fen

See also: Appendix:Variations of "fen"

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛn/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn

Etymology 1

Schematic illustration of a fen

From Middle English fen, fenne, from Old English fenn (“fen; marsh; mud; dirt”), Proto-West Germanic *fani, from Proto-Germanic *fanją, from Proto-Indo-European *pen- (“bog, mire”).

See also West Frisian fean, Dutch veen, German Fenn, Norwegian fen; also Middle Irish en (“water”), enach (“swamp”), Old Prussian pannean (“peat-bog”), Sanskrit पङ्क (paṅka, “marsh, mud, mire, slough”).

Noun

fen (plural fens)

1. A type of wetland fed by ground water and runoff, containing peat below the waterline, characteristically alkaline. (Contrast bog, marsh, swamp.)
   • 1996, Geological Survey (U.S.), National Water Summary on Wetland Resources, →ISBN, page 214:

     Bogs are acidic, nutrient poor, and have a low species diversity, whereas fens are less acidic and have higher nutrient levels and species diversity.

   • 2019 February 19, Sincere Humphrey, Freshwater Microbiology, Scientific e-Resources, →ISBN, page 24:

     Bogs are acidic peatlands, while fens are non-acidic peatlands.

   • 2023 September 26, Rick Cech, Guy Tudor, Butterflies of the East Coast: An Observer's Guide, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 15:

     [...] fens are alkaline. In fact, the precise acidity of a fen depends on the soil through which in-seeping waters have percolated. Northeastern fens vary from somewhat acidic to highly basic (Johnson, 1985, p. 27).

2. (loosely) Any swamp or mire (especially with negative connotations).
   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 4:

     Caliban: As wicked dewe, as ere my mother bruſh'd / With Rauens feather from vnwholeſome Fen / Drop on you both : A Southweſt blow on yee, / And bliſter you all ore.

   • 1807, William Wordsworth, "England, 1802," collected in Poems (1807):

     Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour: / England hath need of thee: she is a fen / Of stagnant waters […]

   • 1842, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Slave in the Dismal Swamp, from Poems on Slavery:

     In dark fens of the Dismal Swamp / The hunted Negro lay; [...]

   • 1887, “When the Night Wind Howls”, W. S. Gilbert (lyrics), Arthur Sullivan (music):

     As the sob of the breeze/Sweeps over the trees/And the mists lie low on the fen...

   • 1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy:

     He was freezing to death in the flat mud of the Suffolk fens, too proud to go home without a catch.

Derived terms

• fenberry
• fen cricket
• Fen Drayton
• fen fire
• fenland
• fenlike
• fenman
• fen nettle
• fen nightingale
• Fenning
• fennish
• fenny
• Fenway
• fenwoman
• Mareham le Fen
• Silicon Fen

Translations

type of wetland

• Bulgarian: мочурище (bg) n (močurište)
• Catalan: mollera (ca) f, torbera baixa f
• Czech: bažina (cs) f, močál (cs) m
• Esperanto: marĉejo
• Estonian: madalsoo
• Finnish: letto (fi)
• German: Nierdermoor (de) n, Flachmoor (de) n, Fenn (de) n, Moor (de) n (more broadly)
• Hungarian: mocsár (hu), láp (hu)
• Irish: moing f, eanach m, seascann m
• Italian: cariceto (it) m
• Japanese: フェン (fen)
• Latin: lāma f
• Macedonian: мочу́риште n (močúrište)
• Persian: لشاب (fa) (lešâb)
• Plautdietsch: Somp m
• Polish: torfowisko niskie n
• Portuguese: paul (pt) m, turfeira (pt) f
• Russian: боло́то (ru) n (bolóto)
• Scottish Gaelic: boglach f
• Slovak: bažina (sk) f, močiar m
• Slovene: barje n
• Spanish: turbera f
• Swedish: kärr (sv) n
• Tagalog: tunlak, tanlak, tarlak
• Welsh: ffen m, cors (cy) f

See also

• bog
• everglade
• marsh
• swamp
• vinnewed (vinewed)
• wetland

Etymology 2

From Chinese 分 (fēn). Doublet of hoon and fan.

