van

See also: Appendix:Variations of "van"
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Translingual

Etymology

Abbreviation of English Valman.

Symbol

van

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Valman.

See also

  • Wiktionary’s coverage of Valman terms

English

A van (motor vehicle).

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Short for caravan.

Noun

van (plural vans)

  1. A covered motor vehicle used to carry goods or (normally less than ten) persons, usually roughly cuboid in shape, Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and longer and higher than a car but relatively smaller than a truck/lorry or a bus.
    Synonyms: (chiefly if used to carry a few people; "minivan" is officially used in North America) minivan, minibus
    • 2023 May 19, Matthew Hall, “Los Angeles Councilwoman targets “vanlord” industry”, in Santa Monica Daily Press‎[2], archived from the original on 9 October 2025:
      While Santa Monica has a longstanding prohibition against public camping that includes living in vehicles, the van rental business has been a problem in Venice for years. […] Organizations that provide safe parking locations have limited capacity and are often unable to accommodate the kind of non-operational vans that are being repurposed as makeshift housing.
    • 2024 June 22, James Tapper, “Carbon emissions from vans still rising as UK drivers cling to diesel”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:
      Carbon emissions from vans in the UK have risen by 63% since 1990, new analysis shows, as cars are getting cleaner. While more people are opting to drive electric or plug-in hybrid cars, van drivers still prefer diesel because electric vans are much more expensive with little choice of models.
      (Can we archive this URL?)
  2. (UK) An enclosed railway vehicle for transport of goods, such as a boxcar/box van.
  3. (dated) A light wagon, either covered or open, used by tradesmen and others for the transportation of goods.
  4. (space flight) A large towable vehicle equipped for the repair of structures that cannot easily be moved.
    • 1959, Western Aerospace, volume 39, page 46:
      Designed to be fully mobile and self-contained, the complete equipment includes an air-conditioned van containing all necessary electronic gear and a flat bed trailer in which missiles, jet engines and other large assemblies may be cleaned.
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

van (third-person singular simple present vans, present participle vanning, simple past and past participle vanned)

  1. (transitive) To transport in a van or similar vehicle (especially of horses).
    • 1966, United States Congress, Senate, Committee on Commerce, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
      I have to have a license to own them, a license to train them, my jockey has to have a license to ride them, the van company must have a license to van them, and the black shoe man must have a license to shoe them.
    • 1999, Bonnie Bryant, Changing Leads, page 53:
      [They] had their own horses, but they hadn't bothered to van them over to Pine Hollow for this outing.
  2. (Internet slang, used in passive voice) Of law enforcement: to arrest (not necessarily in a van; derived from party van).
    • 2011, “The hackers hacked: main Anonymous IRC servers invaded”, in arstechnica.com‎[4]:
      One Anon explained the reason for this, saying: "As for the domains, they were transferred to Ryan after some of us got vanned so he can keep the network up. What he did certainly wasn't the plan." (Getting "vanned" refers to getting picked up by the police.)
    • 2012, “FBI names, arrests Anon who infiltrated its secret conference call”, in arstechnica.com‎[5]:
      He later told CW that he had been "v&" or "vanned" by the police, and he expressed surprise that the police showed him detailed transcripts of his conversations.
    • 2013, “Redditor Confesses to Murder with Meme, Gets Doxed by Other Redditors, Deletes His Account and Disappears”, in gawker.com‎[6]:
      But not before someone supposedly forwarded all the information onto the FBI. In a last-ditch effort to avoid getting "vanned," Naratto tried to put the memie back in the bottle
    • 2015 13-year-old credited with hacking CIA director’s AOL account gives bizarre, possibly final interview
      The hacker says he thinks he is about to be v&, or “vanned,” meaning being raided by law enforcement, sometime soon.
    • 2016, Teen Allegedly Behind CIA, FBI Breaches: 'They're Trying to Ruin My Life.'‎[7], archived from the original on 22 April 2018:
      On Wednesday night, Motherboard spoke to the teenager accused of being Cracka. "I got fucking v&," he told Motherboard, using "v&," the slang for "vanned," or getting arrested. (At this point, the arrest had not been made public.)
    • 2017, Dark Ops: An Anonymous Story‎[8], page 8:
      Commander X: Yep, so now you all know how I got vanned. And you just met the snitch who did it to me.
Derived terms

See also

Etymology 2

Shortening of vanguard.

