English

Proper noun

Van

1. A male given name, diminutive of Vance or Ivan

Etymology 2

Akhtamar Island on Lake Van, with the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, a 10th century Armenian church and monastic complex

Borrowing from Armenian Վան ‎(Van), in many cases via Turkish Van.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /væn/

Proper noun

Van

1. A large saline lake in eastern Turkey. One of three great tectonic lakes of the Armenian Highland. Famous for its Chalcalburnus tarichi fish and the 10th century Armenian cathedral on Akhtamar Island.
2. A city on the shore of that lake.

Translations

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

• Van., VAN

Proper noun

Van

1. Abbreviation of Vancouver.

Related terms

• East Van
• North Van
• South Van
• West Van

Anagrams

• AVN, nav

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowing from Armenian Վան ‎(Van).

Proper noun

Van

1. Van (city)

Declension

Derived terms

• Vanlı

English

A van (motor vehicle).

Noun

van ‎(plural vans)

1. A (covered) vehicle used for carrying goods or people, usually roughly cuboid in shape, longer and higher than a car but smaller than a truck (USA) / lorry (English).

   The van sped down the road.‎

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:

     We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine. We passed on the way the van of the guests from Asquith.

2. (Britain) An enclosed railway vehicle for transport of goods.
3. (Britain, dated) A light wagon, either covered or open, used by tradesmen and others for the transportation of goods.
4. Shortened form of vanguard.
   • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, book 5, lines 588–590:

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

   • 1698, Ned Ward, The London Spy:

     Then a bumper to the Queen led the van of our good wishes, another to the Church Established, a third was left to the whim of the toaster […]

   • 1965, Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan, “Virāṭa Parva”, in The Mahābhārata, book 4, 33, page 84:

     Bhīṣma then outlined the following strategy: “… Let Karṇa, clad in armour, stand in the van. And I shall command the entire army in the rear.”

5. Shortened form of caravan.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• lorry
• transit (UK)
• truck

Verb

van ‎(third-person singular simple present vans, present participle vanning, simple past and past participle vanned)

1. (transitive) To transport in a van or similar vehicle (especially of horses).
   • 1966, United States Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, (Please provide the title of the work):

     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.

   • 1999, Bonnie Bryant, Changing Leads, page 53:

     [They] had their own horses, but they hadn't bothered to van them over to Pine Hollow for this outing.

Etymology 2

Cornish

Noun

van ‎(plural vans)

1. (mining) A shovel used in cleansing ore.

Verb

van ‎(third-person singular simple present vans, present participle vanning, simple past and past participle vanned)

1. (mining) To wash or cleanse, as a small portion of ore, on a shovel.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Raymond to this entry?)

Etymology 3

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

Noun

van ‎(plural vans)

1. A fan or other contrivance, such as a sieve, for winnowing grain.
2. A wing with which the air is beaten.
   • (Can we date this quote?), Milton, (Please provide the title of the work):

     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 […]

   • (Can we date this quote?), Dryden, (Please provide the title of the work):

     He wheeled in air, and stretched his vans in vain; / His vans no longer could his flight sustain.

Anagrams

• AVN, nav

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch van ‎(“from; of”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɑn/

Preposition

van

1. of
2. from

Particle

van

1. (used with a following definite article) some of (the)

   Van die wêreld se beste wyne kom van hierdie streek af.

   Some of the world’s best wines are from this region.

   Ons het met van die belangrikste politieke leiers gespreek.

   We have spoken to some of the most important political leaders.

Catalan

Verb

van

1. third-person plural present indicative form of anar

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse vanr (pl vanir ‎(“one of two groups of gods in Norse mythology”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaːn/, [væːˀn]

Noun

van c (singular definite vanen, plural indefinite vaner)

1. one of the Vanir

Inflection

Etymology 2

From English van.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vaːn/, [væːn]

Noun

van c (singular definite vanen, plural indefinite vaner)

1. van

Inflection

Etymology 3

From Old Norse vanr ‎(“wont, accustomed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /van/, [van]

Adverb

van

1. (dated) pleje van – nurse, take care of

Usage notes

• Has been replaced by vant ("usual", "customary").

