pencil

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A thin wooden instrument with a grey or coloured centre, used for writing or drawing.

   She sharpened her pencil before the exam.

2. 2
   verb

   To write, draw, or mark something with a pencil.

   I penciled a brief reminder in my notebook.

From Anglo-Norman and Old French pincil (see the variant pincel, which gave rise to Modern French pinceau (“paintbrush”)), from Latin pēnicillum, diminutive of pēniculus (“brush”), itself a diminutive of pēnis (“tail; penis”). Not related to pen.

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