Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A fan-shaped anatomical structure.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A fan, used in the Greek and Armenian churches to drive away insects from the bread and wine during the celebration of the eucharist. Its ordinary use in the Roman Catholic Church ceased as early as the fourteenth century, but survives in the large fans, still known as flabella, carried by the attendants of the pope in processions on certain festivals. Also called
flabrum . - noun In Crustacea, same as
epipodite . - noun In Actinozoa, a genus of aporose madreporarian corals, of the family Turbinoliidæ.
- noun In ichthyology, specifically, same as
serrula .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Eccl.) A fan; especially, the fan carried before the pope on state occasions, made in ostrich and peacock feathers.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A large
fan used forreligious ceremonies . - noun botany, zoology Any fan-shaped structure.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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H. monile, Rhipocephalus phoenix, and Udotea flabellum.
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She flicked open a flabellum made from the stiff white feathers of an extinct peacock and began to fan herself as the Raptor stopped pacing and finally spoke.
Song of Time McLaren, Teri 1996
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She flicked open a flabellum made from the stiff white feathers of an extinct peacock and began to fan herself as the Raptor stopped pacing and finally spoke.
Song of Time McLaren, Teri 1996
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Ivory handles were usual for the fly-fan, or flabellum, used at the altar, to keep flies and other insects away from the Elements.
Arts and Crafts in the Middle Ages A Description of Mediaeval Workmanship in Several of the Departments of Applied Art, Together with Some Account of Special Artisans in the Early Renaissance Julia de Wolf Gibbs Addison
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Among the ornaments found belonging to the church of St. Riquier, in Ponthieu (813), there is a silver flabellum
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI 1840-1916 1913
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Lisle, another flabellum of silver is noted in the will of Everard
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI 1840-1916 1913
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The richest and most beautiful specimen is the flabellum of the thirteenth century in the Abbey of Kremsmünster in Upper Austria.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI 1840-1916 1913
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The circular disc is also found in the Slavic flabellum of the thirteenth century, preserved at
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI 1840-1916 1913
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Apart from the foregoing liturgical uses, a flabellum, in the shape of a fan, later of an umbrella or canopy, was used as a mark of honour for bishops and princes.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI 1840-1916 1913
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The flabellum, in liturgical use, is a fan made of leather, silk, parchment, or feathers intended to keep away insects from the Sacred
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 6: Fathers of the Church-Gregory XI 1840-1916 1913
whichbe commented on the word flabellum
A fan; especially, the fan carried before the pope on state occasions, made in ostrich and peacock feathers.
October 7, 2008
reesetee commented on the word flabellum
My understanding is that it is not currently used by the pope, although a ceremonial one is on display at the Vatican. :-)
Another meaning: a fan-shaped anatomical structure, such as the one on the fifth legs of horseshoe crabs.
October 7, 2008