fanlike

Fanlike is an adjective used to describe objects, forms, or patterns that resemble a handheld fan in shape or arrangement. The word combines the noun fan with the suffix -like to indicate resemblance and is commonly used in descriptive writing across disciplines. While similar to fan-shaped, fanlike emphasizes likeness rather than a fixed geometric category, allowing for broader radiating or spreading forms.

In botany, fanlike describes leaves or fronds that spread outward from a narrow base to form a broad, usually shallowly curved outline. Classic examples include Ginkgo biloba leaves, which are famously fan-shaped, and many palm fronds that form a fanlike, radiating canopy. The term can also apply to flowers or inflorescences whose petals or branches are arranged in a spreading, radiating manner.

In anatomy and zoology, fanlike describes structures whose elements radiate from a central point, such as muscles, membranes, or vascular patterns that spread outward like the blades of a fan. The description emphasizes a radial or spreading arrangement rather than a strict two-dimensional silhouette.

In design and architecture, fanlike silhouettes feature radial symmetry or elements that extend outward from a center, as in decorative motifs or ribbed vaults that resemble a fan. The term is also used more loosely to convey any pattern that fans out from a central hub.

See also: fan, palmately, radiate, radial symmetry, fan-shaped.