Noun

van (plural vans)

  1. Clipping of vanguard.
    • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost‎[9], book 5, lines 588–590:
      Ten thousand thousand Ensignes high advanc'd, / Standards, and Gonfalons twixt Van and Reare / Streame in the Aire, and for distinction serve
    • 1698, Ned Ward, The London Spy:
      Then a bumper to the Queen led the van of our good wishes, another to the Church Established, a third was left to the whim of the toaster […]
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
      As for the guides, they were debarred from the pleasure of discourse, the one being placed in the van, and the other obliged to bring up the rear.
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
      We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine. We passed on the way the van of the guests from Asquith.
    • 1965, “Virāṭa Parva”, in Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan, transl., The Mahābhārata, book 4, section 33, page 84, translation of original in Sanskrit:
      Bhīṣma then outlined the following strategy: “… Let Karṇa, clad in armour, stand in the van. And I shall command the entire army in the rear.”

Etymology 3

From Cornish.

Noun

van (plural vans)

  1. (mining) A shovel used in cleansing ore.

Verb

van (third-person singular simple present vans, present participle vanning, simple past and past participle vanned)

  1. (mining) To wash or cleanse, as a small portion of ore, on a shovel.[1]
Derived terms

Etymology 4

From Latin vannus (“a van, or fan for winnowing grain”): compare French van and English fan, winnow. Doublet of fan.

Noun

van (plural vans)

  1. A fan or other contrivance, such as a sieve, for winnowing grain.
  2. A wing with which the air is beaten.

References

  1. ^ Rossiter W[orthington] Raymond (1881), “Van”, in A Glossary of Mining and Metallurgical Terms. […], Easton, Pa.: [American] Institute [of Mining Engineers], […], →OCLC.

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch van (“from; of”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fan/
  • Audio:(file)

Preposition

van

  1. of
  2. from

See also

Particle

van

  1. (used with a following definite article) some of (the)
    Van die wêreld se beste wyne kom van hierdie streek af.
    Some of the world’s best wines are from this region.
    Ons het met van die belangrikste politieke leiers gespreek.
    We have spoken to some of the most important political leaders.

Antillean Creole

Etymology

From French vent.

Noun

van

  1. air
  2. wind
  3. breath
  4. intestinal gas

References

  • Frank, David B., editor (2020), “van”, in Kwéyòl Dictionary‎[10], Dallas: SIL International
  • Tourneux, Henry; Barbotin, Maurice (1990), Dictionnaire pratique du créole de Guadeloupe [Practical Dictionary of Guadeloupean Creole], Paris: Karthala and A.C.C.T., →ISBN, page 412
  • Pinalie, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire élémentaire français-créole [Elementary French-Creole Dictionary], Paris: L'Harmattan, →ISBN, page 310
  • Barbotin, Maurice (1995), Dictionnaire du créole de Marie-Galante [Dictionary of Marie-Galante Creole], Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag, →ISBN, page 219

Catalan

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Verb

van

  1. third-person plural present indicative of anar
    Van al cinema. ― They go to the cinema.
  2. (auxiliary, with infinitive) third-person plural present indicative of anar used to form periphrastic past
    Van anar al cinema. ― They went to the cinema.

Chinese

Alternative forms

Etymology

From English van.

Pronunciation

Noun

van

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, often in compounds) van; minibus; vehicle (Classifier: 架 c)

Derived terms

Czech

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈvan]
  • Hyphenation: van

Etymology 1

Noun

van m inan

  1. (archaic, poetic) breeze (light, gentle wind)
Declension
Declension of van (hard masculine inanimate)
singular plural
nominative van vany
genitive vanu vanů
dative vanu vanům
accusative van vany
vocative vane vany
locative vanu vanech
instrumental vanem vany

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

van f

  1. genitive plural of vana

Further reading

Danish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse vanr (pl vanir (“one of two groups of gods in Norse mythology”)).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /vaːn/, [væːˀn]

Noun

van c (singular definite vanen, plural indefinite vaner)

  1. one of the Vanir
Inflection
Declension of van
common
gender 		singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative van vanen vaner vanerne
genitive vans vanens vaners vanernes

Etymology 2

From English van.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /vaːn/, [væːn]

Noun

van c (singular definite vanen, plural indefinite vaner)

  1. van
Inflection
Declension of van
common
gender 		singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative van vanen vaner vanerne
genitive vans vanens vaners vanernes

Etymology 3

From Old Norse vanr (“wont, accustomed”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /van/, [van]

Adverb

van

  1. (dated) pleje van – nurse, take care of
Usage notes

Dutch

Etymology

    From Middle Dutch van, from Old Dutch fan (“from”), from Proto-West Germanic *fanā, from Proto-Germanic *fanē, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂poneh₁ (“from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo, *h₂pó (“off, of”).

