Plume
[pluːm] or [plum]
Definition
(noun.) a feather or cluster of feathers worn as an ornament.
(noun.) anything that resembles a feather in shape or lightness; 'a plume of smoke'; 'grass with large plumes'.
(verb.) form a plume; 'The chimneys were pluming the sky'; 'The engine was pluming black smoke'.
(verb.) deck with a plume; 'a plumed helmet'.
Checked by Basil--From WordNet
Definition
(v.) A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long, conspicuous, or handsome feather.
(v.) An ornamental tuft of feathers.
(v.) A feather, or group of feathers, worn as an ornament; a waving ornament of hair, or other material resembling feathers.
(v.) A token of honor or prowess; that on which one prides himself; a prize or reward.
(v.) A large and flexible panicle of inflorescence resembling a feather, such as is seen in certain large ornamental grasses.
(v. t.) To pick and adjust the plumes or feathers of; to dress or prink.
(v. t.) To strip of feathers; to pluck; to strip; to pillage; also, to peel.
(v. t.) To adorn with feathers or plumes.
(v. t.) To pride; to vaunt; to boast; -- used reflexively; as, he plumes himself on his skill.
Edited by Ian
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Feather.[2]. Crest, tuft.
Checked by Edwin
Definition
n. a feather: a tuft of feathers: a feather worn as an ornament: a crest: a token of honour: a prize in a contest.—v.t. to dress the feathers of as a bird: to adorn with plumes: to strip of feathers: to boast (used reflexively).—ns. Plumassier (plōō-ma-sēr′) one who prepares or deals in plumes; Plume′-bird a term sometimes given to the Epimachid or long-tailed birds-of-Paradise.—adjs. Plumed adorned with feathers; Plume′less.—n. Plume′let a down-feather a plumule: anything resembling a small plume.—adj. Plume′-plucked stripped of plumes: (Shak.) humbled.—n. Plum′ery a display of plumes.—adjs. Plumig′erous plumaged; Plu′miped having feathered feet.—n. Plu′mist a feather-dresser.—adjs. Plu′mose Plu′mous feathery: plume-like; Plu′my covered or adorned with plumes.
Checked by Anita
Examples
- None at all, if you please, she doesn't wish her name to appear and has no nom de plume, said Jo, blushing in spite of herself. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- That is a beautiful plume of white ostrich-feathers in your bonnet. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- They caught through the foliage glimpses of martial scarlet; helm shone, plume waved. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- The boom was a sharp crack that widened in the cracking and on the hillside he saw a small fountain of earth rise with a plume of gray smoke. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- A fat gray cat with a tail that lifted like a plume crossed the floor to our table and curved against my leg to purr each time she rubbed. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- We even plume ourselves upon our firmness in clinging to our conceptions in spite of the way in which they work out. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- They plume them-selves on their gentility there, I can tell you, if that's any satisfaction. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- And then you won't know me, sir; and I shall not be your Jane Eyre any longer, but an ape in a harlequin's jacket--a jay in borrowed plumes. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Only a very faint bending of the head-dress and plumes welcomed Rawdon and his wife, as those prodigals returned to their family. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- There was frost on the hairs of their muzzles and their breathing made plumes of frost in the air. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- I have little right; and you, perhaps, have still less to come flourishing and fluttering into my chamber--a mere jay in borrowed plumes. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Every one knows how the horns of stags become more and more branched, and the plumes of some birds become more finely developed, as they grow older. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Then stay with me a little longer, Madame Olenska said in a low tone, just touching his knee with her plumed fan. Edith Wharton. The Age of Innocence.
- The gondolier is a picturesque rascal for all he wears no satin harness, no plumed bonnet, no silken tights. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- He came in gorgeous array, with plumed cap, red cloak, chestnut lovelocks, a guitar, and the boots, of course. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
Typed by Felix