preen

Preen is defined as to take great care in cleaning oneself or another.

(verb)

  1. An example of preen is a bird cleaning its feathers.
  2. An example of preen is a woman carefully plucking her eyebrows.

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See preen in Webster's New World College Dictionary

transitive verb

  1. to clean and trim (the feathers) with the beak: said of birds
  2. to make (oneself) trim; dress up or adorn (oneself)
  3. to show satisfaction with or vanity in (oneself)

Origin: ME preynen, altered (infl. by preonen, to prick with a pin < preon < OE, a pin) < proinen, to prune

intransitive verb

to dress up in a fussy way; prink or primp

Related Forms:

See preen in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb preened, preen·ing, preens
verb, transitive
  1. a. To smooth or clean (feathers) with the beak or bill.
    b. To trim or clean (fur) with the tongue, as cats do.
  2. To dress or groom (oneself) with elaborate care; primp.
  3. To take pride or satisfaction in (oneself); gloat.
verb, intransitive
  1. To dress up; primp.
  2. To swell with pride; gloat or exult.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English proinen, preinen

Origin: , blend of Old French proignier, to prune; see prune2

Origin: , and Old French poroindre, to anoint before (por-, before from Latin prō-; see pro-1 + oindre, to anoint from Latin unguere)

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Related Forms:

  • preenˈer noun

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