pen

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A thin instrument that holds ink and is used for writing or drawing.

   He took notes with a pen.

2. 2
   noun

   A fenced area for keeping farm animals such as sheep or cattle.

   The farmer led the sheep into the pen for the night.

3. 3
   verb

   To shut animals inside an enclosed area.

   At dusk the shepherds pen their flocks.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Pen in the writing sense goes back through Middle English to Latin penna, “feather,” reflecting the early use of sharpened and split quills as writing instruments. The unrelated Old English word pen, meaning an animal enclosure, has an unknown origin.

From Middle English penne, from Anglo-Norman penne, from Old French penne, from Latin penna (“feather”), from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ~ pth₂én- (“feather, wing”), from *peth₂- (“to rush, fly”, whence petition), root of *petra-, whence Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “wing”, whence pterodactyl), and also of Sanskrit पत्रम् (patram, “wing, feather”), Old Church Slavonic перо (pero, “pen”), Old Norse fjǫðr, Old English feþer, feðer (Modern English feather); note the /p/ → /f/ Germanic sound change. Doublet of panne, penna, and pinna. See feather and πέτομαι (pétomai) for more.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
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