Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

pen

 - 20 dictionary results
Pen
Wide Selection of High Quality Pens Satisfaction Guaranteed. Order Now!
Levenger.com
Pen
20% Off Your Order + Free Setup on Your First Order. Order Today!
www.Pens.com
Pens At Office Depot
Buy Discount Pens In Many Colors, Types & Brands At Office Depot
www.OfficeDepot.com

pen

1  [pen] noun, verb, penned, pen⋅ning.
Use pen in a Sentence
–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. 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
Pen
Wide Selection of High Quality Pens Satisfaction Guaranteed. Order Now!
Levenger.com
Pen
20% Off Your Order + Free Setup on Your First Order. Order Today!
www.Pens.com

pen

2  [pen] 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.
4. playpen.
5. 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.

pen

3  [pen]
–noun Slang.
penitentiary (def. 1).
Origin:
1880–85; Americanism; shortened form

pen

4  [pen]
–noun
a female swan.
Origin:
1540–50; orig. uncert.

pen-

 
var. of pene- before a vowel: penannular.

Pen.

 
peninsula.
Also, pen.

P.E.N.

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

pene-

 
a combining form meaning “almost,” used in the formation of compound words: penecontemporaneous.
Also, especially before a vowel, pen-.

Origin:
< L paene-, comb. form of paene
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To pen
pen 1   (pěn)   
n.  

  1. 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.

  2. An instrument for writing regarded as a means of expression: "Tyranny has no enemy so formidable as the pen" (William Cobbett).

  3. A writer or an author: a hired pen.

  4. A style of writing: wrote plays with a witty pen.

  5. pens Pinions.

  6. 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.
pen 2   (pěn)   
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.

  2. 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.]
pen 3   (pěn)   
n.  A female swan.

[Origin unknown.]
pen 4   (pěn)   
n.   Informal
A penitentiary; a prison.

[Short for penitentiary.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
pen

  1. n.
    a penitentiary; prison. (Underworld.) : Bart got sent to the pen for fifteen years.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

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.

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.

pen- 
Brythonic for "head;" common in place names in Cornwall and Wales (e.g. Penzance, see also Pendragon).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Financial Dictionary

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

Investopedia.com. Copyright © 1999-2005 - All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Investopedia Inc.
Cite This Source
Idioms & Phrases

pen

see slip of the lip (pen).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Abbreviations & Acronyms
pen
penitentiary
PEN

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

  2. Peru—nuevo sol (currency)

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see pen on Thesaurus | Reference
Pens At Office Depot
Buy Discount Pens In Many Colors, Types & Brands At Office Depot
www.OfficeDepot.com
Pen- 50% Off
Starting at $2.49. No Set-Up Fees. No Minimums! Upload Photos & Logos.
www.Vistaprint.com
Pen
For Pen Pen Here
1234Pens.com/Pen
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way