Category:Fang

Fang, v. t. Etym: [OE. fangen, fongen, fon (g orig. only in p.p. and imp. tense), AS. f; akin to D. vangen, OHG. fahan, G. fahen, fangen, Isel. fa, Sw. f, f, Dan. fange, faae, Goth. fahan, and prob. to E. fair, peace, pact. Cf. Fair, a.]

1. To catch; to seize, as with the teeth; to lay hold of; to gripe; to clutch. [Obs.] Shak. He's in the law's clutches; you see he's fanged. J. Webster.

2. To enable to catch or tear; to furnish with fangs. "Chariots fanged with scythes." Philips.

fang Fang, n. Etym: [From Fang, v. t.; cf. AS. fang a taking, booty, G. fang.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The tusk of an animal, by which the prey is seized and held or torn; a long pointed tooth; esp., one of the usually erectile, venomous teeth of serpents. Also, one of the falcers of a spider. Since I am a dog, beware my fangs. Shak.

2. Any shoot or other thing by which hold is taken. The protuberant fangs of the yucca. Evelyn.

3. (Anat.)

Defn: The root, or one of the branches of the root, of a tooth. See Tooth.

4. (Mining)

Defn: A niche in the side of an adit or shaft, for an air course. Knight.

5. (Mech.)

Defn: A projecting tooth or prong, as in a part of a lock, or the plate of a belt clamp, or the end of a tool, as a chisel, where it enters the handle.

6. (Naut.) (a) The valve of a pump box. (b) A bend or loop of a rope. In a fang, fast entangled. -- To lose the fang, said of a pump when the water has gone out; hence: To fang a pump, to supply it with the water necessary to make it operate. [Scot.]