a blade, plate, sail, etc., in the wheel of a windmill, to be moved by the air.
3.
any of a number of blades or plates attached radially to a rotating drum or cylinder, as in a turbine or pump, that move or are moved by a fluid, as steam, water, hot gases, or air.
4.
a person who is readily changeable or fickle.
5.
Aerospace.
any fixed or movable plane surface on the outside of a rocket providing directional control while the rocket is within the atmosphere.
a similar plane surface located in the exhaust jet of a reaction engine, providing directional control while the engine is firing.
6.
Ornithology. the web of a feather.
7.
Navigation, Surveying. either of two fixed projections for sighting an alidade or the like.
Sir Henry (Sir Harry Vane)1613–62, British statesman and author.
Examples from the web for vane
So it's vane to talk about blood since it's wrong to judge national background on this single factor.
Scan a feather and enlarge it to poster size and you'll see each vane and barb.
He's a bombast anyway, a vane orator, the way so many pol's are.
The final effect was stately: a white building with a blue and white cupola topped by a weather vane.
vane anemometers are sensitive to different measuring techniques and the proximity of the observer.
vane: the smooth feather surface formed by the interlocked pennaceous barbs.
British Dictionary definitions for vane
vane
/veɪn/
noun
1.
Also called weather vane, wind vane. a flat plate or blade of metal mounted on a vertical axis in an exposed position to indicate wind direction
2.
any one of the flat blades or sails forming part of the wheel of a windmill
3.
any flat or shaped plate used to direct fluid flow, esp a stator blade in a turbine, etc
4.
a fin or plate fitted to a projectile or missile to provide stabilization or guidance
5.
(ornithol) the flat part of a feather, consisting of two rows of barbs on either side of the shaft
6.
(surveying)
a sight on a quadrant or compass
the movable marker on a levelling staff
Derived Forms
vaned, adjective vaneless, adjective
Word Origin
Old English fana; related to Old Saxon, Old High German fano, Old Norse fani, Latin pannus cloth
Vane
/veɪn/
noun
1.
Sir Henry, known as Sir Harry Vane. 1613–62, English Puritan statesman and colonial administrator; governor of Massachusetts (1636–37). He was executed for high treason after the Restoration
Word Origin and History for vane
n.
"wind indicator," early 15c., southern England alteration (see V) of fane.
vane in Medicine
Vane (vān), John Robert. Born 1927.
British pharmacologist. He shared a 1982 Nobel Prize for research on prostaglandins.
vane in Science
vane
(vān) The flattened, weblike part of a feather, consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the rachis.