Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Fang?

\Fang\ (f[a^]ng), v. t. [OE. fangen, fongen, fon (g orig. only in p. p. and imp. tense), AS. f[=o]n; akin to D. vangen, OHG. f[=a]han, G. fahen, fangen, Icel. f[=a], Sw. f[*a], f[*a]nga, Dan. fange, faae, Goth. fahan, and prob. to E. fair, peace, pact. Cf. {Fair}, a.] 1. To catch; to seize, as with the teeth; to lay hold of; to gripe; to clutch. [Obs.] --Shak. He's in the law's clutches; you see he's fanged. --J. Webster. 2. To enable to catch or tear; to furnish with fangs. ``Chariots fanged with scythes.'' --Philips.
\Fang\, n. [From {Fang}, v. t.; cf. AS. fang a taking, booty, G. fang.] 1. (Zo["o]l.) The tusk of an animal, by which the prey is seized and held or torn; a long pointed tooth; esp., one of the usually erectile, venomous teeth of serpents. Also, one of the falcers of a spider. Since I am a dog, beware my fangs. --Shak. 2. Any shoot or other thing by which hold is taken. The protuberant fangs of the yucca. --Evelyn. 3. (Anat.) The root, or one of the branches of the root, of a tooth. See {Tooth}. 4. (Mining) A niche in the side of an adit or shaft, for an air course. --Knight. 5. (Mech.) A projecting tooth or prong, as in a part of a lock, or the plate of a belt clamp, or the end of a tool, as a chisel, where it enters the handle. 6. (Naut.) (a) The valve of a pump box. (b) A bend or loop of a rope. {In a fang}, fast entangled. {To lose the fang}, said of a pump when the water has gone out; hence: {To fang a pump}, to supply it with the water necessary to make it operate. [Scot.]