pen definition |Dictionary.com

Related Searches

on Ask.com

pen pals

international pen pals

i am looking for a pen pal in the military

army pen pals

free pen pal websites for teens

snail mail pen pals

email pals

pen

Sponsored Links Pen
Shop Our Selection of Ballpoint, Rollerball, Fountain Pens & More
www.Levenger.com

Pens from $0.13
Save on a huge selection of quality pens. Quick Shipping.
www.pensrus.com

Pen
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed - Value Pens .17¢ for 500 = $85
www.4imprint.com/Pens

22 dictionary results for: pen

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pen1

[pen] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, penned, pen·ning.

–noun

1.	any of various instruments for writing or drawing with ink or a similar substance.

2.	a detachable metal penpoint, filled by dipping or with a quill; nib.

3.	such a penpoint with its penholder.

4.	fountain pen.

5.	ball-point pen.

6.	the pen as the instrument of writing or authorship: The pen is mightier than the sword.

7.	a person's style or quality of writing: He writes with a witty, incisive pen.

8.	a writer: I leave this story to abler pens.

9.	the profession of writing: a master of the pen.

10.	stylus (def. 3).

11.

Ornithology.

a quill.

b.	a pinfeather.

12.	something resembling or suggesting a feather or quill.

13.	Zoology. an internal, corneous or chitinous, feather-shaped structure in certain cephalopods, as the squid.

–verb (used with object)

14.	to write with or as with a pen; put down in writing: to pen an essay.

15.	to draw with or as with a pen: to pen a sketch.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME penne < OF penne pen, feather < LL penna, L: feather

]

—Related forms

penlike, adjective

penner, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Sponsored Links Pen
Shop Our Selection of Ballpoint, Rollerball, Fountain Pens & More
www.Levenger.com

Pens from $0.13
Save on a huge selection of quality pens. Quick Shipping.
www.pensrus.com

Pen
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed - Value Pens .17¢ for 500 = $85
www.4imprint.com/Pens

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pen2

[pen] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, penned or pent, pen·ning.

–noun

1.	a small enclosure for domestic animals.

2.	animals so enclosed: We have a pen of twenty sheep.

3.	an enclosure used for confinement or safekeeping: We have built several pens to hold our harvest of corn.

playpen.

bull pen.

6.	a dock having a protective concrete structure overhead, used to service and repair submarines.

–verb (used with object)

7.	to confine in or as in a pen.

[Origin: bef. 1000; (n.) ME penne, OE penn (in compounds); perh. akin to pin; (v.) ME pennen, deriv. of the n.

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pen3

[pen] Pronunciation Key

–noun Slang.

penitentiary (def. 1).

[Origin: 1880–85; Americanism; shortened form

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pen4

[pen] Pronunciation Key

–noun

a female swan.

[Origin: 1540–50; orig. uncert.

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Pen.

peninsula.

Also, pen.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

P.E.N.

International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pen¹ (pěn) Pronunciation Key
n.

An instrument for writing or drawing with ink or similar fluid, especially:
1. A ballpoint pen.
2. A fountain pen.
3. A pen point.
4. A penholder and its pen point.
5. A quill.
An instrument for writing regarded as a means of expression: "Tyranny has no enemy so formidable as the pen" (William Cobbett).
A writer or an author: a hired pen.
A style of writing: wrote plays with a witty pen.
pens Pinions.
The chitinous internal shell of a squid.

tr.v. penned, pen·ning, pens
To write or compose with or as if with a pen.

[Middle English penne, from Old French, from Late Latin penna, from Latin, feather; see pet- in Indo-European roots.]

pen'ner n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pen² (pěn) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. A fenced enclosure for animals.
2. The animals kept in such an enclosure.
3. Any of various enclosures, such as a bullpen or playpen, used for a variety of purposes.
A repair dock for submarines.

tr.v. penned or pent (pěnt), pen·ning, pens
To confine in or as if in a pen. See Synonyms at enclose.

[Middle English, from Old English penn.]

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pen³ (pěn) Pronunciation Key
n. A female swan.

[Origin unknown.]

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pen⁴ (pěn) Pronunciation Key
n. Informal
A penitentiary; a prison.

[Short for penitentiary.]

