weather vane


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weather vane

n
(Physical Geography) a vane designed to indicate the direction in which the wind is blowing
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

weath′er vane`

or weath′er•vane`,


n.
a device, as a rod to which a freely rotating pointer is attached, to indicate the direction of wind.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.weather vane - mechanical device attached to an elevated structureweather vane - mechanical device attached to an elevated structure; rotates freely to show the direction of the wind
mechanical device - mechanism consisting of a device that works on mechanical principles
weathercock - weathervane with a vane in the form of a rooster
wind tee - weather vane shaped like a T and located at an airfield
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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References in classic literature ?
Bright shone the sun on battlement and tower, and in the blue air overhead a Hock of clattering jackdaws flew around the gilded weather vane and spire.
I'D BEEN IMPRESSED FOR YEARS BY weather vanes I'd seen around the country.
That weather vane, believed to have been 4 to 8 feet long, had the head and chest of a man and the tail of a fish.
The drama started on Monday afternoon when a passerby noticed the weather vane at the top of the 200fthigh landmark, in New Union Street, was leaning precariously.
"Taking shots at a weather vane is something that you can imagine Dad's Army doing - it would have been a good idea for one of their programmes."
Church warden Struan Wilson said that although the weather vane wasn't in danger of falling off, the work was becoming increasingly necessary.
The group has also splashed out pounds 4,000 on a new weather vane. Now the bells will ring out on Sunday for morning worship.
The magnificent 4ft 4in wide sailing ship weather vane (called the Donnelly in Liverpool folklore) was regilded for pounds 500 with 23 carat gold courtesy of a parishioner.
Featuring an extra large thermometer, for readings in Celsius and Fahrenheit, it also has an incremental rain catcher, anemometer to observe wind speed and a weather vane.
The first known weather vane was of the Greek sea god, Triton, which was made sometime in the first century BC in Athens.
A weather vane ($45 and up) tells which direction the wind is coming from, often a tipoff for weather changes.
PART of Coventry city centre was evacuated yesterday after a weather vane threatened to topple off Christ Church spire.