/ fæŋ; NAmE / noun
[ usually pl. ] either of two long sharp teeth at the front of the mouths of some animals, such as a snake or dog
—picture at cobra
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WORD ORIGIN
late Old English (denoting booty or spoils), from Old Norse fang capture, grasp. A sense trap, snare is recorded from the mid 16th cent.; both this and the original sense survive in Scots . The current sense (also mid 16th cent.) reflects the same idea of something that catches and holds .