feather
pronunciation
How to pronounce feather in British English:
UK [ˈfeðə(r)]
How to pronounce feather in American English:
US [ˈfeðər]
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- Noun:
- the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds
- turning an oar parallel to the water between pulls
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- Verb:
- join tongue and groove, in carpentry
- cover or fit with feathers
- turn the paddle; in canoeing
- turn the oar, while rowing
- grow feathers
Word Origin
- feather
- feather: [OE] The concept of ‘feathers’ is closely bound up with those of ‘wings’ and ‘flying’, and not surprisingly feather belongs to a word family in which all three of these meanings are represented. Its ultimate source is the prehistoric Indo-European base *pet-, which also produced Greek ptéron ‘wing’ (as in English pterodactyl), Latin penna ‘feather, wing’ (source of English pen), and Sanskrit pátati ‘fly’. Its Germanic descendant was *fethrō, from which came German feder, Dutch veer, Swedish fjäder and English feather (itself used in the plural for ‘wings’ in Anglo-Saxon times).=> pen, pterodactyl
- feather (n.)
- Old English feðer "a feather; a pen," in plural, "wings," from Proto-Germanic *fethro (cognates: Old Saxon fethara, Old Norse fioþr, Swedish fjäder, Middle Dutch vedere, Dutch veder, Old High German fedara, German Feder), from PIE *pet-ra-, from root *pet- "to rush, to fly" (see petition (n.)). Feather-headed "silly" is from 1640s. Feather-duster attested by 1835. Figurative use of feather in (one's) cap attested by 1734. Birds of a feather "creatures of the same kind" is from 1580s.
- feather (v.)
- Old English fiðerian "to furnish with feathers or wings," from feðer (see feather (n.)). Meaning "to fit (an arrow) with feathers" is from early 13c.; that of "to deck, adorn, or provide with plumage" is from late 15c. In reference to oars (later paddles, propellers, etc.) from 1740, perhaps from the notion of the blade turned edgewise, or from the spray of the water as it falls off (compare nautical feather-spray, that produced by the cutwater of a fast vessel). The noun in reference to this is from the verb. Meaning "cut down to a thin edge" is from 1782, originally in woodworking. Phrase feather one's nest "enrich oneself" is from 1580s. Related: Feathered; feathering.
Example
- 1. He owns only a bowl and a feather duster .
- 2. Finds his every feather the fossil of a murder .
- 3. But I say , " a bird and a feather in the bush is worth more than ten birds in the hand . "
- 4. The final picture shows pigmentation preserved in a fossil feather .
- 5. There is no reason why bacteria would colonise just part of a feather .