# feather

Pronunciation: US say "FETH-ur" /ˈfɛð.ɚ/; UK say "FETH-uh" /ˈfɛð.ə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. A light, branching, hair-like structure that grows on a bird's body, used for flight, swimming, protection, and display.
   - Simple: One of the light, soft parts that cover a bird's body and help it fly and stay warm.
   - _She found a hawk feather on the trail and tucked it into her hatband._
   - _Penguins rely on densely packed feathers to stay warm in icy water._
5. Kind, nature, or sort; the class of people or things that share a character.
   - Simple: A kind or type of person or thing.
   - _Gamblers and con artists are birds of a feather, drawn to the same smoky back rooms._
   - _He had no patience for critics of that feather._
6. One of the fins or vanes mounted on the shaft of an arrow.
   - Simple: One of the small flat pieces on the back end of an arrow that help it fly straight.
   - _Before the match, the archer replaced a bent feather on one of her arrows._
   - _Before the match, she replaced a torn feather on her arrow so it would fly true again._
7. The long, silky hair on the lower legs of certain dogs and horses, especially draft breeds such as the Clydesdale.
   - Simple: The long hair that grows on the lower legs of some dogs and horses.
   - _Groomers wash the feather on a Clydesdale's legs before every parade._
   - _The setter's leg feathers caught burrs as it pushed through the brush._
14. In cricket, a faint edge, in which the ball makes barely perceptible contact with the edge of the bat.
   - Simple: In cricket, a very light touch of the ball on the edge of the bat.
   - _He got a feather on a rising delivery and was caught behind._
   - _Replays picked up the faintest feather as the ball brushed past the bat._
15. Game birds such as partridges and pheasants, as distinguished from rabbits and hares, which hunters call fur.
   - Simple: Birds that people hunt, such as pheasants and partridges, not furry animals like rabbits and hares.
   - _The estate offers both fur and feather across its three thousand acres._
   - _His pointer worked feather beautifully but ignored every rabbit it flushed._
16. The angle at which an oar blade or paddle-wheel float is turned, relative to the horizontal, as it enters or leaves the water.
   - Simple: The angle of an oar's blade as it goes into or comes out of the water.
   - _A clean feather keeps the blade from catching the surface on the recovery._
   - _Adjusting the feather of the paddle-wheel floats reduced drag as each one left the water._

## Verb

2. To cover or supply something with feathers; of an arrow, to fit it with feathers for stable flight.
   - Simple: To put feathers on something, such as an arrow.
   - _The fletcher feathered each shaft with three turkey-wing vanes._
   - _Eider ducks feather their nests with soft down plucked from their own breasts._
3. To shape, arrange, or decorate something with layers, fringes, or patterns resembling feathers, as with layered hair.
   - Simple: To give something layers, edges, or patterns that look like feathers.
   - _The stylist feathered the layers so her hair fell softly at the sides._
   - _Bakers feather melted chocolate across the icing by dragging a skewer through parallel lines._
4. To touch something, or move it, very lightly and softly, as if with a feather.
   - Simple: To touch or move something very lightly and gently, like a feather would.
   - _Her fingertips feathered the piano keys, barely sounding the notes._
   - _Light winds feather the tops of the tall grass along the lake._
8. To blend the pixels along an image's edge gradually into a background or adjacent image, softening the transition.
   - Simple: To make the edge of a picture fade slowly into what is behind it.
   - _Feather the selection by a few pixels before pasting it onto the new background._
   - _The designer feathered the composite's seams until the two photos merged invisibly._
9. To rotate the blades of a stopped engine's propeller edge-on to the airstream so the propeller does not windmill and create drag in flight.
   - Simple: To turn a plane's propeller blades so the wind cannot spin them after the engine stops.
   - _After the engine fire, the crew feathered the propeller and continued on the remaining engine._
   - _Pilots feather a failed engine's propeller to reduce drag._
10. To rotate the oar blades horizontal while they are out of the water, reducing wind resistance between strokes.
   - Simple: To turn the oars flat while they are out of the water so the wind slows them less.
   - _Experienced crews feather smoothly, rolling the blades flat the instant they clear the water._
   - _He feathered too early and clipped the top of a wave._
11. To make an edge thin out gradually to almost nothing, by shaving, sanding, or planing it, or by spreading an applied material such as plaster or filler more thinly toward its edge.
   - Simple: To make an edge thinner and thinner, by sanding it or spreading something thinly, until it blends into the nearby surface.
   - _Carpenters feather the edges of a patch so it disappears into the surrounding surface._
   - _She feathered the joint compound outward until the wall felt perfectly flat._
12. Of written or printed ink, to spread through the paper or other surface, producing a blurred appearance.
   - Simple: To spread into the paper and look blurry, used about ink.
   - _Fountain pen inks often feather on thin, absorbent notebook paper._
   - _The printed lines feathered slightly where the paper had absorbed moisture._
13. To enrich a person, raise them up, or otherwise work to their benefit.
   - Simple: To make a person richer or better off.
   - _Over twenty years, the manager quietly feathered his nest with company funds, and nobody noticed until he retired._
   - _Instead of fixing the roads, the new council seemed eager to feather its own nest._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A trifle; the smallest possible amount or matter; something of no weight or importance.
- (verb) To make something as light as a feather; to give it wings.
- (noun) A lengthwise strip projecting from an object, either to strengthen it or to fit into a channel in another object, preventing sideways or rotational movement while allowing motion along its length.
- (noun) Either of the two curved metal shims of the stone-splitting tool called plug and feathers, inserted into a drilled hole so that a wedge driven between them forces the stone apart.
- (verb) In billiards or snooker, to slide the cue backward and forward over the bridge hand while lining up a stroke on the cue ball.
- (verb) In billiards or snooker, to accidentally touch the cue ball with the tip of the cue while taking aim.
- (noun) An indicator mounted at an angle on a color light signal, typically showing a row of five white lights, that illuminates when the route ahead diverges at a junction.
- (verb) Of a cockerel, to tread or mate with a hen.

## Origin

This word comes from Middle English 'feþer' and Old English 'feþer', going all the way back to Proto-Germanic *feþrō and the Proto-Indo-European noun *péth₂r̥ ('feather, wing'), from the root *peth₂- ('to fly'). It is related to German 'Feder', Dutch 'veder'/'veer', and Swedish 'fjäder', as well as Latin 'penna' and Ancient Greek 'pétomai' ('to fly').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/feather (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).