    Cognate with Old Saxon fana, fan (“from”), Old Frisian fan, fon (“from”), Old High German fona, fon (“from”).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /vɑn/
      • (Northern) IPA(key): [fɑn]
      • (Suriname) IPA(key): [fan]
    • Audio (Netherlands):(file)
    • Hyphenation: van
    • Rhymes: -ɑn

    Preposition

    van

    1. of (possession, property)
      de hoed van het meisje ― the hat of the girl
      het gewicht van een olifant ― the weight of an elephant
    2. of (general association)
      Zij was van adel. ― She was of noble stock.
      een stad van één miljoen inwoners ― a city of one million inhabitants
      Hij is een man van eer. ― He's a man of honour.
      Dat is hier niet van toepassing. ― That's not applicable here.
      de trein van tien uur ― the train of ten o'clock
    3. by, of (creator)
      een schilderij van Rubens ― a painting by Rubens
      een plaat van de Beatles ― a record of the Beatles
    4. from (origin)
      Hij is niet van hier. ― He's not from here.
    5. from (starting point of a movement or change)
      Hij ging van deur tot deur. ― He went from door to door.
      van vader op zoon. ― from father to son.
    6. from (starting point in time)
      van toen af aan. ― from then onwards
      van 's avonds laat tot 's morgens vroeg ― from late at night till the early morning
      van dag tot dag ― from day to day
    7. from, off (removal of something from off something else)
      het vlees van de beenderen snijden. ― to cut the meat from the bones
    8. of, out of, from, with (cause)
      sidderen van angst ― to tremble with fear
      tranen van geluk ― tears of joy
    9. of, out of, with (material or resource)
      Deze tafel is gemaakt van hout. ― This table is made (out) of wood.
      Van dit geld kan ik een basgitaar kopen. ― With this money I'm able to buy a bass.
    10. of, out of, among (out of a larger whole; partitive)
      de jongste van zijn dochters ― the youngest of his daughters
      Van alle mensen ben ik de mooiste. ― Out of all people I am the most beautiful.
      Drink niet te veel van dat bier, het is erg sterk. ― Don't drink too much of that beer, it is very strong.
    11. from, was, formerly (indicating a change in price)
      van 5 €, voor 3 € ― was €5, now €3
    12. (colloquial) like (quotative (used to introduce direct speech))
      Hij had zoiets van, hoepel op. ― He was like, sod off.
      Ik dacht van hé, wat gek. ― I thought like hey, how strange.

    Declension

    Pronominal adverbs of van
    preposition van
    postpositional adv. van
    + het (it) ervan
    + dit (this) hiervan
    + dat (that) daarvan
    + wat (what) waarvan
    + iets (something) ergens van
    + niets (nothing) nergens van
    + alles (everything) overal van

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • Afrikaans: van
    • Berbice Creole Dutch: fan
    • Javindo: fan
    • Jersey Dutch: vān, fān, f'n
    • Negerhollands: van, fan, fa
      • → Virgin Islands Creole: fam
    • Skepi Creole Dutch: fan

    See also

    Adverb

    van

    1. of, from
      Ik neem er tien van. ― I’ll take ten of them.
    2. from
      Ik vertrek van daar. ― I’ll start from there.
    3. by, from
      Ik word er gek van. ― It drives me crazy.
      Men wordt daar sloom van. ― It turns one numb.
    4. of, about
      Wat zegt u daar van? ― What do you say about that?
      Ik weet daar niks van. ― I don’t know anything about that.

    Derived terms

    Noun

    van m (plural vans or vannen, no diminutive)

    1. a surname or nickname beginning with the preposition van
    2. any surname
      Synonyms: achternaam, familienaam

    See also

    Emilian

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈvaŋ/

    Verb

    van

    1. third-person plural present indicative of andèr

    French

    Pronunciation

    Etymology 1

    Latin vannus

    Noun

    van m (plural vans)

    1. a winnowing basket

    Etymology 2

    Borrowed from English van.

