English

fanwar

From fan + war.

Formed from fan + war

Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow’

Latin vannus ‘fan for winnowing grain’

Old English fann ‘a winnowing fan’

Middle English fan

English fan

Proto-Indo-European *wers- ‘to mix up, confuse’

…

Medieval Latin werra

Old Northern French werre

Old English werre ‘armed conflict’

Middle English werre

English war

Today it means

noun A rivalry between fandoms, usually carried out on the internet.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.