preen
preen
The duck is preening his feathers.
- An example of preen is a bird cleaning its feathers.
- An example of preen is a woman carefully plucking her eyebrows.
preen
- to clean and trim (the feathers) with the beak: said of birds
- to dress or groom (oneself) in a fussy and self-satisfied way
- 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 prunepreen
verb
preened, preen·ing, preensverb
transitive- a. To smooth or clean (feathers) with the beak or bill.b. To trim or clean (fur) with the tongue, as cats do.
- To dress or groom (oneself) with elaborate care; primp.
- To take pride or satisfaction in (oneself); gloat.
verb
intransitive- To dress up; primp.
- 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
(plural preens)
(third-person singular simple present preens, present participle preening, simple past and past participle preened)
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").
(third-person singular simple present preens, present participle preening, simple past and past participle preened)
Variant of prune (by influence of preen above) Attested in Chaucer (c. 1395) in the variants preyneth, prayneth, proyneth, prunyht, pruneth.