    Noun

    van m (plural vans)

    1. a horse trailer
      • Adolphe de Neuter, Mémoires d'un entraîneur, volume 1: La casaque rose, Paris: Imprimerie Kapp, 1925, p. 145
        C'est à l'occasion du Saint-Léger gagné par Elis que l'on usa pour la première fois d'un van comme mode de locomotion pour les chevaux. Ce fut l'occasion d'un coup monstre.
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)
        ils leur ont montré comment faire monter un cheval dans un van, le lâcher, effectuer les premiers soins de sauvetage avant l’arrivée du vétérinaire.
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)

    Further reading

    Galician

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    From Old Galician-Portuguese vão (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin vānus (“empty”). Cognate with Portuguese vão and Spanish vano.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈbaŋ/ [ˈbɑŋ]
    • Rhymes: -aŋ
    • Hyphenation: van

    Adjective

    van (feminine va, masculine plural vans, feminine plural vas)

    1. empty, devoid of content, containing only air
    2. useless, ineffective
    3. (of a person) vacuous, trivial-minded

    Noun

    van m (plural vans)

    1. waist
    2. empty, vacant

    Derived terms

    • en van

    Verb

    van

    1. third-person plural present indicative of ir

    References

    Gallo

    Etymology

    (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

    Noun

    van m (plural vans)

    1. (agriculture) winnowing machine

    Guianese Creole

    Etymology

    From French vent.

    Noun

    van

    1. wind

    References

    • Barthelemi, Georges (1995), Dictionnaire pratique créole guyanais - français [Practical Guianese Creole-French Dictionary] (in French), Cayenne: Ibis Rouge Éditions, →ISBN, page 199

    Haitian Creole

    Etymology

    From French vent (“wind”).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /vã/

    Noun

    van

    1. wind

    References

    • Targète, Jean; Urciolo, Raphael (1993), Haitian Creole-English Dictionary‎[12], Dunwoody Press, →ISBN, page 198

    Hungarian

    Etymology

    From Old Hungarian vagyon. See Hungarian volt.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): [ˈvɒn]
    • Audio:(file)
    • Rhymes: -ɒn

    Verb

    van

    1. (copulative) to be
      Antonym: nem…
      Boldog vagyok. ― I am happy.
    2. there to be, to exist
      Synonyms: létezik, található
      Antonym: nincs
      Van itt valaki? ― Is there anybody here?
    3. to have; someone (-nak/-nek) has something (-a/-e/-ja/-je)
      Péternek van egy kutyája. ― Peter has a dog.
    4. to be made (out) of something (with -ból/-ből)
      Synonym: készült
      Ez az ajtó fából van. ― This door is made out of wood.
    5. (auxiliary, construed with -va/-ve (adverbial participle) of the main verb) to be (indicating the statal passive)
      A lakásom biztosítva van. (from biztosítva ← biztosít) ― My apartment (flat) is (has been) insured.
      A probléma meg van oldva. (from megoldva ← megold) ― The issue is (has been) solved.
      • 1846, János Arany, translated by Anton N. Nyerges, Toldi‎[13], canto 6, stanza 13:
        „Szakmány módra van rám mérve minden óra: / Jöttem kegyelmedhez búcsuvevő szóra.”
        “Every hour is measured as though by contract. / I come to bid you now farewell.”

    Usage notes

    The functions of this verb don’t fully overlap with the usage of corresponding verbs of other languages (for other cases of semantic distribution different from English, compare Spanish ser, estar, Thai คือ (kʉʉ), เป็น (bpen), อยู่ (yùu) or Chinese 是 (shì), 在 (zài), 有 (yǒu)):

