I. ˈfethə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English fether, from Old English; akin to Old High German federa wing, Old Norse fjöthr feather, Latin petere to go to or toward, seek, Greek petesthai to fly, piptein to fall, pteron wing, feather, Sanskrit patati he flies, falls
1.
a. : one of the light horny epidermal outgrowths that form the external covering of the body of birds and the greater part of the surface of their wings, that arise from the surface epidermis of vascular dermal papillae lying in depressed follicles, and that consist of a shaft divided into a hollow proximal quill and a distal rachis furrowed on one side, filled with a pithy substance, and bearing on each side a series of somewhat obliquely directed barbs which bear barbules which in turn bear barbicels commonly ending in hooked hamuli and interlocking with the barbules of an adjacent barb to link the barbs into a continuous vane — see aftershaft , down , filoplume , pinfeather ; pteryla
b. feathers plural , obsolete : wings
set feathers to thy heels — Shakespeare
c.
(1) obsolete : plumage
(2) : attire , dress , clothes — usually used in plural
d.
(1) archaic : a decorative crest or badge consisting of a feather or group of feathers : plume — often used in plural
(2) : a foaming crest of a wave
e.
(1) obsolete : bird
(2) archaic : feathered game
f. the vane of an arrow — see arrow illustration
2. : a feathery tuft or fringe of hair ; specifically : a fringe of long hair (as that on the legs of certain dogs or horses) — see dog illustration
3.
a. : something extremely light or insignificant
so frightened that he shied at feathers
you could have knocked me over with a feather
b.
[by shortening]
: featherweight
4. : kind , nature , species
the typical tavern-keeper was a panderer, a thief, and an all-around rascal and … his clients were of the same feather — L.C.Douglas
5.
a. : condition , trim , fettle
feeling in fine feather on the day of the race
b. : mood , spirits
woke up in good feather
6. : a projecting strip, rib, fin, or flange: as
a. : a strengthening rib, web, or bracket
b. : a tongue fixed or cut (as in the edge of a board) to fit into a corresponding groove (as in another board) to make a flush joint without nails, screws, or pegs : feather key
7. : a feathery flaw in the eye or in a precious stone
8.
a. : the act of feathering an oar
b. : the angular adjustment of an oar blade as it leaves the water
9. : one of two wedge-shaped short metal rods curved at the upper end and driven into a hole drilled in rock and forced apart by another rod driven in between them in order to split the rock
10. : the wake made by the periscope of a submarine running submerged
•
- a feather in one's cap
[s]feather.jpg[/s] [
feather 1a: A: 1 quill, 2 vane; B: 1 barb, 2 barbule, 3 barbicel with hamulus
]
II. verb
( feathered ; feathered ; feathering -th(ə)riŋ ; feathers )
Etymology: Middle English fetheren, from Old English gefetheran, gefitherian, from fether, n. — more at feather I
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to give wings to ; also : to help to speed
2.
a. : to furnish with a feather (as an arrow or a cap)
b. : to cover, clothe, or adorn with or as if with feathers
birches and oaks still feathered the narrow ravines — Sir Walter Scott
red- feathered skies — Virginia Woolf
3.
a. : to reduce the edge of to the fineness of a featheredge especially by cutting, shaving, or wearing away
b. : to thin and cut (the hair) in short tapered lengths
c. : to spread out (as paint) especially around the edges of a particular area in order to blend in with adjoining matter
4.
a.
(1) of a bird : to cut (the air) with a wing
(2) of a fish : to cut (the water) with a fin
b. : to turn (an oar or paddle blade) parallel to the surface of the water during recovery to eliminate air resistance
c. aeronautics
(1) : to rotate (propeller blades) so that the chords become approximately parallel to the thrust axis thus reducing drag and preventing windmilling in case of engine failure ; also : to rotate the propeller blades of (an engine) in such a manner
(2) in a rotary-wing aircraft : to increase and decrease periodically the angle of incidence of (a rotor blade) by rotation about the axis to equalize the lift produced by advancing and retreating blades in forward flight
5.
a. : to dye (fur) by applying dye to the top hairs with a feather
b. : to apply a slip decoration to in ceramics by light brushing
6. : to join by a tongue and groove
7. : to adjust (the main light) in photographic portraiture so that the subject is illuminated by the outer part of the light beam
intransitive verb
1. : to grow or form feathers : become fledged — often used with out
birds feathering out
2. : to have or take on the appearance of a feather or something feathered : grow or spread to give the effect of something feathered
3. of a hound : to move the stern nervously from side to side (as in searching for a trail)
4. : to soak in and spread : blur — used of writing in ink or a printed impression on soft or unsized paper
5. : to feather an oar or an airplane propeller blade
6. : to produce branches or laterals
7. : to spread and thin out especially at the edges — often used with away or out
bits of smoke began to feather away from the top of the hill — Walt Sheldon
8. : to form a shape resembling a feather in emerging
the soaring white streams that feathered from the nozzles of the swarming fireboats — Robert O'Brien
•
- feather one's nest
III. adjective
Etymology: feather (I)
: consisting of or resembling a feather : having a feather : composed of or containing feathers
a feather edge to the board
a feather pillow