Fen Meaning
/fɛn/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA type of wetland fed by ground water and runoff, containing peat below the waterline, characteristically alkaline.
nounAny swamp or mire (especially with negative connotations).
Sentence Examples
FEN does not carry domestic news.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Hikers avoided the soggy ____ because it was filled with unstable peat and mud.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The low-lying ____ was rich with biodiversity, providing a habitat for many rare species of water birds.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English fen, fenne, from Old English fenn (“fen; marsh; mud; dirt”), Proto-West Germanic *fani, from Proto-Germanic *fanją, from Proto-Indo-European *pen- (“bog, mire”). See also West Frisian fean, Dutch veen, German Fenn, Norwegian fen; also Middle Irish en (“water”), enach (“swamp”), Old Prussian pannean (“peat-bog”), Sanskrit पङ्क (paṅka, “marsh, mud, mire, slough”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Bogs are acidic, nutrient poor, and have a low species diversity, whereas fens are less acidic and have higher nutrient levels and species diversity."
— 1996, Geological Survey (U.S.), National Water Summary on Wetland Resources, →ISBN, page 214:
"Bogs are acidic peatlands, while fens are non-acidic peatlands."
— 2019 February 19, Sincere Humphrey, Freshwater Microbiology, Scientific e-Resources, →ISBN, page 24:
"[...] fens are alkaline. In fact, the precise acidity of a fen depends on the soil through which in-seeping waters have percolated. Northeastern fens vary from somewhat acidic to highly basic (Johnson, 1985, p. 27)."
— 2023 September 26, Rick Cech, Guy Tudor, Butterflies of the East Coast: An Observer's Guide, Princeton University Press, →ISBN, page 15:
"Caliban: As wicked dewe, as ere my mother bruſh'd / With Rauens feather from vnwholeſome Fen / Drop on you both : A Southweſt blow on yee, / And bliſter you all ore."
— 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 4:
"As the sob of the breeze/Sweeps over the trees/And the mists lie low on the fen..."
— 1887, “When the Night Wind Howls”, W. S. Gilbert (lyrics), Arthur Sullivan (music):
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Hikers avoided the soggy ____ because it was filled with unstable peat and mud.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The low-lying ____ was rich with biodiversity, providing a habitat for many rare species of water birds.