PEN


Meaning of PEN in English

I. ˈpen noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English penn

1.

a. : a small enclosure for animals ; also : the animals in one such enclosure

erected a pen for the calves

or enough to fill one

stole a whole pen of sheep

b. : a specified number of animals entered in an exhibition as a unit

a pen of one cock and four hens

c. : a number of animals regarded as a suitable breeding unit whether kept together or not

start with a pen of one buck and 10 does

2. : a device to dam the water in a stream : dam

3. : any small place of confinement or storage: as

a. : bullpen 1

b. : playpen

4. Jamaica : a farm where livestock is bred and raised

5.

a. : a berthing area for small ships or boats formed by enclosing piers or jetties

b. : a dock or slip for reconditioning submarines that is protected against aerial bombs by a superstructure of thick concrete

6. : a hollow square crib of pulpwood stacked for storage

II. transitive verb

( penned ; penned ; penning ; pens )

Etymology: Middle English pennen, from Old English -pennian, from penn pen

1. : to shut in or as if in a pen : place in an enclosure to prevent straying : confine in a restricted location

pens the sheep in the barnyard

a convalescent child penned up in a house

the individual's being so bafflingly penned within himself — W.M.Frohock

2. : to exhibit (as rabbits, poultry) in pens : arrange a show of penned animals

Synonyms: see enclose

III. noun

( -s )

Usage: often attributive

Etymology: Middle English penne, from Middle French, feather, wing, pen, from Latin pinna, alteration of penna feather, wing; akin to Greek pteron wing, feather — more at feather

1. archaic

a. : feather

b. pens plural : pinions, wings

c. : quill 2a(1)

2. : an implement for writing or drawing with ink or a similar fluid:

a. : quill 3a

b. : a small thin convex metal device tapering to a split point and fitting into a holder for writing and drawing with ink or a similar fluid — called also nib ; see stub

c. : a penholder (as of wood) containing a pen

d. : any of various similar implements (as a fountain pen, ball-point pen, ruling pen)

3.

a. : a writing instrument regarded as a means of expression (as of thoughts, feelings)

lived by his pen

verses from her pen had been published in the … newspapers — H.E.Starr

enlisted the pens of the best writers — F.H.Chase

such a scene as no pen can describe — Irish Digest

b. : a manner of style of writing

his vivid pen gave a truthful picture of the Southern capital — J.S.Wilson b. 1880

c. : writer

4. : pinfeather

5. : the internal horny feather-shaped shell of a squid — called also gladius

IV. transitive verb

( penned ; penned ; penning ; pens )

Etymology: Middle English pennen, from penne pen

: write:

a. : to record in writing in proper form

a minute was penned that the Corporation might pay … the cost — Crompton & Royton Chronicle

b. : to compose and commit to paper

pen a letter

the best novel he ever penned

c. : to write with a pen

Salesman A pens angular letters — H.O.Teltscher

V. noun

( -s )

Etymology: origin unknown

: a female swan — compare cob III 2

VI. noun

( -s )

Etymology: by shortening

slang : penitentiary

VII. abbreviation

1. penetration

2. peninsula

3. penitent

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.