Noun

fen (plural fen or fens)

2. A unit of currency in China, one-hundredth of a yuan.
   • 1994, Ronald David Schwartz, “[Martial Law and After] Symbolic competition”, in Circle of Protest: Political Ritual in the Tibetan Uprising, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, published 1996, →ISBN, page 184:

     One poster, which appeared on the Barkhor on 20 May, ridiculed the way neighbourhood committees were recruiting participants: “We paid 30 fen for one stone, but you hire people for 30 yuan for the picnic in the Norbulingka” (“30 fen” — one hundred fen is one yuan — is a joking reference to Chinese accusations that Tibetans were paid 30 fen by splittists for each stone thrown on 1 October 1987).

Translations

unit of Chinese currency

• Chinese: 分 (zh)
• Czech: fen (cs) m
• German: Fen m
• Hungarian: fen (hu)
• Polish: fen (pl) m

Etymology 3

From fan, by analogy with men as the plural of man.

Noun

fen

1. (fandom slang) a plural of fan used by enthusiasts of science fiction, fantasy, and anime, partly from whimsy and partly to distinguish themselves from fans of sport, etc.
   • 1951 May 21, Winthrop Sargeant, “Through the Interstellar Looking Glass”, in Life‎^[1], volume 30, number 21, page 127:

     Sad to relate, some of the European delegates were probably insurgents rather than true fen. […] But the Europeans could be counted on to take the long view, and many of them would probably turn out to be real fen and fenne after all.

   • 2016 September 3, lurkertype, “Worldcon 75 Chair Responds”, in File 770‎^[2], Comments:

     So I’m glad the attached hotel block is entirely reserved for disabled fen! Traveling on mass transit is tiring even when everything’s up to code.

Coordinate terms

• fenne

Derived terms

• acafen, aca-fen, aca/fen
• actifen
• confen
• eofen
• fake fen, fakefen, fake-fen
• femfen
• femme fen, femmefen
• fringefen
• furfen
• litfen
• mediafen
• neofen
• passifen
• stfen
• Trekfen
• trufen
• zinefen

Etymology 4

Clipping of fennec (“a small fox of the species Vulpes zerda, found in the Sahara (excluding the coast) and having distinctive oversized ears.”).

Noun

fen (plural fens)

1. (furry fandom, Internet slang, informal) A fennec fox.
   • 2018 December 30, @FENNERGY, Twitter‎^[3]:

     Your fursona holding mine while she's arguing with some random person
     
     Like you're cradling the little fen & she's screaming out threats

   • 2022 September 15, “Fem”, in r/foxes‎^[4], Reddit:

     I always wondered why foxes go flat-ear mode whenever they are happy or screaming, very cute fen btw

   • 2023 February 11, @alvocet, Twitter‎^[5]:

     Just because an animal doesnt fight when you pet them doesn't mean they like it. If a fen's ears are back like that leave them the fuck alone

   • 2025 January 24, u/Synpharia, “Sleepy Fen says I'm her bed now”, in r/fennecfoxes‎^[6], Reddit:

     What a little tooty! BTW I really liked your post on information about fens! Thank you for getting more info out there❣️

Etymology 5

Compare fend.

Interjection

fen

1. (obsolete) Used in children's games to prevent or forestall another player's action; a check or bar.

Etymology 6

From Middle English *vene, Kentish variant of *fine, from Old English fyne (“moisture, mold, mildew”), from Proto-Germanic *funiz, *fun- (“moisture, mold”); compare vinew.

Noun

fen (uncountable)

1. (obsolete) A kind of mildew that grows on hops.
   • 1769, The Complete Farmer: Or, a General Dictionary of Husbandry‎^[7], 2nd edition, page 339:

     […] whereby the ſtagnating ſap corrupts, and breeds mouldy fen, which often ſpoils whole tracts of, till then, flouriſhing hop-grounds.

   • 1808, Thomas Potts, The British Farmer's Cyclopaedia or, Complete Agricultural Dictionary‎^[8], Scatcherd and Letterman, page 96:

     Among these are reckoned the wire worm; the flea, and the fly; the fen or mould; the mildew ; and what are usually called fire blasts.

