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van 1 (văn)
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n.
1.
a. An enclosed boxlike motor vehicle having rear or side doors and side panels especially for transporting people.
b. A covered or enclosed truck or wagon often used for transporting goods or livestock.
2. Chiefly British A closed railroad car used for carrying baggage or freight.
v. vanned, van·ning, vans
v.tr.
To transport by van: vanned the horses to the racetrack.
v.intr.
To drive or travel in a van: vanned around the country.

[Short for CARAVAN.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
van 2 (văn)
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n.
The vanguard; the forefront.

[Short for VANGUARD.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
van 3 (văn)
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n.
Archaic
1. A wing.
2. A winnowing device, such as a fan.

[Middle English, from Old English fann and Old French van, both from Latin vannus; see wet-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
Van (văn, vän), Lake
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A salt lake of eastern Turkey. It is the largest lake in the country.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

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.