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fang

(făng)

1. Any of the hollow or grooved teeth of a venomous snake with which it injects venom.

2. A long, sharp, pointed tooth, especially a canine tooth of a carnivorous animal, such as a dog or wolf, with which it seizes and tears its prey.

3. The root of a tooth or a pronglike division of such a root.

4. A fanglike structure, especially a chelicera of a venomous spider.

[Middle English, booty, spoils, something seized, from Old English; see pag- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

fanged adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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