I. pen 1 S2 /pen/ BrE AmE noun
[ Sense 1,3: Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: penne 'feather, pen' , from Latin penna 'feather' ]
[ Sense 2: Language: Old English ; Origin: penn ]
[ Sense 4: Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: penitentiary ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] an instrument for writing or drawing with ink ⇨ pencil , biro :
a ballpoint pen
a felt-tip pen
in pen
Please fill out the form in pen.
a pen and ink drawing
2 . [countable] a small piece of land enclosed by a fence to keep farm animals in:
a sheep pen
⇨ ↑ playpen
3 . put/set pen to paper to begin to write
4 . [countable] American English informal a short form of ↑ penitentiary
5 . [countable] British English informal a ↑ penalty , used especially when talking about football
II. pen 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle penned , present participle penning ) [transitive]
literary to write something such as a letter, a book etc, especially using a pen:
a song penned by George Clinton
pen somebody/something ↔ up/in phrasal verb
1 . to shut an animal in a small enclosed area
2 . be penned up/in to be restricted or forced to remain in a small place:
Norma felt restless and penned in.