plume
Part of speech: verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: falconry
hobbies
hunting
lifestyle
Etymology: Sense 1 (“to adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or plumes”) is derived from Anglo-Norman plumer (“to cover with or provide with feathers”), or its etymon Latin plūmāre, the present active infinitive of plūmō (“to grow feathers, to fledge; to cover with feathers, to feather; to embroider with a feathery pattern”) (and compare Late Latin plūmō (“to attach feathers to arrows; of a hawk: to pluck the feathers from prey; (figurative) to celebrate, praise”)), from plūma (“feather; plumage; down”) (see etymology 1) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).
Senses 2–4 (“to arrange and preen the feathers of; to congratulate (oneself) proudly; to strip of feathers”) are from Late Middle English plumen (“to remove the feathers from a bird; of a hawk: to pluck the feathers or the head from prey”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman and Middle French plumer (“to remove the feathers from a bird; to pull out (hairs, especially from a moustache); to rob”), from plūma (see etymology 1).
Sense 5 (“to fan out or spread in a cloud”) is derived from plume (noun).
Inflected forms:
form: plumes
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: pluming
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: plumed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: plumed
pos: verb
tags: past
form: no-table-tags
pos: verb
tags: table-tags
form: glossary
pos: verb
tags: inflection-template
form: plume
pos: verb
tags: infinitive
form: plume
pos: verb
tags: first-person
present
singular
form: plumed
pos: verb
tags: first-person
past
singular
form: plume
pos: verb
tags: present
second-person
singular
form: plumest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: plumed
pos: verb
tags: past
second-person
singular
form: plumedst
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: plumes
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: plumeth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: plumed
pos: verb
tags: past
singular
third-person
form: plume
pos: verb
tags: plural
present
form: plumed
pos: verb
tags: past
plural
form: plume
pos: verb
tags: present
subjunctive
form: plumed
pos: verb
tags: past
subjunctive
form: plume
pos: verb
tags: imperative
present
form: -
pos: verb
tags: imperative
past
form: pluming
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: plumed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
Senses:
gloss: To adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or plumes, or as if with feathers or plumes.
pos: verb
tags: also
figuratively
transitive
gloss: Chiefly of a bird: to arrange and preen the feathers of, specifically in preparation for flight; hence (figurative), to prepare for (something).
pos: verb
tags: reflexive
transitive
examples: I make no doubt she has made the best of her way back to the hospitable hall of Sir Watkyn Williams Wynne; and may very possibly be pluming her wings, at this present writing, among the breezy bowers of Wynnstay.
I bless thee that thy angel-presence still infolds me here! / Forgive me, ere thy spirit plumest for the heavenly sphere.
[…] Ruth resembled the dove that plumeth its wings in readiness to fly away and be at rest, in the ark of everlasting peace and joy.
Victor Love—His far dominion / Owneth with proud glance, / See, he plumeth now his pinion, / Wakeneth from his trance; […]
gloss: To congratulate (oneself) proudly, especially concerning something unimportant or when taking credit for another person's effort; to self-congratulate; to preen.
pos: verb
tags: broadly
reflexive
transitive
examples: He plumes himself on his skill.
pride and plume himself in his Deformities
We mention this Obſervation, not with any View of pretending to account for ſo odd a Behaviour, but lest ſome Critic should hereafter plume himſelf on diſcovering it.
Gentlemen of the free-and-easy sort, who plume themselves on being acquainted with a move or two, and being usually equal to the time-of-day, express the wide range of their capacity for adventure by observing that they are good for anything from pitch-and-toss to manslaughter; between which opposite extremes, no doubt, there lies a tolerably wide and comprehensive range of subjects.
I could not but highly plume myself on my masterly management in getting rid of Bartleby.
But now thy armour beauteous, / all brass-belaid and sparkling, / Among the Troïans is held: / for motley-helmed Hector / Across his shoulders bearing it / plumeth himself; nor deem I / Long shall he vaunt it; sith alsó / on him o'erhangeth slaughter.
Meanwhile the young stranger had made his way through the crowd, but, as he passed, he heard all around him such words muttered as, "Look at the cockeril!" "Behold how he plumeth himself!"
Challenger plumed himself like some unwieldy bird under the influence of flattery.
gloss: To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
transitive
examples: the king cared not to plume his nobility
They wou'd have plum'd his eagles on the field
gloss: To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
broadly
transitive
gloss: To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
obsolete
transitive
examples: The hauke proineth when ſhe fetcheth oyle with her beake over the taile, and anointeth her feet and her fethers. She plumeth when ſhe pulleth fethers of anie foule and caſteth them from her.
gloss: Of a dispersed substance such as dust or smoke: to fan out or spread in a cloud.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Smoke plumed from his pipe, then slowly settled towards the floor.
Derived words: plumed
replume
unplume
unplumed
Translations: