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Glite Dictionary
fanwise

fanwise

1 8.2
Spread out from one point like a fan
  • adverb
  • Specialized
: en forma de abanico
  • Her hair, thick and wavy, stood out fanwise about her head.

Examples

  • He held the six knives fanwise in his left hand, with the blades pointing up.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Hensch picked up a clutch of knives and held them fanwise in his left hand.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • We watched Hensch as he picked up three more knives and spread them fanwise in his left hand.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Her hair, thick and wavy, stood out fanwise about her head.

  • He held the six knives fanwise in his left hand, with the blades pointing up.

  • Hensch picked up a clutch of knives and held them fanwise in his left hand.

Synonyms

radially
vsfanwise
1 6.5

Outward from a central point in straight lines like the spokes of a wheel

is limited to a wide sector rather than extending all around

Surface Forms

fanwise positive

Morphology

fanwise = fan (transparent) = fan + wise

The sense is a straightforward formation of the noun 'fan' plus the productive suffix '-wise', meaning 'in the manner of a fan'.

Etymology

Fanwise is made of fan and -wise, where fan is the object that opens and spreads out and -wise means 'in the way of'. So fanwise means 'in a way that spreads outward from a single point', like a hand fan opening or fireworks across the sky.