plumage
UK /ˈpluːmɪd͡ʒ/ · US /ˈplumɪd͡ʒ/ noun
Forms plumages
- noun (ornithology, uncountable) The feathers covering the body of a bird collectively.
- noun (archaic, uncountable) Feathers used ornamentally; feathering; (countable) a bunch or tuft of such feathers; a plume.
- noun (falconry, uncountable, obsolete) Feathers which are fed to a hawk to cause it to regurgitate, for the purpose of cleaning its crop; a type of casting.
- noun A person's dress, especially when elaborate or fine.
- noun A person's external appearance, especially when showy.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Late Middle English plumage, plummage (“bird’s feathers collectively, plumage; (falconry) feathers fed to a hawk to cause it to regurgitate, casting”), from Middle French plumage, plomage (“bird’s feathers collectively; person’s (showy) clothing”), from Old French plumage (“bird’s feathers collectively”) (modern French plumage), from plume (“feather, plume”) + -age (suffix forming nouns denoting a state of being). Plume is derived from Latin plūma (“feather, plume”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to flow; to fly; to run; etc.”), from Proto-Indo-European *plew- (“to flow; to fly; to run”). By surface analysis, plume + -age (suffix forming nouns with a sense of appurtenance or collection).
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [F., from plume a feather.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “plumage”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details