun, verb

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Arkansas County, Arkansas.
  2. 2
    A diminutive of the female given name Vanessa.
  3. 3
    A large saline tectonic lake of the Armenian Highland in eastern Turkey, famous for its Chalcalburnus tarichi (syn. Alburnus tarichi) fish and the 10th century Armenian cathedral on Akhtamar Island.
  4. 4
    Abbreviation of Vancouver. abbreviation, alt-of
  5. 5
    Abbreviation of Vancouver. abbreviation, alt-of
Show 10 more definitions
  1. 6
    A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Polk County, Missouri.
  2. 7
    A diminutive of the male given names Vance, Ivan, or Evan.

    "'Beautiful idea,' said Van as he helped Ada to heat the tank, fill the old battered bath and warm a couple of towels."

  3. 8
    A province and metropolitan municipality in easternmost Turkey, partly surrounding the lake, with a Kurdish majority.
  4. 9
    A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Harney County, Oregon.
  5. 10
    A city, the capital of Van Province, Turkey, on the shore of the lake.
  6. 11
    A place in the United States:; A city in Van Zandt County, Texas.
  7. 12
    A place in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Lee County, Virginia.
  8. 13
    A place in the United States:; A census-designated place in Boone County, West Virginia.
  9. 14
    A place in Wales:; A community and suburb of Caerphilly in Caerphilly borough (OS grid ref ST1686).
  10. 15
    A place in Wales:; A hamlet in Llanidloes Without community, Powys (OS grid ref SN9587).
Noun
  1. 1
    A covered motor vehicle used to carry goods or (normally less than ten) persons, usually roughly cuboid in shape, Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and longer and higher than a car but relatively smaller than a truck/lorry or a bus.

    "While Santa Monica has a longstanding prohibition against public camping that includes living in vehicles, the van rental business has been a problem in Venice for years. […] Organizations that provide safe parking locations have limited capacity and are often unable to accommodate the kind of non-operational vans that are being repurposed as makeshift housing."

  2. 2
    Clipping of vanguard. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping

    "Ten thousand thousand Ensignes high advanc'd, / Standards, and Gonfalons twixt Van and Reare / Streame in the Aire, and for distinction serve"

  3. 3
    A shovel used in cleansing ore.
  4. 4
    A fan or other contrivance, such as a sieve, for winnowing grain.

    "with strange amaze / A shepherd meeting thee, the oar surveys, / And names a van (Book XI)"

  5. 5
    A Van cat.
Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    Abbreviation of value-added network. abbreviation, alt-of
  2. 7
    a truck with an enclosed cargo space wordnet
  3. 8
    An enclosed railway vehicle for transport of goods, such as a boxcar/box van. British
  4. 9
    A wing with which the air is beaten.

    "So Satan fell; and ſtrait a fiery Globe / Of Angels on full ſail of wing flew nigh, / Who on their plumy Vans receiv'd him ſoft […]"

  5. 10
    A Turkish Van cat.
  6. 11
    a camper equipped with living quarters wordnet
  7. 12
    A light wagon, either covered or open, used by tradesmen and others for the transportation of goods. dated
  8. 13
    (Great Britain) a closed railroad car that carries baggage or freight wordnet
  9. 14
    A large towable vehicle equipped for the repair of structures that cannot easily be moved.

    "Designed to be fully mobile and self-contained, the complete equipment includes an air-conditioned van containing all necessary electronic gear and a flat bed trailer in which missiles, jet engines and other large assemblies may be cleaned."

  10. 15
    the leading units moving at the head of an army wordnet
  11. 16
    any creative group active in the innovation and application of new concepts and techniques in a given field (especially in the arts) wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To transport in a van or similar vehicle (especially of horses). transitive

    "I have to have a license to own them, a license to train them, my jockey has to have a license to ride them, the van company must have a license to van them, and the black shoe man must have a license to shoe them."

  2. 2
    To wash or cleanse, as a small portion of ore, on a shovel.
  3. 3
    Of law enforcement: to arrest (not necessarily in a van; derived from party van). Internet

    "One Anon explained the reason for this, saying: "As for the domains, they were transferred to Ryan after some of us got vanned so he can keep the network up. What he did certainly wasn't the plan." (Getting "vanned" refers to getting picked up by the police.)"

Etymology

Etymology 1

Short for caravan.

Etymology 2

Short for caravan.

Etymology 3

Shortening of vanguard.

Etymology 4

From Cornish.

Etymology 5

From Cornish.

Etymology 6

From Latin vannus (“a van, or fan for winnowing grain”): compare French van and English fan, winnow. Doublet of fan.

Etymology 7

* In the United States, usually taken from a first name or surname. * In Wales, from Y Fan, see Welsh fan.

Etymology 8

Shortening.

Etymology 9

From Turkish Van, from Ottoman Turkish وان (Van), from Middle Armenian Վան (Van).

Etymology 10

Abbreviation of Vancouver.

Etymology 11

Backformed from Van cat and Turkish Van.

See also for "van"

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