   • 1848, John Marius Wilson, editor, The Rural Cyclopedia‎^[9], volume 2, A. Fullarton, page 698:

     The mould, the fen, or the mouldy-fen, prevails more on hop-grounds which are low, moist, and sheltered, than on such as are high, dry, and open […]

Anagrams

• ENF, nef

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈfɛn]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈfən]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈfen]

Verb

fen

1. inflection of fendre:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Chuukese

Adjective

fen

1. holy

Synonyms

• pin

Derived terms

• Raninfen ("the holy day", Sunday)

Adverb

fen

1. past tense marker for verbs
2. already

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɛn]
• Rhymes: -ɛn

Etymology 1

Noun

fen m inan

1. fen (unit of currency in China, one-hundredth of a yuan)
   • 1962, Časopis Národního muzea, volume 131, page 165:

     Čínská poštovní správa v roce 1961 vydala ke Dni armády, tj. k 1. srpnu 1961 dvě známky, a to v hodnotách 8 fenů a 10 fenů […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Declension

Declension of fen (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	fen	feny
genitive	fenu	fenů
dative	fenu	fenům
accusative	fen	feny
vocative	fene	feny
locative	fenu	fenech
instrumental	fenem	feny

Etymology 2

Noun

fen

1. genitive plural of fena

Further reading

• “fen”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech)

Dalmatian

Etymology

From Latin fīnitus. Compare Italian fino.

Adjective

fen (feminine faina)

1. fine
2. subtle
3. pure

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse fen, from Proto-Germanic *fanją.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /feːn/
• Rhymes: -eːn

Noun

fen n (genitive singular fens, plural fen)

1. bog, quagmire

Declension

n3	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	fen	fenið	fen	fenini
accusative	fen	fenið	fen	fenini
dative	feni	feninum	fenum	fenunum
genitive	fens	fensins	fena	fenanna

Derived terms

• fenbressa
• fendíki
• fenjutur

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin fēnum.

Noun

fen m (plural fens) (ORB, broad)

1. hay

References

• foin in DicoFranPro: Dictionnaire Français/Francoprovençal – on dicofranpro.llm.umontreal.ca
• fen in Lo trèsor Arpitan – on arpitan.eu

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin fēnum,from faenum.

Noun

fen m (plural fens)

1. hay

Related terms

• fenoli

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɛn]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: fen
• Rhymes: -ɛn

Etymology 1

From Proto-Ugric *pänV-, from Proto-Finno-Ugric *pänɜ (“grindstone; grind”).

Verb

fen

1. (transitive) to sharpen, to whet, to hone

   Synonyms: köszörül, élesít, élez

2. (dialectal) to rub, to smear

   Synonyms: ken, dörgöl

Conjugation

Conjugation of fen

Click for archaic forms			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
indica­tive	indica­tive	pre­sent	indef.	fenek	fensz	fen	fenünk	fentek	fennek
			def.	fenem	fened	feni	fenjük	fenitek	fenik
			2nd obj	fenlek
		past	indef.	fentem	fentél	fent	fentünk	fentetek	fentek
			def.	fentem	fented	fente	fentük	fentétek	fenték
			2nd obj	fentelek
		future		Future is expressed with a present-tense verb with a completion-marking prefix and/or a time adverb, or—more explicitly—with the infinitive plus the conjugated auxiliary verb fog, e.g. fenni fog.
archaic preterite		indef.	fenék	fenél	fene	fenénk	fenétek	fenének
		def.	feném	fenéd	fené	fenénk	fenétek	fenék
		2nd obj	fenélek
archaic past		Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. fen vala, fent vala/volt.
archaic future	indef.	fenendek	fenendesz	fenend	fenendünk	fenendetek	fenendenek
	def.	fenendem	fenended	fenendi	fenendjük	fenenditek	fenendik
	2nd obj	fenendelek
condi­tional	pre­sent	indef.	fennék	fennél	fenne	fennénk	fennétek	fennének
		def.	fenném	fennéd	fenné	fennénk (or fennők)	fennétek	fennék
		2nd obj	fennélek
	past		Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. fent volna
sub­junc­tive	sub­junc­tive	pre­sent	indef.	fenjek	fenj or fenjél	fenjen	fenjünk	fenjetek	fenjenek
			def.	fenjem	fend or fenjed	fenje	fenjük	fenjétek	fenjék
			2nd obj	fenjelek
(archaic) past		Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. fent légyen
infinitive	fenni		fennem	fenned	fennie	fennünk	fennetek	fenniük
other forms	verbal noun		present part.	past part.	future part.	adverbial participle		causative
	fenés		fenő	fent	fenendő	fenve (fenvén)
The archaic passive conjugation had the same -(t)at/-(t)et suffix as the causative, followed by -ik in the 3rd-person singular (and the concomitant changes in conditional and subjunctive mostly in the 1st- and 3rd-person singular like with other traditional -ik verbs).

