feather

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   One of the light, soft structures that cover a bird's body.

   A bright red feather lay on the path through the woods.

2. 2
   verb

   To arrange or shape something so it looks like feathers.

   The stylist feathered her hair around her face.

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Simplified etymology

Feather is an Old English word descended from a Germanic root. Before English borrowed wing from Old Norse vængr, feathers could also serve as the term for a bird’s wings; a feather worn as a token of favour also lies behind the 17th-century expression feather in your cap.

From Middle English feþer, from Old English feþer, from Proto-West Germanic *feþru, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō, from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ (“feather, wing”), from *peth₂- (“to fly”). Cognate with West Frisian fear (“feather”), Cimbrian bèdara, fòdara (“pillowcase”), vèdara (“feather”), Dutch veder, veer (“feather”), German Feder (“feather”), German Low German Fedder (“feather”), Luxembourgish Fieder (“feather”), Vilamovian faoder (“feather”), Yiddish פֿעדער (feder, “feather”), Danish fjeder, fjer (“feather”), Faroese fjøður (“feather”), Icelandic fjöður (“feather”), Norwegian Bokmål fjæ…

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External links

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