fen
/fɛn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.83 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A type of wetland fed by ground water and runoff, containing peat below the waterline, characteristically alkaline.
noun
Any swamp or mire (especially with negative connotations).
noun
A unit of currency in China, one-hundredth of a yuan.
noun
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.
Slang
intj
Used in children's games to prevent or forestall another player's action; a check or bar.
Obsolete
name
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: marsh, swamp, bog, mire"
- "Bogs are acidic, nutrient poor, and have a low species diversity, whereas fens are less acidic and have higher nutrient levels and species diversity."
- "Bogs are acidic peatlands, while fens are non-acidic peatlands."
- "[...] 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)."
- "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."
- "Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour: / England hath need of thee: she is a fen / Of stagnant waters […]"
Etymology
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /fɛn/
- British English: /fɛn/