The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Van \Van\, n. [Cornish.] (Mining)
   A shovel used in cleansing ore.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Van \Van\, v. t. (Mining)
   To wash or cleanse, as a small portion of ore, on a shovel.
   --Raymond.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Caravan \Car"a*van\ (k[a^]r"[.a]*v[a^]n or k[a^]r*[.a]*v[a^]n";
   277), n. [F. caravane (cf. Sp. caravana), fr. Per. karw[=a]n
   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]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

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, van, new
         wave]
    2: the leading units moving at the head of an army [syn:
       vanguard, van]
    3: (Great Britain) a closed railroad car that carries baggage or
       freight
    4: a camper equipped with living quarters [syn: van,
       caravan]
    5: a truck with an enclosed cargo space

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

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



V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (February 2016):

VAN
       Value Added Network


The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

Value Added Network
VAN

    (VAN) A privately owned network that provides a
   specific service, such as legal research or access to a
   specialised database, for a fee.  A Value Added Network
   usually offers some service or information that is not readily
   available on public networks.

   A Value Added Network's customers typically purchase leased
   lines that connect them to the network or they use a dial-up
   number, given by the network owner, to gain access to the
   network.

   (1998-11-10)


U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000):

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