“fins” is a form of
fin
/fɪn/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms fins finning finned
- noun (ichthyology, zootomy) One of the appendages of a fish, used to propel itself and to manoeuvre/maneuver. “The fish's fins minimize water flow.”
- noun A similar appendage of a cetacean or other marine animal. “a dolphin's fin”
- noun A thin, rigid component of an aircraft, extending from the fuselage and used to stabilise and steer the aircraft. “The fin stabilises the plane in flight.”
- noun A similar structure protruding from a projectile, used to help keep it on course.
- noun (surfing) A similar structure on the bottom of a surfboard, used to help steer it.
- noun A hairstyle, resembling the fin of a fish, in which the hair is combed and set into a vertical ridge along the top of the head from about the crown to the forehead.
- noun A device worn by divers and swimmers on their feet. “The divers wore fins to swim faster.”
- noun An extending part on a surface of a radiator, engine, heatsink, etc., used to facilitate cooling.
- verb (transitive) To cut the fins from a fish, shark, etc.
- verb (intransitive) (Of a fish) to swim with the dorsal fin above the surface of the water.
- verb (intransitive) To swim in the manner of a fish. “A neutrally buoyant diver does not need to fin to maintain depth.”
- verb (transitive) To provide (a motor vehicle etc) with fins.
- noun (UK, formerly Australia, slang) a five-pound (£5) note; the sum of five pounds.
- noun (US, slang, dated) A five-dollar bill; the sum of five dollars.
- noun (archaic, film, television) "The end".
- noun (obsolete, road signs) Denotes the end of the road.
- noun (informal) finasteride
- proper noun commune in the Somme department in France
Synonyms
flipper vane Mohican finny fiver finnuf Lincoln finis five 5 V cinque quint quintet fivesome quintuplet pentad Phoebe Little Phoebe tail fin tailfin louver louvre break water
Etymology
From Middle English fin, from Old English finn, from Proto-Germanic *finnō, *finǭ (“dorsal fin”) (compare Dutch vin, German Finne, Swedish finne, fena), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pīn- (“backbone, dorsal fin”) (compare Old Irish ind (“end, point”), Latin pinna (“feather, wing, fin”), Tocharian A spin (“hook”).
From Yiddish פֿינף (finf, “five”). Doublet of cinque, finnuf, five, pimp (“five”), ponzu, punch (“beverage”), and sengi (“currency”).
From French fin (“end”). Doublet of fine and finis.
Clipping of finasteride.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To carve or cut up, as a chub.
- noun End; conclusion; object. [Obs.] "She knew eke the fin of his intent." Chaucer.
- noun An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous ossicles, and serving to balance and propel it in the water.
- noun A membranous, finlike, swimming organ, as in pteropod and heteropod mollusks.
Etymology [Cf. Fin of a fish.]
Etymology [See Fine, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “fin”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details