vane Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun mechanical device attached to an elevated structure; rotates freely to show the direction of the wind
    wind vane; weather vane; weathervane.
  2. noun a fin attached to the tail of an arrow, bomb or missile in order to stabilize or guide it
  3. noun flat surface that rotates and pushes against air or water
    blade.
  4. noun the flattened weblike part of a feather consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft
    web.

WordNet

Vane noun
Etymology
OE. & E. Prov. E. fane weathercock, banner, AS. fana a banner, flag; akin to D. vaan, G. fahne, OHG. fano cloth, gund fano flag, Icel. fani, Sw. fana, Dan. fane, Goth. fana cloth, L. pannus, and perhaps to Gr. a web, a bobbin, spool. Cf. Fanon, Pane a compartment, panel.
Definitions
  1. A contrivance attached to some elevated object for the purpose of showing which way the wind blows; a weathercock. It is usually a plate or strip of metal, or slip of wood, often cut into some fanciful form, and placed upon a perpendicular axis around which it moves freely.
    Aye undiscreet, and changing as a vane. Chaucer.
  2. Any flat, extended surface attached to an axis and moved by the wind; as, the vane of a windmill; hence, a similar fixture of any form moved in or by water, air, or other fluid; as, the vane of a screw propeller, a fan blower, an anemometer, etc.
  3. (Zoöl.) The rhachis and web of a feather taken together.
  4. One of the sights of a compass, quadrant, etc.

Webster 1913