Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Pen
Pen
(pĕn)
, Noun.
[OE.
penne
, OF. penne
, pene
, F. penne
, fr. L. penna
.] 1.
A feather.
[Obs.]
Spenser.
2.
A wing.
[Obs.]
Milton.
3.
An instrument used for writing with ink, formerly made of a reed, or of the quill of a goose or other bird, but now also of other materials, as of steel, gold, etc. Also, originally, a stylus or other instrument for scratching or graving.
Graven with an iron
pen
and lead in the rock. Job xix. 24.
4.
Fig.: A writer, or his style;
“Those learned pens.” as, he has a sharp
. pen
Fuller.
5.
(Zool.)
The internal shell of a squid.
6.
[Etymol. uncertain.]
(Zool.)
A female swan; – contrasted with
cob
, the male swan. [Prov. Eng.]
Bow pen
. See
– Bow-pen
. Dotting pen
, a pen for drawing dotted lines.
– Drawing pen
, or Ruling pen
a pen for ruling lines having a pair of blades between which the ink is contained.
– Fountain pen
, Geometric pen
Music pen
, a pen having five points for drawing the five lines of the staff.
– Pen and ink
, or pen-and-ink
executed or done with a pen and ink;
– as, a
. pen and ink
sketchPen feather
. A pin feather.
[Obs.]
– Pen name
. See under
– Name
. Sea pen
(Zool.)
, a pennatula.
[Usually written
sea-pen
.]Pen
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Penned
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Penning
.] To write; to compose and commit to paper; to indite; to compose;
“A prayer elaborately penned.” as, to
. pen
a sonnetMilton.
Pen
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Penned
or Pent
([GREEK]); p. pr. & vb. n.
Penning
.] [OE. ]
pennen
, AS. pennan
in on-pennan
to unfasten, prob. from the same source as pin
, and orig. meaning, to fasten with a peg.See Pin
, Noun.
& Verb.
To shut up, as in a pen or cage; to confine in a small inclosure or narrow space; to coop up, or shut in; to inclose.
“Away with her, and pen her up.” Shak.
Watching where shepherds
pen
their flocks at eve. Milton.
Pen
,Noun.
1.
[From
Pen
to shut in.] A small inclosure;
as, a
. pen
for sheep or for pigsMy father stole two geese out of a
pen
. Shakespeare
Webster 1828 Edition
Pen
PEN
,Noun.
1.
An instrument used for writing, usually made of the quill of some large fowl, but it may be of any other material.2.
A feather, a wing. [Not used.]PEN
,Verb.
T.
PEN
,Noun.
PEN
,Verb.
T.
Definition 2024
pen
pen
See also: Appendix:Variations of "pen"
English
Noun
pen (plural pens)
- An enclosed area used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.
- There are two steers in the third pen.
- A place to confine a person; a prison cell, though likelier an abbreviation of penitentiary.
- They caught him with a stolen horse, and he wound up in the pen again.
- (baseball) The bullpen.
- Two righties are up in the pen.
Translations
enclosed area for animals
|
|
prison cell
(baseball) bullpen — see bullpen
Verb
pen (third-person singular simple present pens, present participle penning, simple past and past participle penned or pent)
- (transitive) To enclose in a pen.
- Milton
- Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve.
- Milton
Translations
to enclose
|
|
Etymology 2
A ballpoint pen, showing assembly.
From Anglo-Norman penne, from Old French penne, from Latin penna (“feather”), from Proto-Indo-European *petna-, from *pet- (“to rush, fly”) (from which petition). Proto-Indo-European base also root of *petra-, from which πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) (whence pterodactyl), Sanskrit पत्रम् (patram, “wing, feather”), Old Church Slavonic перо (pero, “pen”), Old Norse fjǫðr, Old English feðer (Modern English feather);[1] note the /p/ → /f/ Germanic sound change.
See feather and πέτομαι (pétomai) for more.
Noun
pen (plural pens)
- A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used to write or make marks.
- He took notes with a pen.
- (figuratively) A writer, or his style.
- He has a sharp pen.
- Fuller
- those learned pens
- (colloquial) Marks of ink left by a pen.
- He's unhappy because he got pen on his new shirt.
- A light pen.
- (zoology) The internal cartilage skeleton of a squid, shaped like a pen.
- (now rare, poetic, dialectal) A feather, especially one of the flight feathers of a bird, angel etc.
- 1590, Edmund Spendser, The Faerie Queene, I.xi:
- And eke the pennes, that did his pineons bynd, / Were like mayne-yards, with flying canuas lynd, / With which whenas him list the ayre to beat […]
- 1590, Edmund Spendser, The Faerie Queene, I.xi:
- (poetic) A wing.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Milton to this entry?)
Derived terms
Terms derived from pen (noun-etymology 2)
|
|
Translations
writing tool
|
|
writer, or his style
light pen — see light pen
internal cartilage skeleton of a squid
|
flight feather
|
wing — see wing
Verb
pen (third-person singular simple present pens, present participle penning, simple past and past participle penned)
- (transitive) To write (an article, a book, etc.).
Translations
to write
Etymology 3
Origin uncertain.
Noun
pen (plural pens)
- A female swan.
Translations
female swan
Etymology 4
Shortened form of penalty
Noun
pen (plural pens)
References
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology
From late Old Norse penni, from Latin penna (“feather”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɛnˀ/, [pʰɛnˀ]
Noun
pen c (singular definite pennen, plural indefinite penne)
Inflection
Inflection of pen
Dutch
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɛn
- IPA(key): /pɛn/
Noun
pen f (plural pennen, diminutive pennetje n)
Derived terms
- (pen): balpen, kroontjespen, vulpen
- (pin): scharnierpen, aardingspen
Anagrams
Mandarin
Romanization
pen
- Nonstandard spelling of pēn.
- Nonstandard spelling of pén.
- Nonstandard spelling of pěn.
- Nonstandard spelling of pèn.
Usage notes
- English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.
Mindiri
Noun
pen
References
- Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia (1988)
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
Possibly from French
Adjective
pen (neuter singular pent, definite singular and plural pene, comparative penere, indefinite superlative penest, definite superlative peneste)
References
- “pen” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
Possibly from French
Adjective
pen (neuter singular pent, definite singular and plural pene, comparative penare, indefinite superlative penast, definite superlative penaste)
References
- “pen” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Tok Pisin
Etymology 1
Noun
pen
Etymology 2
Noun
pen
Etymology 3
Noun
pen
- pain
- 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 3:16 (translation here):
- Na God i tokim meri olsem, “Bai mi givim yu bikpela hevi long taim yu gat bel. Na bai yu gat bikpela pen long taim yu karim pikinini. Tasol bai yu gat bikpela laik yet long man bilong yu, na bai em i bosim yu.”
- 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 3:16 (translation here):
This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.
Welsh
Etymology
From Middle Welsh penn, from Proto-Brythonic *penn, from Proto-Celtic *kʷennom.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɛn/
Noun
pen m (plural pennau)
Related terms
- penglog (“skull, cranium”)
Adjective
pen (equative penned, comparative pennach, superlative pennaf)
Mutation
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
| pen | ben | mhen | phen |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||
References
- “pen” in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru.