plume

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

plume, n. [F., fr. L. pluma. Cf. Fly, v.].

•  A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long, conspicuous, or handsome feather.  [1913 Webster]

  "Wings . . . of many a colored plume."  [1913 Webster]
•  An ornamental tuft of feathers.  [1913 Webster]
•  A feather, or group of feathers, worn as an ornament; a waving ornament of hair, or other material resembling feathers.  [1913 Webster]

  "His high plume, that nodded o'er his head."  [1913 Webster]
•  A token of honor or prowess; that on which one prides himself; a prize or reward.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]
•  A large and flexible panicle of inflorescence resembling a feather, such as is seen in certain large ornamental grasses.  [1913 Webster]

Plume bird (Zoöl.), any bird that yields ornamental plumes, especially the species of Epimarchus from New Guinea, and some of the herons and egrets, as the white heron of Florida (Ardea candidissima). -- Plume grass. (Bot) (a) A kind of grass (Erianthus saccharoides) with the spikelets arranged in great silky plumes, growing in swamps in the Southern United States. (b) The still finer Erianthus Ravennæ from the Mediterranean region. The name is sometimes extended to the whole genus. -- Plume moth (Zoöl.), any one of numerous small, slender moths, belonging to the family Pterophoridæ. Most of them have the wings deeply divided into two or more plumelike lobes. Some species are injurious to the grapevine. -- Plume nutmeg (Bot.), an aromatic Australian tree (Atherosperma moschata), whose numerous carpels are tipped with long plumose persistent styles.

plume, v. t. [Cf. F. plumer to pluck, to strip, L. plumare to cover with feathers.].

•  To pick and adjust the plumes or feathers of; to dress or prink.  [1913 Webster]

  "Pluming her wings among the breezy bowers."  [1913 Webster]
•  To strip of feathers; to pluck; to strip; to pillage; also, to peel.  Bacon. Dryden.  [1913 Webster]
•  To adorn with feathers or plumes.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  To pride; to vaunt; to boast; -- used reflexively; as, he plumes himself on his skill.  South.  [1913 Webster]

Plumed adder (Zoöl.), an African viper (Vipera cornuta, syn. Clotho cornuta), having a plumelike structure over each eye. It is venomous, and is related to the African puff adder. Called also horned viper and hornsman. -- Plumed partridge (Zoöl.), the California mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus). See Mountain quail, under Mountain.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

plume, n. & v.
--n.
1 a feather, esp. a large one used for ornament.
2 an ornament of feathers etc. attached to a helmet or hat or worn in the hair.
3 something resembling this (a plume of smoke).
4 Zool. a feather-like part or formation.
--v.
1 tr. decorate or provide with a plume or plumes.
2 refl. (foll. by on, upon) pride (oneself on esp. something trivial).
3 tr. (of a bird) preen (itself or its feathers).

Derivative

plumeless adj. plumelike adj. plumery n.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. L pluma down

THESAURUS

plume

bead, bejewel, beribbon, bespangle, brush up, crest, diamond, dress, engrave, feather, fettle, figure, filigree, flag, flounce, flower, garland, gem, groom, hackle, illuminate, jewel, manicure, paint, panache, pinion, pique, plumule, preen, quill, ribbon, scapular, spangle, tinsel, topknot, tuft, wreathe

