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Pent
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is bowdlerise. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to bark; yelp. |
Pent.
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.
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; Middle English penne < Old French penne pen, feather < Late Latin penna, Latin: feather
1250–1300; Middle English penne < Old French penne pen, feather < Late Latin penna, Latin: feather
Related forms
pen·like, adjective
pen·ner, noun
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.
5.
verb (used with object)
7.
to confine in or as in a pen.
Origin:
before 1000; (noun) Middle English penne, Old English penn (in compounds); perhaps akin to pin; (v.) Middle English pennen, derivative of the noun
before 1000; (noun) Middle English penne, Old English penn (in compounds); perhaps akin to pin; (v.) Middle English pennen, derivative of the noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To pent
Collins
World English Dictionary
pen1 (pɛn) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | ballpoint See also fountain pen an implement for writing or drawing using ink, formerly consisting of a sharpened and split quill, and now of a metal nib attached to a holder |
| 2. | the writing end of such an implement; nib |
| 3. | style of writing |
| 4. | the pen |
| a. writing as an occupation | |
| b. the written word: the pen is mightier than the sword | |
| 5. | the long horny internal shell of a squid |
| —vb , pens, penning, penned | |
| 6. | (tr) to write or compose |
| [Old English pinne, from Late Latin penna (quill) pen, from Latin: feather] | |
| pen2 (pɛn) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an enclosure in which domestic animals are kept: sheep pen |
| 2. | any place of confinement |
| 3. | a dock for servicing submarines, esp one having a bombproof roof |
| —vb , pens, penning, penned, pent | |
| 4. | (tr) to enclose or keep in a pen |
| [Old English penn, perhaps related to | |
| pen3 (pɛn) | |
| —n | |
| informal (US), (Canadian) short for penitentiary | |
| pen4 (pɛn) | |
| —n | |
| a female swan | |
| [C16: of unknown origin] | |
| PEN (pɛn) | |
| —n acronym for | |
| International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists | |
| pent (pɛnt) | |
| —vb | |
| a past tense and past participle of pen | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
pen
"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
"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.
pent
"kept in, confined," c.1550, variant of penned, pp. of the verb from pen (2).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
pen definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
| pen penitentiary |
PEN
|
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
But for the first time in some years, a well of substantial pent-up demand seems to be building.
There had to be pent-up demand out there for something better.
And you can see these pent-up frustrations that are being displayed on the streets.
Pent-up demand for urban living is evident in housing prices.
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