Fahne

From Middle High German van(e) m, from Old High German fano, from Proto-Germanic *fanô (“cloth, flag”), from Proto-Indo-European *pān- (“fabric”). The shift to the feminine gender began in cognate Middle Low German vāne and, through Central German, established itself in the written language by the end of the 17th century.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfaːnə/

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• Hyphenation: Fah‧ne
• Homophone: Farne (some speakers)

Fahne f (genitive Fahne, plural Fahnen, diminutive Fähnchen n or Fähnlein n)

1. flag, banner (any cloth or fabric used as a symbol)

   Synonyms: Flagge, Banner, Standarte

2. (figurative) idea, ideal

   Synonyms: Idee, Prinzip, Motto

3. (colloquial) the noticeable smell of alcohol on one's breath

   Synonyms: Alkoholfahne, Alkoholgeruch

4. (printing) galley proof

   Synonym: Druckfahne

5. (ornithology) vane (flattened, web-like part of a feather)

   Synonyms: Federfahne, Vexillum

• Flags of nations or ships are more commonly called Flagge, but Fahne (being the more general term) is also possible.

• → Silesian: fana

• “Fahne” in Duden online
• “Fahne” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• Friedrich Kluge (1883) “Fahne”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891