    • Van egy törpe a zsebemben.   or   Törpe van a zsebemben. ― There is a dwarf in my pocket. – existence (used with an indefinite subject)
    • [Nekem] van egy zsebtörpém. ― I have a pocket-dwarf. (literally, “[to me] there is a pocket-dwarf-my”) – possession
    • A törpe a zsebemben van. ― The dwarf is in my pocket. – location (used with a prepositional phrase in English)
    • A törpe jól van. ― The dwarf is well. – state, condition (used with an adverb in English)
    • A törpe kicsi ∅. ― The dwarf is small. – copula (used with an adjective or a noun as part of the predicate; null morpheme in the third-person singular and plural present indicative)
    • Este van. ― It is evening. – circumstance (used with nouns denoting time, weather conditions like cold, warm, wind or snow, or situations like silence, calm, problem, order, mess, peace, war etc.)[1]
    • Omission (null morpheme) occurs when this verb is used with an adjective (qualification) or a noun, i.e. when it answers the question who? or what? (including what …… like?) or which?, and only in indicative present third-person forms:
      Béla okos. ― Béla is clever.
      Béla a király. ― Béla is the king.
      Béla egy ember. ― Béla is a human.
      Forms other than van and vannak are never omitted:
      Béla okos volt. ― Béla was clever.
      Okos vagyok. ― I am clever.
      Légy okos! ― Be clever!
      In other functions, such as when the verb answers the question where? or how?, the verb forms are invariably present:
      Béla itt van. ― Béla is here.
      Béla jól van. ― Béla is (feeling) well.
      A kapu zöldre van festve. (adverbial participle) ― The gate is / has been painted green.
      It also appears if van/vannak is the focus of the sentence, exceptionally preceding the (nominal/adjectival) predicate. This happens when the sentence means that the property described by the adjective (e.g. strength) reaches or exceeds some specified level and this is emphasized by the speaker. In this case, the adjective is preceded by a word like olyan (“such”), annyira (“that much”), elég (“enough”).
      Béla van olyan/annyira erős, hogy felemelje a szekrényt. ― Béla is strong enough to lift the cupboard.
      Szerintem a sajt van olyan/annyira finom, mint a csokoládé. ― I think cheese is at least as delicious as (or: no less delicious than) chocolate.
    • If nem and van/vannak were to occur together, the negative form is nincs or nincsen (plural: nincsenek) in the third person present indicative:
    Nincs pénzem. ― I don’t have any money.
    Instead of sem (“not … either”) and van/vannak occurring together, sincs or sincsen (plural sincsenek) are used:
    Itt sincs étel. ― There isn’t any food here either.
    However, in the copulative sense (stating what someone or something is not, with a noun or an adjective in the predicate), the zero form does not trigger this change:
    Ő nem ∅ tanár. ― He/She is not a teacher.

    Conjugation

    conjugation of van
    1st person sg 2nd person sg informal 3rd person sg,
    2nd person sg formal     		1st person pl 2nd person pl informal 3rd person pl,
    2nd person pl formal
    Indicative Mood Present Indefinite vagyok vagy van vagyunk vagytok vannak
    Definite intransitive verb, definite forms are not used
    Past Indefinite voltam voltál volt voltunk voltatok voltak
    Definite ―
    Future Indefinite leszek leszel lesz leszünk lesztek lesznek
    Definite ―
    Conditional Mood Present Indefinite lennék or
    volnék     		lennél or
    volnál     		lenne or
    volna     		lennénk or
    volnánk     		lennétek or
    volnátok     		lennének or
    volnának
    Definite ―
    Past Indefinite lettem volna lettél volna lett volna lettünk volna lettetek volna lettek volna
    Definite ―
    Subjunctive Mood Present Indefinite legyek légy or
    legyél     		legyen legyünk legyetek legyenek
    Definite ―
    Infinitive lenni lennem lenned lennie lennünk lennetek lenniük
    Other nonfinite
    verb forms     		Verbal noun Present participle Past participle Future part. Adverbial part. Potential
    lét levő or lévő volt leendő léve or lévén lehet

    Derived terms

    With verbal prefixes
    Expressions with a locative (or adverbial) sense
    Expressions with the possessive sense
    Expressions with a locative form of its possessive
    Expressions with the sense ‘there is’

    References

    1. ^ Edit Kádár: Gond van! (Töprengések a van-os szerkezetek egy sajátos típusa kapcsán) “There’s a problem: Reflections on a specific type of van structure”

    Further reading

    • (all verb senses): van in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
    • ([dialectal] synonym of the noun vagyon): van in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

    Iban

    Etymology

    Borrowed from English van.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /vɛn/

    Noun

    van

    1. van

    Interlingua

    Adjective

    van (comparative plus van, superlative le plus van)

    1. vain, futile
    2. vain, worthless
    3. vain, conceited

    Italian

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈvan/
    • Rhymes: -an
    • Hyphenation: vàn

    Etymology 1

    Unadapted borrowing from English van.[1]

    Noun

    van m (invariable) (vehicles)

    1. van

    Etymology 2

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Verb

    van

    1. apocopic form of vanno (“they go; they must be”)

    Etymology 3

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Adjective

    van (apocopated) (poetic)

    1. apocopic form of vano (“vain”)

    References

    1. ^ “van2”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

    Further reading

    • “van1”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

    Malay

    Etymology

    Borrowed from English van, short for caravan.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    van (Jawi spelling ۏن, plural van-van)

    1. A van.

    Further reading

    • "van" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017
      (also see "van" at PRPM first version)

    Middle Dutch

    Etymology

      From Old Dutch fan, from Proto-Germanic *fanē.

