English Explanatory Dictionary

pen

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An enclosure (enclosed area) used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.
  2. A penitentiary, i.e. a state or federal prison for convicted felons.
  3. The bullpen.
verb
  1. To enclose in a pen.
noun
  1. A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used to write or make marks.
  2. A writer, or their style.
  3. Marks of ink left by a pen.
  4. A light pen.
  5. The internal cartilage skeleton of a squid, shaped like a pen.
  6. A feather, especially one of the flight feathers of a bird, angel etc.
  7. A wing.
  8. A syringe-like device for injecting a dose of medication such as insulin or epinephrine. (See Injector pen.)
  9. Ellipsis of vapor pen (“electronic cigarette”).
verb
  1. To write (an article, a book, etc.).
noun
  1. A female swan.
noun
  1. Penalty.
noun
  1. Penetration.
noun
  1. plural of pan
noun
  1. Abbreviation of polyethylene naphthalate.
  2. Abbreviation of penalty (a scorecard score when a skater is penalized out of their skate).
name
  1. A diminutive of the female given name Penelope.
name
  1. The 68th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.

Pronunciation

/ˈpɛn/ [ˈpʰɛn] En-us-pen.ogg En-us-inlandnorth-pen.ogg /ˈpɪn/ [ˈpʰɪ̟n]

Word forms

pen pens penning penned pent the Pen

Etymology

From Middle English pen, penne (“enclosure for animals”), from Old English penn (“enclosure, fold, pen”), from Proto-Germanic *pennō, *pannijō (“pin, bolt, nail, tack”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“pointed peg, nail, edge”). Related to pin. Sense “prison” originally figurative extension to “enclosure for persons” (1845), later influenced by penitentiary (“prison”), being analyzed as an abbreviation (1884).

Synonyms

biro pen swaness

Related words

pin prison pin-pen merger

Derived words

blast pen bullpen cattle pen cowpen crush pen henpen hogpen impen penkeeper penkeeping Pen Mill pennage pentrough pigpen playpen potato pen shuck pen unpen goose-pen pent pent-up pen up 3D pen ball pen ball-point pen beard pen border pen bow pen brush pen bull pen cartridge pen conductive pen dab pen dip one's pen in someone's inkwell dip pen don't dip your pen in company ink electric pen EpiPen eraser pen feather pen felt pen felt-tipped pen felt-tip pen fountain pen fude-pen fude pen gel pen geometric pen glass dip pen glass pen goose pen ink pen J pen judge's pen keelyvine pen knight of the pen laser pen lettering pen marker pen marking pen
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