Definitions

preen

 Play preen
The duck is preening his feathers.

The duck is preening his feathers.

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

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


preen

  1. to clean and trim (the feathers) with the beak: said of birds
  2. to dress or groom (oneself) in a fussy and self-satisfied way
  3. to show satisfaction with or vanity in (oneself)

Origin of preen

Middle English preynen, altered (infl. by preonen, to prick with a pin from preon from OE, a pin) from proinen, to prune

to dress or groom oneself in a fussy and self-satisfied way

preen

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 of preen

Middle English proinen, preinen blend of Old French proignier to prune ; see prune 2. and Old French poroindre to anoint before ( por- before ) ( from Latin prō- ; see pro- 1. ) ( oindre to anoint ) ( from Latin unguere )

Related Forms:

  • preen′er

    noun


preen

Noun

(plural preens)

  1. A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.
  2. (dialectal) pin
  3. (dialectal) bodkin; brooch
Verb

(third-person singular simple present preens, present participle preening, simple past and past participle preened)

  1. To pin; fasten.
Origin

From Middle English pren, from Old English prÄ“on, from Proto-Germanic *preunaz (compare Icelandic prjónn (“pin, knitting-needle"), Danish pryne "˜needle, eel-spear'), from Proto-Indo-European *brewn- (“protrusion, tip, edge") (compare Lithuanian briaunà "˜edge', Albanian brez "˜belt, girdle'). The verb is from Middle English prenen, from pren (“a preen").

Verb

(third-person singular simple present preens, present participle preening, simple past and past participle preened)

  1. (of birds) To groom; to trim or dress with the beak, as the feathers.
  2. To show off, posture, or smarm.
  3. (UK, dialect, dated) To trim up, as trees.
Origin

Variant of prune (by influence of preen above) Attested in Chaucer (c. 1395) in the variants preyneth, prayneth, proyneth, prunyht, pruneth.


Synonyms

 
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  • preen

Words near preen in the dictionary


  • preemptor
  • preemptors
  • preemptory
  • preempts
  • preen
  • preened
  • preener
  • preeners
  • preengage
  • preengaged

Synonyms

» more...

  • spruce
  • trim
  • primp
  • dress
  • congratulate

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