plume.
A feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.
Meaning & usage
A feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.
A cluster of feathers worn as an ornament, especially on a helmet; a hackle.
A token of honour or prowess; that on which one prides oneself; a prize or reward.
The vane (“flattened, web-like part”) of a feather, especially when on a quill pen or the fletching of an arrow.
Ellipsis of plume moth (“a small, slender moth of the family Pterophoridae”).
Things resembling a feather.
Things resembling a feather. A cloud formed by a dispersed substance fanning out or spreading.
After the explosion, a plume of smoke could be seen in the sky for miles around.
The pollutant creates a contaminant plume within an aquifer.
Things resembling a feather. An upward spray of mist or water.
Things resembling a feather. An arc of glowing material (chiefly gases) erupting from the surface of a star.
Things resembling a feather. A large and flexible panicle of an inflorescence resembling a feather, such as is seen in certain large ornamental grasses.
Things resembling a feather. Ellipsis of mantle plume (“an upwelling of abnormally hot molten material from the Earth's mantle which spreads sideways when it reaches the lithosphere”).
Things resembling a feather. A body part resembling a feather. The furry tail of certain dog breeds (such as the Samoyed) that curls over their backs or stands erect.
Things resembling a feather. A body part resembling a feather. More fully gill plume: a feathery gill of some crustaceans and molluscs.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *plew- Proto-Indo-European *plewk-der. Proto-Indo-European *plewk-smeh₂ Proto-Italic *plouksmā Latin plūma Anglo-Norman plumebor. Middle English plume English plume From Late Middle English plum, plume (“feather; plumage”), from Anglo-Norman plum, plume, from Old French plume, plome (“feather, plumage”), from Latin plūma (“feather, plumage”) (compare Late Latin plūma (“pen, quill”)), from Proto-Italic *plouksmā, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”). Doublet of pluma.
To adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or plumes, or as if with feathers or plumes.
Chiefly of a bird: to arrange and preen the feathers of, specifically in preparation for flight; hence (figurative), to prepare for (something).
To congratulate (oneself) proudly, especially concerning something unimportant or when taking credit for another person's effort; to self-congratulate; to preen.
He plumes himself on his skill.
To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.
To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck. To peel, to strip completely; to pillage; also, to deprive of power.
To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck. Of a hawk: to pluck the feathers from prey.
Of a dispersed substance such as dust or smoke: to fan out or spread in a cloud.
Smoke plumed from his pipe, then slowly settled towards the floor.
Where this word comes from
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).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.