Plume

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Plume \Plume\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Plumed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Pluming}.] [Cf. F. plumer to pluck, to strip, L. plumare to
     cover with feathers.]
     1. To pick and adjust the plumes or feathers of; to dress or
        prink.
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              Pluming her wings among the breezy bowers. --W.
                                                    Irving.
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     2. To strip of feathers; to pluck; to strip; to pillage;
        also, to peel. [Obs.] --Bacon. Dryden.
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     3. To adorn with feathers or plumes. "Farewell the plumed
        troop." --Shak.
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     4. To pride; to vaunt; to boast; -- used reflexively; as, he
        plumes himself on his skill. --South.
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     {Plumed adder} (Zool.), 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} (Zool.), the California mountain quail
        ({Oreortyx pictus}). See {Mountain quail}, under
        {Mountain}.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Plume \Plume\, n. [F., fr. L. pluma. Cf. {Fly}, v.]
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     1. A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long,
        conspicuous, or handsome feather.
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              Wings . . . of many a colored plume.  --Milton.
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     2. (Zool.) An ornamental tuft of feathers.
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     3. A feather, or group of feathers, worn as an ornament; a
        waving ornament of hair, or other material resembling
        feathers.
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              His high plume, that nodded o'er his head. --Dryden.
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     4. A token of honor or prowess; that on which one prides
        himself; a prize or reward. "Ambitious to win from me some
        plume." --Milton.
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     5. (Bot.) A large and flexible panicle of inflorescence
        resembling a feather, such as is seen in certain large
        ornamental grasses.
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     {Plume bird} (Zool.), 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 Ravenn[ae]} from the
            Mediterranean region. The name is sometimes extended
            to the whole genus.
  
     {Plume moth} (Zool.), any one of numerous small, slender
        moths, belonging to the family {Pterophorid[ae]}. 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.
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  plume
       n 1: a feather or cluster of feathers worn as an ornament
       2: the light horny waterproof structure forming the external
          covering of birds [syn: {feather}, {plumage}]
       v 1: rip off; ask an unreasonable price [syn: {overcharge}, {soak},
             {surcharge}, {gazump}, {fleece}, {pluck}, {rob}, {hook}]
            [ant: {undercharge}]
       2: be proud of; "He prides himself on making it into law
          school" [syn: {pride}, {congratulate}]
       3: deck with a plume; "a plumed helmet"
       4: clean with one's bill; "The birds preened" [syn: {preen}]
       5: form a plume; "The chimneys were pluming the sky"; "The
          engine was pluming black smoke"
       6: dress or groom with elaborate care; "She likes to dress when
          going to the opera" [syn: {preen}, {primp}, {dress}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  37 Moby Thesaurus words for "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