      Preposition

      van

      1. of
      2. from (a place, person)
      3. from (a time)
      4. out of
      5. from, out of, because of

      Descendants

      Further reading

      • “van”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
      • Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “van (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

      Mòcheno

      Contraction

      van

      1. va + an, from a, of a

      References

      Norwegian Nynorsk

      Etymology 1

      From Old Norse vanr.

      Adjective

      van (neuter vant, definite singular and plural vane)

      1. being used to (doing) something

      Etymology 2

      From Old Norse vanr m.

      Noun

      van m (definite singular vanen, indefinite plural vaner or vanar, definite plural vanene or vanane)

      1. (Norse mythology) one of the Vanir

      Etymology 3

      Borrowed from Dutch van (“of, from”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *fanē. Doublet of von.

      Preposition

      van

      1. Used in Dutch surnames.

      References

      Anagrams

      Polish

      van

      Alternative forms

      Etymology

        Unadapted borrowing from English van.

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /ˈvan/
        • Audio:(file)
        • Rhymes: -an
        • Syllabification: van

        Noun

        van m inan

        1. van (covered motor vehicle used to carry goods or (normally less than ten) persons, usually roughly cuboid in shape, longer and higher than a car but relatively smaller than a truck/lorry or a bus)
          Synonym: pojazd wielozadaniowy
          Hyponym: minivan

        Declension

        Declension of van
        singular plural
        nominative van vany
        genitive vana vanów
        dative vanowi vanom
        accusative van vany
        instrumental vanem vanami
        locative vanie vanach
        vocative vanie vany

        Further reading

        • “van”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎[14] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
        • “van”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎[15] (in Polish)
        • van in PWN's encyclopedia

        Portuguese

        Alternative forms

        Etymology

          Unadapted borrowing from English van.

          Pronunciation

           

          • Homophones: Van, vã (Brazil)
          • Rhymes: -ɐ̃

          Noun

          van f (plural vans)

          1. (Brazil) van (a covered vehicle used for carrying goods)
            Synonym: furgão

          Further reading

          Réunion Creole French

          Etymology

          From French vent.

          Noun

          van

          1. wind (movement of air)

          References

          • Armand, Alain (1987), Dictionnaire Kréol rénioné/Français [Reunionese Creole-French Dictionary] (in French), Océan Éditions, →ISBN, page 367

          Romanian

          Etymology

          Borrowed from Latin vānus, Italian vano.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /van/

          Adjective

          van m or n (feminine singular vană, masculine plural vani, feminine/neuter plural vane)

          1. vain
          2. futile
          3. idle
          4. fruitless
          5. vainglorious

          Declension

          Declension of van
          singular plural
          masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
          nominative-
          accusative           		indefinite van vană vani vane
          definite vanul vana vanii vanele
          genitive-
          dative           		indefinite van vane vani vane
          definite vanului vanei vanilor vanelor

          Derived terms

          See also

          Serbo-Croatian

          Etymology

          From Proto-Slavic *vъnъ.

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /ʋân/

          Conjunction

          vȁn (Cyrillic spelling ва̏н)

          1. except

          Preposition

          vȁn (Cyrillic spelling ва̏н) [with genitive]

          1. outside, out
            van kuće ― outside, outdoors
          2. out of
            van zemlje ― abroad

          Adverb

          vȃn (Cyrillic spelling ва̑н)

          1. out, outside, outdoors

          Spanish

          Pronunciation

          • IPA(key): /ˈban/ [ˈbãn]
          • Audio (Colombia):(file)
          • Rhymes: -an
          • Syllabification: van

          Etymology 1

            Borrowed from English van.

            Noun

            van m (plural vanes)

            1. van (vehicle)

            Etymology 2

            From Latin vadunt, third-person plural present indicative of vadō (“to go”).