ROGET THESAURUS

plume

Ornament

N ornament, floridness c, adj, turgidity, turgescence, altiloquence, declamation, teratology, well-rounded periods, elegance, orotundity, inversion, antithesis, alliteration, paronomasia, figurativeness, flourish, flowers of speech, flowers of rhetoric, frills of style, euphuism, euphemism, big-sounding words, high-sounding words, macrology, sesquipedalia verba, Alexandrine, inflation, pretension, rant, bombast, fustian, prose run mad, fine writing, sesquipedality, Minerva press, phrasemonger, euphuist, euphemist, ornament, beautified, ornate, florid, rich, flowery, euphuistic, euphemistic, sonorous, high-sounding, big-sounding, inflated, swelling, tumid, turgid, turgescent, pedantic, pompous, stilted, orotund, high flown, high flowing, sententious, rhetorical, declamatory, grandiose, grandiloquent, magniloquent, altiloquent, sesquipedal, sesquipedalian, Johnsonian, mouthy, bombastic, fustian, frothy, flashy, flaming, antithetical, alliterative, figurative, artificial, ore rutundo, ornament, ornamentation, ornamental art, ornature, ornateness, adornment, decoration, embellishment, architecture, jewelry, garnish, polish, varnish, French polish, veneer, japanning, lacquer, gilding, plating, ormolu, enamel, cloisonn_e, cosmetics (in general), makeup, eye shadow, rouge, face powder, lipstick, blush, pattern, diaper, powdering, paneling, graining, pargeting, detail, repousse (convexity), texture, richness, tracery, molding, fillet, listel, strapwork, coquillage, flourish, fleur-de-lis, arabesque, fret, anthemion, egg and tongue, egg and dart, astragal, zigzag, acanthus, cartouche, pilaster, bead, beading, champleve ware, cloisonne ware, frost work, Moresque, Morisco, tooling, embroidery, brocade, brocatelle, galloon, lace, fringe, trapping, border, edging, trimming, hanging, tapestry, arras, millinery, ermine, drap d'or, wreath, festoon, garland, chaplet, flower, nosegay, bouquet, posy, daisies pied and violets blue, tassel knot, shoulder knot, apaulette, epaulet, aigulet, frog, star, rosette, bow, feather, plume, pompom, panache, aigrette, finery, frippery, gewgaw, gimcrack, tinsel, spangle, clinquant, pinchbeck, paste, excess of ornament, gaud, pride, illustration, illumination, vignette, fleuron, head piece, tail piece, cul-de-lampe, flowers of rhetoric, work of art, ornamented, beautified, ornate, rich, gilt, begilt, tesselated, festooned, champleve, cloisonne, topiary, smart, gay, trickly, flowery, glittering, new gilt, new spangled, fine as a Mayday queen, fine as a fivepence, fine as a carrot fresh scraped, pranked out, bedight, well-groomed, in full dress, dressed to kill, dressed to the nines, dressed to advantage, in Sunday best, en grand tenue, en grande toilette, in best bib and tucker, endimanche, showy, flashy, gaudy, garish, gairish, gorgeous, ornamental, decorative, becoming.

Roughness

N roughness, tooth, grain, texture, ripple, asperity, rugosity, salebrosity, corrugation, nodosity, arborescence, pilosity, brush, hair, beard, shag, mane, whisker, moustache, imperial, tress, lock, curl, ringlet, fimbriae, pili, cilia, villi, lovelock, beaucatcher, curl paper, goatee, papillote, scalp lock, plumage, plumosity, plume, panache, crest, feather, tuft, fringe, toupee, wool, velvet, plush, nap, pile, floss, fur, down, byssus, moss, bur, fluff, knot (convolution), rough, uneven, scabrous, scaly, knotted, rugged, rugose, rugous, knurly, asperous, crisp, salebrous, gnarled, unpolished, unsmooth, roughhewn, craggy, cragged, crankling, scraggy, prickly, arborescent, leafy, well-wooded, feathery, plumose, plumigerous, laciniate, laciniform, laciniose, pappose, pileous, pilose, trichogenous, trichoid, tufted, fimbriated, hairy, ciliated, filamentous, hirsute, crinose, crinite, bushy, hispid, villous, pappous, bearded, pilous, shaggy, shagged, fringed, befringed, setous, setose, setaceous, like quills upon the fretful porcupine, rough as a nutmeg grater, rough as a bear, downy, velvety, flocculent, woolly, lanate, lanated, lanuginous, lanuginose, tomentose, fluffy, against the grain, cabello luengo y corto el seso.