van \van\, n. abbrev. fr. vanguard.
   the front of an army; the first line or leading column; also,
   the front line or foremost division of a fleet, either in
   sailing or in battle.
   1913 webster

         standards and gonfalons, twixt van and rear,
         stream in the air.                       --milton.
   1913 webster

van \van\, n. cornish. mining
   a shovel used in cleansing ore.
   1913 webster

van \van\, v. t. mining
   to wash or cleanse, as a small portion of ore, on a shovel.
   --raymond.
   1913 webster

van \van\, n. abbreviated from caravan.
   1913 webster
   1. a light wagon, either covered or open, used by tradesmen
      and others for the transportation of goods. eng.
      1913 webster

   2. a large covered wagon for moving furniture, etc., also for
      conveying wild beasts, etc., for exhibition.
      1913 webster

   3. a closed railway car for baggage. see the note under
      car, 2. eng.
      1913 webster
see also:
car 

van \van\, n. l. vannus a van, or fan for winnowing grain: cf.
   f. van. cf. fan, van a wing winnow.
   1913 webster
   1. a fan or other contrivance, as a sieve, for winnowing
      grain.
      1913 webster

   2. of. vanne, f. vanneau beam feather cf. it. vanno a wing
      fr. l. vannus. see etymology above. a wing with which the
      air is beaten. archaic "/angels on their plumy vans
      received him. " --milton.
      1913 webster

            he wheeled in air, and stretched his vans in vain;
            his vans no longer could his flight sustain.
                                                  --dryden.
      1913 webster
see also:
fan van winnow 

van \van\, v. t. cf. f. vanner to winnow, to fan. see van a
   winnowing machine.
   to fan, or to cleanse by fanning; to winnow. obs. --bacon.
   1913 webster
see also:
van 

caravan \car"avan\ ka^r".ava^n or ka^r.ava^n";
   277, n. f. caravane cf. sp. caravana, fr. per. karw=an
   a caravan in sense 1. cf. van a wagon.
   1. a company of travelers, pilgrims, or merchants, organized
      and equipped for a long journey, or marching or traveling
      together, esp. through deserts and countries infested by
      robbers or hostile tribes, as in asia or africa.
      1913 webster

   2. a large, covered wagon, or a train of such wagons, for
      conveying wild beasts, etc., for exhibition; an itinerant
      show, as of wild beasts.
      1913 webster

   3. a covered vehicle for carrying passengers or for moving
      furniture, etc.; -- sometimes shorted into van.
      1913 webster
see also:
van van 

van
     n 1: any creative group active in the innovation and application
          of new concepts and techniques in a given field
          especially in the arts syn: avant-garde, vanguard,
           new wave
     2: the leading units moving at the head of an army syn: vanguard
     3: a camper equipped with living quarters syn: caravan
     4: a truck with an enclosed cargo space
see also:
avant-garde vanguard new wave caravan 

97 moby thesaurus words for "van":
   conestoga wagon, pullman, pullman car, advance guard, airhead,
   anteposition, armed guard, avant-garde, baggage car, bank guard,
   battle line, beachhead, boxcar, bridgehead, caboose, car, caravan,
   carriage, chair car, coach, coal car, coast guard, cordon,
   cordon sanitaire, covered waggon, covered wagon, day coach, diner,
   dinghy, dining car, drawing room, dray, farthest outpost,
   first line, flat, flatcar, forefront, foregoing, front, front line,
   front rank, front-runner, garrison, goalie, goalkeeper, goaltender,
   gondola, guard, guarder, guardsman, haywagon, heading,
   inlying picket, jailer, le pas, leading, line, local, luggage van,
   mail car, mail van, outguard, outpost, palace car, parlor car,
   passenger car, picket, pioneer, point, prairie schooner,
   precedence, preceding, precursor, priority, railhead, railway car,
   rear guard, reefer, refrigerator car, roomette, scout,
   security guard, sleeper, smoker, smoking car, spearhead, stockcar,
   tank, tender, the lead, train guard, truck, vanguard, waggon,
   wagon, wain, warder

van
     value added network
     
     

van
     
        value added network
     
     
see also:
value added network 

van, tx city, fips 74912
  location: 32.52367 n, 95.63731 w
  population 1990: 1854 850 housing units
  area: 7.7 sq km land, 0.0 sq km water
  zip codes: 75790
van, wv
  zip codes: 25206

van, tx -- u.s. city in texas
   population 2000:    2362
   housing units 2000: 999
   land area 2000:     2.991353 sq. miles 7.747569 sq. km
   water area 2000:    0.000000 sq. miles 0.000000 sq. km
   total area 2000:    2.991353 sq. miles 7.747569 sq. km
   fips code:            74912
   located within:       texas tx, fips 48
   location:             32.526029 n, 95.636493 w
   zip codes 1990:     75790
   note: some zip codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
   headwords:
    van, tx
    van