feather

feather
n. & v.
—n.
1 any of the appendages growing from a bird's skin, with a horny hollow stem and fine strands.
2 one or more of these as decoration etc.
3 (collect.) a plumage. b game-birds.
—v.
1 tr. cover or line with feathers.
2 tr. Rowing turn (an oar) so that it passes through the air edgeways.
3 tr. Aeron. & Naut. a cause (the propeller blades) to rotate in such a way as to lessen the air or water resistance. b vary the angle of incidence of (helicopter blades).
4 intr. float, move, or wave like feathers.
Phrases and idioms:
feather bed a bed with a mattress stuffed with feathers. feather-bed v.tr. (-bedded, -bedding) provide with (esp. financial) advantages. feather-bedding the employment of excess staff. feather-brain (or -head) a silly or absent-minded person. feather-brained (or -headed) silly, absent-minded. feather-edge the fine edge of a wedge-shaped board. a feather in one's cap an achievement to one's credit. feather one's nest enrich oneself. feather-stitch ornamental zigzag sewing. in fine (or high) feather colloq. in good spirits.
Derivatives:
feathered adj. (also in comb.). featherless adj. feathery adj. featheriness n.
Etymology: OE fether, gefithrian, f. Gmc

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Feather — Feath er (f[e^][th] [ e]r), n. [OE. fether, AS. fe[eth]er; akin to D. veder, OHG. fedara, G. feder, Icel. fj[ o][eth]r, Sw. fj[ a]der, Dan. fj[ae]der, Gr. ptero n wing, feather, pe tesqai to fly, Skr. pattra wing, feather, pat to fly, and prob.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • feather — [feth′ər] n. [ME fether < OE; akin to Ger feder < IE base * pet , to fall, fly > Gr pteron, wing, piptein, L petere, to fall, Sans pátati, (he) flies] 1. Zool. any of the growths covering the body of a bird or making up a large part of… …   English World dictionary

  • Feather — Feath er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Feathered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Feathering.}] 1. To furnish with a feather or feathers, as an arrow or a cap. [1913 Webster] An eagle had the ill hap to be struck with an arrow feathered from her own wing. L Estrange.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • feather — ► NOUN ▪ any of the flat appendages growing from a bird s skin, consisting of a partly hollow horny shaft fringed with vanes of barbs. ► VERB 1) rotate the blades of (a propeller) to lessen the air or water resistance. 2) (feathered) covered or… …   English terms dictionary

  • Feather — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Leonard Feather (1914–1994), britischer Jazzautor, musiker und produzent Lorraine Feather (* 1948), US amerikanische Jazzsängerin und Songwriterin Tiny Feather (1902–1975), US amerikanischer American… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Feather — Feath er, v. i. 1. To grow or form feathers; to become feathered; often with out; as, the birds are feathering out. [1913 Webster] 2. To curdle when poured into another liquid, and float about in little flakes or feathers; as, the cream feathers …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • feather — [n] tuft of bird; plumage calamus, crest, down, fin, fluff, fringe, penna, pinion, pinna, plume, plumule, pompon, quill, shaft, spike, wing; concept 399 …   New thesaurus

  • Feather — For other uses, see Feather (disambiguation). Feather variations Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex… …   Wikipedia

  • feather — featherless, adj. featherlessness, n. featherlike, adj. /fedh euhr/, n. 1. one of the horny structures forming the principal covering of birds, consisting typically of a hard, tubular portion attached to the body and tapering into a thinner,… …   Universalium

  • feather — /ˈfɛðə / (say fedhuh) noun 1. one of the epidermal appendages which together constitute the plumage of birds, being typically made up of a hard, tubelike portion (the quill) attached to the body of the bird, which passes into a thinner, stemlike… …  

  • feather — {{11}}feather (n.) O.E. feðer feather, in plural, wings, from P.Gmc. *fethro (Cf. O.S. fethara, O.N. fioþr, Swed. fjäder, M.Du. vedere, Du. veder, O.H.G. fedara, Ger. Feder), from PIE *petra , zero degree *ptera wing …   Etymology dictionary

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