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pen (1)

"writing implement," c.1300, from O.Fr. penne "quill pen, feather," from L. penna "feather," from PIE *petna-, suffixed form of base *pet- "to rush, fly" (see petition). From the same base comes suffixed form *petra-, source of Skt. patram "wing, feather," Gk. pteron "wing," O.C.S. pero "pen," O.N. fjöðr, O.E. feðer (see feather). In later Fr., this word means only "long feather of a bird," while the equivalent of Eng. plume is used for "writing implement," the senses of the two words thus reversed from what they are in English. The verb is 1490, from the noun. Pen-pal first recorded 1938, gradually replacing earlier pen-friend (1933). Pen-and-ink (adj.) is attested from 1676.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
pen (2)

"enclosure for animals," O.E. penn, penne, "enclosure," perhaps related to O.E. pinn "pin, peg" (see pin) on notion of a bolted gate or else "structure made of pointed stakes." The verb, "to enclose in a pen" is attested from c.1200. Slang noun meaning "prison" (1884) is shortening of penitentiary (q.v.), but earlier use (1845) is probably a fig. extension of this word.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

pen
noun
1.	a writing implement with a point from which ink flows
2.	an enclosure for confining livestock
3.	a portable enclosure in which babies may be left to play [syn: playpen]
4.	a correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes [syn: penitentiary]
5.	female swan
verb
1.	produce a literary work; "She composed a poem"; "He wrote four novels" [syn: write]

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

pen

see slip of the lip (pen).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This

PEN

In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Peruvian Nuevo Sol.

Investopedia Commentary

The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion.

See also: Currency, FOREX, Hard Currency, Money

Also spelled: PEN

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Pen#a Pobre, PR (comunidad, FIPS 60945) Location: 18.21873 N, 65.82288 W
Population (1990): 1127 (353 housing units)
Area: 0.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

Pen#uelas zona, PR (urbana, FIPS 61074) Location: 18.06151 N, 66.72140 W
Population (1990): 5918 (1774 housing units)
Area: 2.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

Pen Argyl, PA (borough, FIPS 58696) Location: 40.86795 N, 75.25419 W
Population (1990): 3492 (1438 housing units)
Area: 3.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 18072

Parcelas Pen#uelas, PR (comunidad, FIPS 59440) Location: 18.00402 N, 66.34010 W
Population (1990): 1099 (337 housing units)
Area: 0.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Pen

Pen\, n. [OE. penne, OF. penne, pene, F. penne, fr. L. penna.]

1. A feather. [Obs.] --Spenser.

2. A wing. [Obs.] --Milton.

3. An instrument used for writing with ink, formerly made of a reed, or of the quill of a goose or other bird, but now also of other materials, as of steel, gold, etc. Also, originally, a stylus or other instrument for scratching or graving.

Graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock. --Job xix. 24.

4. Fig.: A writer, or his style; as, he has a sharp pen. "Those learned pens." --Fuller.

5. (Zo["o]l.) The internal shell of a squid.

6. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zo["o]l.) A female swan. [Prov. Eng.]

Bow pen. See Bow-pen.

Dotting pen, a pen for drawing dotted lines.

Drawing, or Ruling, pen, a pen for ruling lines having a pair of blades between which the ink is contained.

Fountain pen, Geometric pen. See under Fountain, and Geometric.

Music pen, a pen having five points for drawing the five lines of the staff.

Pen and ink, or pen-and-ink, executed or done with a pen and ink; as, a pen and ink sketch.

Pen feather. A pin feather. [Obs.]

Pen name. See under Name.

Sea pen (Zo["o]l.), a pennatula. [Usually written sea-pen.]

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Pen

Pen\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Penned; p. pr. & vb. n. Penning.] To write; to compose and commit to paper; to indite; to compose; as, to pen a sonnet. "A prayer elaborately penned." --Milton.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Pen

Pen\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pennedor Pent (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Penning.] [OE. pennen, AS. pennan in on-pennan to unfasten, prob. from the same source as pin, and orig. meaning, to fasten with a peg.See Pin, n. & v.] To shut up, as in a pen or cage; to confine in a small inclosure or narrow space; to coop up, or shut in; to inclose. "Away with her, and pen her up." --Shak.

Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve. --Milton.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Pen

Pen\, n. [From Pen to shut in.] A small inclosure; as, a pen for sheep or for pigs.

My father stole two geese out of a pen. --Shak.

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Abbreviations Dictionary 3rd Edition - Cite This Source - Share This

pen
penitentiary

CITE THIS SOURCE|PRINT

American Heritage Abbreviations Dictionary 3rd Edition - Cite This Source - Share This

PEN