plumed

Variant of plume

noun

    1. a feather, esp. a large, fluffy, or showy one
    2. a cluster of such feathers
  1. an ornament made of a large feather or feathers, or of a feathery tuft of hair, esp. when worn on a hat, helmet, etc. as a mark of distinction
  2. any token of worth or achievement; prize
  3. plumage or down
  4. something like a plume in shape or lightness: a plume of smoke
  5. Biol. a featherlike formation or part
  6. Geol. a plume-shaped mass of molten rock that rises through the crust from the mantle of the earth and causes volcanic activity

Origin: OFr < L pluma, downy part of a feather, small soft feather < IE base *pleus-, to pluck out, fluff of wool, hair > fleece

transitive verb plumed, pluming

  1. to provide, cover, or adorn with plumes
    1. to smooth the feathers of (itself)
    2. to preen (its feathers): said of a bird
  2. to pride (oneself)
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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