            Verb

            van

            1. third-person plural present indicative of ir

            Further reading

            Swedish

            Pronunciation

            • IPA(key): /vɑːn/
            • Audio:(file)
            • Rhymes: -ɑːn

            Etymology 1

            From Old Norse vanr, from Proto-Germanic *wanaz, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, desire, love”).[1]

            Adjective

            van (comparative vanare, superlative vanast)

            1. accustomed to, used to, having the habit to
              Han är van vid att stiga upp klockan sju varje morgon.
              He is used to getting up at seven every morning.
            2. experienced, adept
              Hon är en van bilförare.
              She is an experienced driver.
            Declension
            Inflection of van
            Indefinite positive comparative superlative1
            common singular van vanare vanast
            neuter singular vant vanare vanast
            plural vana vanare vanast
            masculine plural2 vane vanare vanast
            Definite positive comparative superlative
            masculine singular3 vane vanare vanaste
            all vana vanare vanaste

            1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
            2 Dated or archaic.
            3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

            Antonyms
            Derived terms
            • med van hand

            Etymology 2

            Borrowed from Icelandic vanir (plural). First attested in 1737.

            Noun

            van c

            2. (Norse mythology, chiefly plural) a member of the Vanir
              Synonym: vanagud
              • 1993, Björn Collinder, transl., Den poetiska Eddan [The Poetic Edda]‎[16], Forum, accessed at Litteraturbanken.se, courtesy of Lunds universitetsbibliotek, archived from the original on 25 November 2025, Vafþrúðnismál 39:
                Han skapades i Vanheim av visa makter, åt gudarna gavs han som gisslan; då världen går under, då återvänder han hem till de vise vaner.
                He was created in Vanaheim by wise powers, and was given to the gods as a hostage; when the world comes to an end, he will return home to the wise Vanir.
            Declension
            Declension of van
            nominative genitive
            singular indefinite van vans
            definite vanen vanens
            plural indefinite vaner vaners
            definite vanerna vanernas

            References

            • “van”, in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker [Dictionaries of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
            • van in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
            1. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*wana- 2”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 573

            Anagrams

            Tagalog

            Etymology

            Unadapted borrowing from English van, short for caravan.

            Pronunciation

            • (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈvan/ [ˈvan̪]
              • IPA(key): (with nativization) /ˈban/ [ˈban̪]
            • Rhymes: -an
            • Syllabification: van

            Noun

            van (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜈ᜔)

            1. van (covered vehicle)
              Synonym: purgoneta
            • karabana

            Further reading

            • “van”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018

            Vame

            Noun

            van

            1. millstone

            Vietnamese

            Etymology 1

            (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Perhaps 問 (SV: vấn)”)

            Pronunciation

            • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [vaːn˧˧]
            • (Huế) IPA(key): [vaːŋ˧˧]
            • (Saigon) IPA(key): [vaːŋ˧˧] ~ [jaːŋ˧˧]

            Verb

            van • (𠹚, 喛)

            1. to beg, to implore
            Derived terms
            • kêu van
            • van lạy
            • van nài
            • van siếc
            • van vỉ
            • van xin

            Etymology 2

            Borrowed from French valve.

            Noun

            van (classifier cái)

            1. valve

            Etymology 3

            Borrowed from French valse.

            Noun

            van

            1. waltz
            Synonyms

            Usage notes

            Southern speakers pronounce the loanwords meaning "valve" and "waltz" with the phoneme /n/, not /ŋ/.

            Yola

            Adverb

            van

            1. alternative form of fan
              • 1927, “ZONG OF TWI MAARKEET MOANS”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 129, line 10:
                Van a vierd durst a bargher an a haar galshied too,
                When a weasel crossed the road, and a hare gazed at me too,

            References

            • Kathleen A. Browne (1927), “THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD.”, in Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of lreland (Sixth Series)‎[17], volume 17, number 2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, page 129

            Zou

            Etymology 1

            From Proto-Kuki-Chin *waan.

            Pronunciation

            • IPA(key): [vâːn]
            • Hyphenation: van

            Noun

            vȁn

            1. heaven, sky

            Etymology 2

            (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

            Pronunciation

            • IPA(key): [vʌ̀n]
            • Hyphenation: van

            Noun

            vàn

            1. thing, object

            References

            • Philip Thangliènmâng (2010), Minimal dictionary and Self-tutor Functional Grammar in Zo-English-Hindi, New Delhi: Zoculsin, →ISBN, pages 44, 63
            • Lukram Himmat Singh (2013), A Descriptive Grammar of Zou (PhD thesis), Canchipur: Manipur University, pages 41, 46
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