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑn
• IPA^(key): /vɑn/
• (Northern) [fɑn]
• (Suriname) [fan]

Etymology

From Middle Dutch van, from Old Dutch fan ‎(“from”), from Proto-Germanic *fanē, from Proto-Indo-European *pone, *pana ‎(“from”), from Proto-Indo-European *apo-, *pā- ‎(“off, of”). Cognate with Old Saxon fana, fan ‎(“from”), Old Frisian fan, fon ‎(“from”), Old High German fona, fon ‎(“from”).

Preposition

van

1. of (possession, property)

   de hoed van het meisje‎

   the hat of the girl

   het gewicht van een olifant‎

   the weight of an elephant

2. of (general association)

   Zij was van adel.‎

   She was of noble stock.

   een stad van één miljoen inwoners‎

   a city of one million inhabitants

   Hij is een man van eer.‎

   He's a man of honour.

   Dat is hier niet van toepassing.‎

   That's not applicable here.

   de trein van tien uur‎

   the train of ten o'clock

3. by, of (creator)

   een schilderij van Rubens‎

   a painting by Rubens

   een plaat van de Beatles‎

   a record of the Beatles

4. from (origin)

   Hij komt van Griekenland.‎

   He's from Greece.

5. from (starting point of a movement or change)

   Hij ging van deur tot deur.‎

   He went from door to door.

   van vader op zoon.‎

   from father to son.

6. from (starting point in time)

   van toen af aan.‎

   from then onwards

   van 's avonds laat tot 's morgens vroeg‎

   from late at night till the early morning

   van dag tot dag‎

   from day to day

7. from, off (removal of something from off something else)

   het vlees van de beenderen snijden.‎

   to cut the meat from the bones

8. of, out of, from, with (cause)

   sidderen van angst‎

   to tremble with fear

   tranen van geluk‎

   tears of joy

9. of, out of, with (material or resource)

   Deze tafel is gemaakt van hout.‎

   This table is made (out) of wood.

   Van dit geld kan ik een basgitaar kopen.‎

   With this money I'm able to buy a bass.

10. of, out of, among (out of a larger whole; partitive)

    de jongste van zijn dochters‎

    the youngest of his daughters

    Van alle mensen ben ik de mooiste.‎

    Out of all people I am the most beautiful.

    Drink niet te veel van dat bier, het is erg sterk.‎

    Don't drink too much of that beer, it is very strong.

11. from, was, formerly (indicating a change in price)

    van €5, voor €3‎

    was €5, now €3

Inflection

Derived terms

Adverb

van

1. of, from

   Ik neem er tien van. — I’ll take ten of them.

2. from

   Ik vertrek van daar. — I’ll start from there.

3. by, from

   Ik word er gek van. — It drives me crazy.

   Men wordt daar sloom van. — It turns one numb.

4. of, about

   Wat zegt u daar van? — What do you say about that?

   Ik weet daar niks van. — I don’t know anything about that.

Derived terms

• daarvan
• ervan

See also

• uit

French

Etymology

Latin vannus

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vɑ̃/

Noun

van m ‎(plural vans)

1. a winnowing basket

Galician

Adjective

van m (feminine singular va, masculine plural vans, feminine plural vas)

1. empty, devoid of content, containing only air
2. useless, ineffective
3. (of a person) vacuous, trivial-minded

Noun

van m ‎(plural vans)

1. waist
2. empty, vacant

Verb

van

1. third-person plural present indicative of ir

Gallo

Noun

van m (plural vans)

1. (agriculture) winnowing machine

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French vent ‎(“wind”)

Noun

van

1. wind

Hungarian

Etymology

From Old Hungarian vagyon. See Hungarian volt.

• Forms beginning with v- are from Proto-Finno-Ugric *wole- ‎(“to be”). Cognate with Finnish olla, Estonian olema. Compare similarities with Old Hungarian vola.
• Forms beginning with l- are from Proto-Finno-Ugric *le- ‎(“to become”). Cognate with Finnish lienee ‎(potential of olla), Karelian lienöy ‎(potential of olla), Northern Sami leat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈvɒn]

Verb

van

1. be, exist
2. have; someone -nak/-nek has something -ja/-je

   Péternek van egy kutyája.‎

   Peter has a dog.

3. there is

   Van itt valaki?‎

   Is there anybody here?

4. to be (auxiliary verb indicating a type of passive voice along with the adverbial participle form of the main verb)

   A probléma még nincs megoldva.‎

   The question isn't yet solved.

