feather

10 entries found for feather.
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feather[1,noun] feather[2,verb] Feather contour feather feather bed feather star flight feather prince's feather tar[2,transitive verb] white feather

Main Entry: ¹feath·er
Pronunciation: 'fe-[th]&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English fether, from Old English; akin to Old High German federa wing, Latin petere to go to, seek, Greek petesthai to fly, piptein to fall, pteron wing
1 a : any of the light horny epidermal outgrowths that form the external covering of the body of birds and that consist of a shaft bearing on each side a series of barbs which bear barbules which in turn bear barbicels commonly ending in hooked hamuli and interlocking with the barbules of an adjacent barb to link the barbs into a continuous vane b archaic : PLUME 2a c : the vane of an arrow
2 a : PLUMAGE b : KIND, NATURE <birds of a feather flock together> c : ATTIRE, DRESS d : CONDITION, MOOD <woke up in fine feather> e plural : COMPOSURE <some feathers had been ruffled -- D. J. Blum>
3 : FEATHERING 2
4 : a projecting strip, rib, fin, or flange
5 : a feathery flaw in the eye or in a precious stone
6 : the act of feathering an oar
- feath·ered /-[th]&rd/ adjective
- feath·er·less adjective
- a feather in one's cap : a mark of distinction : HONOR
[feather illustration]