On a recent Saturday morning as I sat in my chair sipping coffee from a cup (it was a glass Starbucks cup that had been donated a few years ago) while watching Sponge Bob (the grandkids had stayed overnight) my nimble mine was moving at light speed. When your mind moves as fast as mine, things are often a blur. Some people think this blur is cause by old age, possibly a slowing of the brain, but it is actually due to the brain speeding up.
A word popped into my head and I began to think of its use and definition.
Fan 1. Any device for producing a current of air by the movement of a broad surface or a number of such surfaces: 2. An implement of feathers, leaves, paper, cloth, etc., often in the shape of a long triangle or of a semicircle, for waving lightly in the hand to create a cooling current of air about a person:
There is another definition of the word fan. I was surprised, as you will be, at its origin. A fan can also be a person that likes something or someone. It is a common misconception to assume that the word fan when used in the admiration of someone or something is a contraction of the word fascination.
It seems, back in the olden days before there was air-conditioning, people would use hand held fans to provide some cooling air when attending an event or service. When reporters, looking at the those in attendance at an event, saw these fans waving they began to comment that X-number of fans were present… and that is how the word fan began to be used when referring to the devotees and or followers.
I hope you have a fantastic day.
Don Ford
For those of you who might believe the above, it was made up from my fertile mind. I have no idea how the word fan began to be used.
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