Potential conjugation of fen

Click for archaic forms			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal
indica­tive	indica­tive	pre­sent	indef.	fenhetek	fenhetsz	fenhet	fenhetünk	fenhettek	fenhetnek
			def.	fenhetem	fenheted	fenheti	fenhetjük	fenhetitek	fenhetik
			2nd obj	fenhetlek
		past	indef.	fenhettem	fenhettél	fenhetett	fenhettünk	fenhettetek	fenhettek
			def.	fenhettem	fenhetted	fenhette	fenhettük	fenhettétek	fenhették
			2nd obj	fenhettelek
archaic preterite		indef.	fenheték	fenhetél	fenhete	fenheténk	fenhetétek	fenhetének
		def.	fenhetém	fenhetéd	fenheté	fenheténk	fenhetétek	fenheték
		2nd obj	fenhetélek
archaic past		Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. fenhet vala, fenhetett vala/volt.
archaic future	indef.	fenhetendek or fenandhatok	fenhetendesz or fenandhatsz	fenhetend or fenandhat	fenhetendünk or fenandhatunk	fenhetendetek or fenandhattok	fenhetendenek or fenandhatnak
	def.	fenhetendem or fenandhatom	fenhetended or fenandhatod	fenhetendi or fenandhatja	fenhetendjük or fenandhatjuk	fenhetenditek or fenandhatjátok	fenhetendik or fenandhatják
	2nd obj	fenhetendelek or fenandhatlak
condi­tional	pre­sent	indef.	fenhetnék	fenhetnél	fenhetne	fenhetnénk	fenhetnétek	fenhetnének
		def.	fenhetném	fenhetnéd	fenhetné	fenhetnénk (or fenhetnők)	fenhetnétek	fenhetnék
		2nd obj	fenhetnélek
	past		Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. fenhetett volna
sub­junc­tive	sub­junc­tive	pre­sent	indef.	fenhessek	fenhess or fenhessél	fenhessen	fenhessünk	fenhessetek	fenhessenek
			def.	fenhessem	fenhesd or fenhessed	fenhesse	fenhessük	fenhessétek	fenhessék
			2nd obj	fenhesselek
(archaic) past		Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. fenhetett légyen
infinitive	(fenhetni)		(fenhetnem)	(fenhetned)	(fenhetnie)	(fenhetnünk)	(fenhetnetek)	(fenhetniük)
other forms	positive adjective			negative adjective		adverbial participle
	fenhető			fenhetetlen		(fenhetve / fenhetvén)

Derived terms

• bennfentes
• fene
• fenekedik
• fenés
• fenyeget

Compound words

• fenőkő
• fenőszíj
• ken-fen
• kikent-kifent

Expressions

• feni a fogát

Etymology 2

Noun

fen (plural fenek)

2. fen (unit of currency in China, one-hundredth of a yuan)

   Holonyms: jüan, zsenminpi

   Meronym: csiao

Declension

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	fen	fenek
accusative	fent	feneket
dative	fennek	feneknek
instrumental	fennel	fenekkel
causal-final	fenért	fenekért
translative	fenné	fenekké
terminative	fenig	fenekig
essive-formal	fenként	fenekként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	fenben	fenekben
superessive	fenen	feneken
adessive	fennél	feneknél
illative	fenbe	fenekbe
sublative	fenre	fenekre
allative	fenhez	fenekhez
elative	fenből	fenekből
delative	fenről	fenekről
ablative	fentől	fenektől
non-attributive possessive – singular	fené	feneké
non-attributive possessive – plural	fenéi	fenekéi

Possessive forms of fen

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	fenem	fenjeim
2nd person sing.	fened	fenjeid
3rd person sing.	fenje	fenjei
1st person plural	fenünk	fenjeink
2nd person plural	fenetek	fenjeitek
3rd person plural	fenjük	fenjeik

Further reading

• (to whet): fen in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse fen, from Proto-Germanic *fanją.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛːn/
• Rhymes: -ɛːn

Noun

fen n (genitive singular fens, nominative plural fen)

1. fen, marsh, morass

Declension

Declension of fen (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	fen	fenið	fen	fenin
accusative	fen	fenið	fen	fenin
dative	feni	feninu	fenum	fenunum
genitive	fens	fensins	fena	fenanna

Istriot

Etymology

From Latin faenum.

