Home › Words › P › paravaneparavaneparavane means A device, stabilized with vanes, towed alongside a vessel such that the cable attaching it cuts the moorings of submerged mines.EtymologyFrom para- + vane.nounA device, stabilized with vanes, towed alongside a vessel such that the cable attaching it cuts the moorings of submerged mines.A towed underwater object with hydrofoils, of diverse uses.e.g.“'We have a paravane on board the yacht,' continued Mr. Big as if he were a surgeon describing a delicate operation to a body of students, 'which we use for trawling for shark and other big fish.'” — 1954, Ian Fleming, “'Good Night To You Both'”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 226:Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).