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plum·age 
Audio Help [ploo-mij] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [ploo-mij] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | the entire feathery covering of a bird. |
| 2. | feathers collectively. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Plumage
To learn more about Plumage visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| plum·age
Audio Help (plōō'mĭj) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Middle English, from Old French, from plume, plume, from Latin plūma.] plum'aged adj. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
plumage
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| plumage | |
noun | |
| the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds [syn: feather] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
plumage [ˈpluːmidʒ] noun
the feathers of a bird or birds
Example: The peacock has (a) brilliant plumage.
Example: The peacock has (a) brilliant plumage.
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
plumage
Audio Help (pl 'mĭj) Pronunciation Key
The covering of feathers on a bird. |
| The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
Plumage
Feath"er\, n. [OE. fether, AS. fe?der; akin to D. veder, OHG. fedara, G. feder, Icel. fj["o]?r, Sw. fj["a]der, Dan. fj[ae]der, Gr. ? wing, feather, ? to fly, Skr. pattra wing, feathr, pat to fly, and prob. to L. penna feather, wing. [root]76, 248. Cf. Pen a feather.]1. One of the peculiar dermal appendages, of several kinds, belonging to birds, as contour feathers, quills, and down. Note: An ordinary feather consists of the quill or hollow basal part of the stem; the shaft or rachis, forming the upper, solid part of the stem; the vanes or webs, implanted on the rachis and consisting of a series of slender lamin[ae] or barbs, which usually bear barbicels and interlocking hooks by which they are fastened together. See Down, Quill, Plumage. 2. Kind; nature; species; -- from the proverbial phrase, "Birds of a feather," that is, of the same species. [R.] I am not of that feather to shake off My friend when he must need me. --Shak. 3. The fringe of long hair on the legs of the setter and some other dogs. 4. A tuft of peculiar, long, frizzly hair on a horse. 5. One of the fins or wings on the shaft of an arrow. 6. (Mach. & Carp.) A longitudinal strip projecting as a fin from an object, to strengthen it, or to enter a channel in another object and thereby prevent displacement sidwise but permit motion lengthwise; a spline. 7. A thin wedge driven between the two semicylindrical parts of a divided plug in a hole bored in a stone, to rend the stone. --Knight. 8. The angular adjustment of an oar or paddle-wheel float, with reference to a horizontal axis, as it leaves or enters the water. Note: Feather is used adjectively or in combination, meaning composed of, or resembling, a feather or feathers; as, feather fan, feather-heeled, feather duster. Feather alum (Min.), a hydrous sulphate of alumina, resulting from volcanic action, and from the decomposition of iron pyrites; -- called also halotrichite. --Ure. Feather bed, a bed filled with feathers. Feather driver, one who prepares feathers by beating. Feather duster, a dusting brush of feathers. Feather flower, an artifical flower made of feathers, for ladies' headdresses, and other ornamental purposes. Feather grass (Bot.), a kind of grass (Stipa pennata) which has a long feathery awn rising from one of the chaffy scales which inclose the grain. Feather maker, one who makes plumes, etc., of feathers, real or artificial. Feather ore (Min.), a sulphide of antimony and lead, sometimes found in capillary forms and like a cobweb, but also massive. It is a variety of Jamesonite. Feather shot, or Feathered shot (Metal.), copper granulated by pouring into cold water. --Raymond. Feather spray (Naut.), the spray thrown up, like pairs of feathers, by the cutwater of a fast-moving vessel. Feather star. (Zo["o]l.) See Comatula. Feather weight. (Racing) (a) Scrupulously exact weight, so that a feather would turn the scale, when a jockey is weighed or weighted. (b) The lightest weight that can be put on the back of a horse in racing. --Youatt. (c) In wrestling, boxing, etc., a term applied to the lightest of the classes into which contestants are divided; -- in contradistinction to light weight, middle weight, and heavy weight. A feather in the cap an honour, trophy, or mark of distinction. [Colloq.] To be in full feather, to be in full dress or in one's best clothes. [Collog.] To be in high feather, to be in high spirits. [Collog.] To cut a feather. (a) (Naut.) To make the water foam in moving; in allusion to the ripple which a ship throws off from her bows. (b) To make one's self conspicuous. [Colloq.] To show the white feather, to betray cowardice, -- a white feather in the tail of a cock being considered an indication that he is not of the true game breed.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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