English dictionary

feather Meaning & Definition

Q: What is the plural of feather?

The plural of feather is feathers.

Q: What is the past tense of feather?

The past tense of feather is feathered. The present participle is feathering.

/ˈfɛðə/

What Does Feather Mean?

As a noun, feather means A branching, hair-like structure that grows on the bodies of birds, used for flight, swimming, protection and display. It can also mean Long hair on the lower legs of a dog or horse, especially a draft horse, notably the Clydesdale breed. Narrowly only the rear hair. As a verb, it means To cover or furnish with feathers; to fletch.

Feather at a Glance

Part of speech	noun, verb
Pronunciation	//ˈfɛðə//
Syllables	1
Synonyms	plume, square and plumage
Plural	feathers
Verb forms	feathers, feathering, feathered

Feather Definition (Noun)

A branching, hair-like structure that grows on the bodies of birds, used for flight, swimming, protection and display.
Long hair on the lower legs of a dog or horse, especially a draft horse, notably the Clydesdale breed. Narrowly only the rear hair.
One of the fins or wings on the shaft of an arrow.
A longitudinal strip projecting from an object to strengthen it, or to enter a channel in another object and thereby prevent displacement sideways or rotationally but permit motion lengthwise.
Kind; nature; species (from the proverbial phrase "birds of a feather").
One of the two shims of the three-piece stone-splitting tool known as plug and feather or plug and feathers; the feathers are placed in a borehole and then a wedge is driven between them, causing the stone to split.
The angular adjustment of an oar or paddle-wheel float, with reference to a horizontal axis, as it leaves or enters the water.
Anything petty or trifling; a whit or jot.
Partridges and pheasants, as opposed to rabbits and hares (called fur).
A junction indicator attached to a colour-light signal at an angle, which lights up, typically with four white lights in a row, when a diverging route is set up.
A faint edge.

Feather as a Verb

To cover or furnish with feathers; to fletch.
To adorn, as if with feathers; to fringe.
To arrange in the manner or appearance of feathers.
The stylist feathered my hair.
To rotate the oars while they are out of the water to reduce wind resistance.
To streamline the blades of an aircraft's propeller by rotating them perpendicular to the axis of the propeller when the engine is shut down so that the propeller does not windmill during flight.
After striking the bird, the pilot feathered the damaged left engine’s propeller.
To finely shave or bevel an edge.
To intergrade or blend the pixels of an image with those of a background or neighboring image.
Of written or printed ink: to take on a blurry appearance as a result of spreading through the receiving medium.
To render light as a feather; to give wings to.
To enrich; to exalt; to benefit.
To tread, as a cockerel.
To move the cue back and forth along the bridge in preparation for striking the cue ball.
To accidentally touch the cue ball with the tip of the cue when taking aim.
To touch lightly, like (or as if with) a feather.
To move softly, like a feather.

Synonyms of Feather

plume square plumage fledge feathering pluma

Feather synonyms and antonyms →

Antonyms of Feather

No antonyms or near antonyms are listed by the available sources for this entry.

Feather in a Sentence

The stylist feathered my hair.

After striking the bird, the pilot feathered the damaged left engine’s propeller.

Word Forms & Grammar

feather (plural feathers)

feather (third-person singular simple present feathers, present participle feathering, simple past and past participle feathered)

Words That Rhyme With Feather

nether put together weather altogether together get together leather tether whether heather band together come together all together bellwether hang together get-together wether bring togetherthrow togethercold weathercobble together slap together close together patent leatherpull togetherstick togetherbell heatherin the altogether ooze leather shoe leather

Origin of Feather

Origin 1: From Middle English fethere, from Old English feþer, from Proto-West Germanic *feþru, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō, from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ (“feather, wing”), from *peth₂- (“to fly”).

Origin 2: Cognate with West Frisian fear (“feather”), Cimbrian bèdara, fòdara (“pillowcase”), vèdara (“feather”), Dutch veder, veer (“feather”), German Feder (“feather”), German Low German Fedder (“feather”), Luxembourgish Fieder (“feather”), Vilamovian faoder (“feather”), Yiddish פֿעדער (feder, “feather”), Danish fjeder, fjer (“feather”), Faroese fjøður (“feather”), Icelandic fjöður (“feather”), Norwegian Bokmål fjær, fjør (“feather”), Norwegian Nynorsk fjøder, fjør (“feather”), Swedish fjäder (“feather”). Also Ancient Greek πέτομαι (pétomai, “to fly”), Albanian shpend (“bird”), Latin penna (“feather”), Old Armenian թիռ (tʻiṙ, “flight”).

Origin 3: The sense correlated with splines and keys (noun sense 4) probably reflects analogy with the fletching sense (noun sense 3).

How Do You Say Feather?

You say feather as //ˈfɛðə//. It has 1 syllable.

Quick Answers About Feather

Is feather a noun or a verb?

Feather is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb.

What is another word for feather?

Words with a similar meaning to feather include plume, square and plumage. See the full list of feather synonyms and antonyms.

What is the plural of feather?

The plural of feather is feathers.

What is the past tense of feather?

The past tense of feather is feathered. The present participle is feathering.