Noun

fen

1. hay

Lombard

Etymology

Akin to Italian fieno, from Latin fenum.

Noun

fen

1. hay

Mandarin

Romanization

fen

1. Nonstandard spelling of fēn.
2. Nonstandard spelling of fén.
3. Nonstandard spelling of fěn.
4. Nonstandard spelling of fèn.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• fenne, ven

Etymology

From Old English fenn; from Proto-West Germanic *fani, from Proto-Germanic *fanją. The "dung" sense is influenced by Old French fien.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɛn/

Noun

fen (plural fennes)

1. fen, bog, swamp
2. dirt, muddiness
3. dung, feces
4. (rare) rubbish, refuse
5. (rare) quagmire, lure

Declension

Declension of fen

	singular	plural
nominative, accusative	fen	fennes
genitive	fennes	fenne, fennes
dative	fenne	fennen

Descendants

• English: fen
• Scots: fen
• Yola: ven

References

• “fen, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “fen, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Old English

Noun

fen m or n

1. Alternative form of fenn

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *fanją.

Noun

fen n (genitive fens, plural fen)

1. fen, bog, quagmire

   mýrar ok fen

   bogs and fens

Declension

Declension of fen (strong ja-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	fen	fenit	fen	fenin
accusative	fen	fenit	fen	fenin
dative	feni	feninu	fenjum	fenjunum
genitive	fens	fensins	fenja	fenjanna

Descendants

• Icelandic: fen
• Faroese: fen
• Norwegian: fen
• Danish: fen

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “fen”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛn/
• Rhymes: -ɛn
• Syllabification: fen

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Föhn, from Old High German phonno, from Vulgar Latin *faōnius, from Latin Favōnius.

Noun

fen m inan

1. (meteorology) foehn (warm dry wind blowing down the northern sides of the Alps)
2. (meteorology) foehn (any similar wind)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Chinese 分.

Noun

fen m inan

1. fen (unit of Chinese currency)

Declension

Declension of fen

	singular	plural
nominative	fen	feny
genitive	fenu	fenów
dative	fenowi	fenom
accusative	fen	feny
instrumental	fenem	fenami
locative	fenie	fenach
vocative	fenie	feny

Derived terms

adjective

• fenowy

Further reading

• fen in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Föhn.

Noun

fȇn m (Cyrillic spelling фе̑н)

1. hair dryer
2. (meteorology) foehn

Declension

Declension of fen

	singular	plural
nominative	fen	fenovi
genitive	fena	fenova
dative	fenu	fenovima
accusative	fen	fenove
vocative	fene	fenovi
locative	fenu	fenovima
instrumental	fenom	fenovima

Spanish

Verb

fen

1. inflection of far:
   1. third-person plural present subjunctive
   2. third-person plural imperative

Swedish

Noun

fen

1. definite singular of fe

Turkish

Etymology

From Ottoman Turkish فن (fen, “kind, variety; art, science”), from Arabic فَنّ (fann), ultimately from Persian پند (pand, “knack, trick”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fæn/

Noun

fen (definite accusative fenni, plural fenler or (archaic) fünun)

1. (archaic) technic

   Synonym: fen

2. (dated) science

   Synonym: bilim

Declension

Declension of fen

	singular	plural
nominative	fen	fenler
definite accusative	fenni	fenleri
dative	fenne	fenlere
locative	fende	fenlerde
ablative	fenden	fenlerden
genitive	fennin	fenlerin

Synonyms

• ilim
• bilim

Related terms

• fennî (“scientific, technical”)
• darülfünun (“university”)

References

• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “fen”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Redhouse, James W. (1890) “فن”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[10], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1397

Vietnamese

Etymology

Derived from English friend.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [fɛn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [fɛŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [fɛŋ˧˧]
• Phonetic spelling: phen

Noun

fen

1. (Internet slang) Synonym of bạn

Pronoun

fen

1. (Internet slang) Synonym of bạn