   1846, Arany János, Toldi,, canto 6, stanza 13:

   "Szakmány módra van rám mérve minden óra: / Jöttem kegyelmedhez búcsuvevő szóra."‎

   "Every hour is measured as though by contract. / I come to bid you now farewell."

Conjugation

Usage notes

• Omission of van and vannak:

  When using with an adjective (qualification), the forms van and vannak are not used (their place is left empty).

  Béla okos. - Béla is clever.

  It still appears if van/vannak is the focus of the sentence. This happens when the sentence means that the property described by the adjective (e.g. strength) reaches or exceeds some specified level and this is emphasized by the speaker. In this case, the adjective is preceded by a word like olyan (such), annyira (that much), elég (enough).

  Béla van annyira erős, hogy felemelje a szekrényt. - Béla is strong enough to lift the cupboard.

  The forms other than van and vannak are always used.

  Béla okos volt. - Béla was clever.

  Okos vagyok. - I am clever.

  Otherwise, all forms are used:

  With adverbs and adverbial participles (suffixed -va/-ve)

  Hogy van? - How is he? (also 'How are you?', formal singular)

  El van törve. - It is broken.

  Using in the "exists" or "there is" sense (and so with have, which is expressed by there is in Hungarian)

  Van egy ház a hegyen. - There is a house on the mountain.

  Van egy kutyám. - I have a dog.

• The negative form is nincs or nincsen instead of * nem van, and sincs or sincsen instead of * sem van

  Nincs pénzem. - I don't have any money.

• The passive construction can only be used with transitive verbs.

  Instead of sentences like *A macska fel van mászva a fára. - *The cat is climbed the tree, use the equivalent active sentence: A macska felmászott a fára. - The cat climbed the tree.

Synonyms

• (exist): létezik

Antonyms

• nincs

Derived terms

• vanni

(With verbal prefixes):

• elvan
• kivan
• megvan
• odavan

(Expressions):

• a falnak is füle van
• az éremnek két oldala van
• hogy van?
• minden rosszban van valami jó
• tele van a hócipője
• tisztában van
• van benne valami

Interlingua

Adjective

van ‎(comparative plus van, superlative le plus van)

1. vain, futile
2. vain, worthless
3. vain, conceited

Lojban

Rafsi

van

1. rafsi of vanju.

Manx

Etymology

Borrowing from English van.

Noun

van f ‎(genitive singular van, plural vannyn)

1. van (vehicle)

Synonyms

• carr

Portuguese

Noun

van f (plural vans)

1. van (a covered vehicle used for carrying goods)

Synonyms

• furgão

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin vānus, Italian vano.

Adjective

van m, n ‎(feminine singular vană, masculine plural vani, feminine and neuter plural vane)

1. vain
2. futile
3. idle
4. fruitless
5. vainglorious

Declension

Derived terms

• în van

Related terms

• vanitate

See also

• inutil, infructuos, vanitos
• în zadar
• zadarnic

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *vъnъ

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋân/

Conjunction

vȁn ‎(Cyrillic spelling ва̏н)

1. except

Etymology 2

From Proto-Slavic *vъnъ

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋân/

Preposition

vȁn ‎(Cyrillic spelling ва̏н)

1. (with genitive) in front of, before

   van kuće — outside, outdoors

2. (with genitive) out of

   van zemlje — abroad

Etymology 3

From Proto-Slavic *vъnъ

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʋâːn/
• Rhymes: -âːn

Adverb

vȃn ‎(Cyrillic spelling ва̑н)

1. out, outside, outdoors

Spanish

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin vadere

Verb

van

1. Second-person plural (ustedes) present indicative form of ir.
2. Third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes^?) present indicative form of ir.

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse vanr, from Proto-Germanic *wanaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wāno-.

Pronunciation

Adjective

van (comparative vanare, superlative vanast)

1. accustomed to; used to, have the habit to

   Han är van vid att stiga upp klockan sju varje morgon.

   “He is used to getting up at seven every morning.”

2. experienced, adept

   Hon är en van bilförare.

   “She is an experienced driver.”

Antonyms

• ovan

Derived terms

• med van hand

Related terms

• vana
• vänja
• ovana

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [vaːn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [vaːŋ˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [vʲaːŋ˧˥]

Etymology 1

Verb

van ‎(呅, 𠹚, 𠺺)

1. to beg

Etymology 2

Borrowing from French valve

Noun

van

1. valve

Etymology 3

Borrowing from French valse

Noun

van

1. waltz