PREEN


Meaning of PREEN in English

■ verb

1》 (of a bird) tidy and clean its feathers with its beak.

2》 (of a person) devote effort to making oneself look attractive.

3》 ( ~ oneself ) congratulate or pride oneself.

Derivatives

~er noun

Origin

ME: appar. a var. of obs. prune (based on L. ungere 'anoint'), in the same sense, assoc. with Scots and north. Engl. dialect ~ 'pierce, pin' (because of the ‘pricking’ action of the bird's beak).

Concise Oxford English vocab.      Сжатый оксфордский словарь английского языка.