English Explanatory Dictionary

plume

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.
  2. A cluster of feathers worn as an ornament, especially on a helmet; a hackle.
  3. A token of honour or prowess; that on which one prides oneself; a prize or reward.
  4. The vane (“flattened, web-like part”) of a feather, especially when on a quill pen or the fletching of an arrow.
  5. Ellipsis of plume moth (“a small, slender moth of the family Pterophoridae”).
  6. Things resembling a feather.
  7. A cloud formed by a dispersed substance fanning out or spreading.
  8. An upward spray of mist or water.
  9. An arc of glowing material (chiefly gases) erupting from the surface of a star.
  10. A large and flexible panicle of an inflorescence resembling a feather, such as is seen in certain large ornamental grasses.
  11. Ellipsis of mantle plume (“an upwelling of abnormally hot molten material from the Earth's mantle which spreads sideways when it reaches the lithosphere”).
  12. A body part resembling a feather.
verb
  1. To adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or plumes, or as if with feathers or plumes.
  2. Chiefly of a bird: to arrange and preen the feathers of, specifically in preparation for flight; hence (figurative), to prepare for (something).
  3. To congratulate (oneself) proudly, especially concerning something unimportant or when taking credit for another person's effort; to self-congratulate; to preen.
  4. To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.
  5. To peel, to strip completely; to pillage; also, to deprive of power.
  6. Of a hawk: to pluck the feathers from prey.
  7. Of a dispersed substance such as dust or smoke: to fan out or spread in a cloud.
name
  1. A surname

Pronunciation

/ˈpluːm/ /ˈpljuːm/ /ˈplum/ En-us-plume.ogg

Word forms

plume plumes pluming plumed no-table-tags glossary plumest plumedst plumeth

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *plew- Proto-Indo-European *plewk-der. Proto-Indo-European *plewk-smeh₂ Proto-Italic *plouksmā Latin plūma Anglo-Norman plumebor. Middle English plume English plume From Late Middle English plum, plume (“feather; plumage”), from Anglo-Norman plum, plume, from Old French plume, plome (“feather, plumage”), from Latin plūma (“feather, plumage”) (compare Late Latin plūma (“pen, quill”)), from Proto-Italic *plouksmā, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”). Doublet of pluma.

Synonyms

aigrette feather in one's cap feather fledge unplume

Related words

aigrette plumage plumaged

Derived words

antiplume Apache plume displume emplume interplume megaplume nom-de-plume plume alum plumebird plume grass plume head plume holder plume-holder plumeless plumelet plumelike plume moth plume nutmeg plume poppy plumery plumeseed plume tail plumist plumy prince's plume pull someone's plumes semiplume Silver Plume Spanish plume superplume warrior's plume plumed replume unplume unplumed Plumian
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