feather

Etymology

From Middle English feþer, from Old English feþer, from Proto-West Germanic *feþru, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō, from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ (“feather, wing”), from *peth₂- (“to fly”). See also West Frisian fear, German Low German Fedder, Dutch veder, veer, German Feder, Yiddish פֿעדער (feder), Danish fjer, Swedish fjäder, Norwegian Bokmål fjær, fjør, Norwegian Nynorsk fjør; also Ancient Greek πέτομαι (pétomai), Albanian shpend (“bird”), Latin penna, Old Armenian թիռ (tʿiṙ).

noun

1. A branching, hair-like structure that grows on the bodies of birds, used for flight, swimming, protection and display.
   Notice, too, that the shaft is not straight, but bent so that the upper surface of the feather is convex, and the lower concave. 1873, W. K. Brooks, “A Feather”, in Popular Science Monthly, volume IV, page 687
   Big fellows they were, all of them, their barbaric headdresses and grotesquely painted faces, together with their many metal ornaments and gorgeously coloured feathers, adding to their wild, fierce appearance. 1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter V, in The Beasts of Tarzan
   Nesting birds pluck some of their own feathers to line the nest, but feather plucking in pet birds is entirely different. 2000, C. J. Puotinen, The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care, page 362
2. Long hair on the lower legs of a dog or horse, especially a draft horse, notably the Clydesdale breed. Narrowly only the rear hair.
3. One of the fins or wings on the shaft of an arrow.
4. A longitudinal strip projecting from an object to strengthen it, or to enter a channel in another object and thereby prevent displacement sideways but permit motion lengthwise; a spline.
5. Kind; nature; species (from the proverbial phrase "birds of a feather").
6. 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.
7. The angular adjustment of an oar or paddle-wheel float, with reference to a horizontal axis, as it leaves or enters the water.
8. Anything petty or trifling; a whit or jot.
   To some pew purchasers he gave deeds, to others he gave, none, but both were promised security, and both it seems were equally secure, for the pew deed as Mr. Melledge declared to Mr. G. was not worth a feather. 1823, An Ecclesiastical Memoir of Essex Street Religious Society
9. (hunting, in the plural) Partridges and pheasants, as opposed to rabbits and hares (called fur).
10. (rail transport) 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.
    Signal M123 is a conventional 3-aspect colour light with three Junction Indicators - commonly known as 'feathers'. December 30 2020, David Allen, “Unusual signals...: Morpeth Signal M123”, in Rail, page 64

verb

1. To cover or furnish with feathers; (when of an arrow) to fletch.
   Olondaw had taught Hazeleye how to use her bow and arrows, and that each might know the result of his or her own shooting, he had feathered her arrow with white and his own with red. How strange are the events of this life, […] 1912, Frances, Object-lessons on Temperance, Or, The Indian Maiden and Her White Deer, page 117
   She feathered her arrows in the Seneca fashion, two lengths of feather tied on with a spiral twist, so they would spin in flight. The trick was to glue both sides in place with a little sticky pine sap so they would stay put while she tied them […] 2007, Thomas Perry, Vanishing Act, Ballantine Books, page 302
2. To adorn, as if with feathers; to fringe.
3. To arrange in the manner or appearance of feathers.
   The stylist feathered my hair.
4. (transitive, intransitive, rowing) To rotate the oars while they are out of the water to reduce wind resistance.
5. (aeronautics) 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.
6. (carpentry, engineering) To finely shave or bevel an edge.
7. (computer graphics) To intergrade or blend the pixels of an image with those of a background or neighboring image.
8. (intransitive) Of written or printed ink: to take on a blurry appearance as a result of spreading through the receiving medium.
   Whether or not the ink feathers depends upon the paper or card, and also upon the nature of the dye in the ink. 1940, Circular of the Bureau of Standards, numbers 426-451, page 50
9. (transitive) To render light as a feather; to give wings to.
   c. 1650, Robert Loveday, letter to Mr. C. The Polonian story, which perhaps may feather some tedious hours.
10. (transitive) To enrich; to exalt; to benefit.
11. (transitive) To tread, as a cockerel.
12. (snooker, billiards) To move the cue back and forth along the bridge in preparation for striking the cue ball.
13. (snooker, billiards) To accidentally touch the cue ball with the tip of the cue when taking aim.
14. (transitive) To touch lightly, like (or as if with) a feather.
    His breath feathered her lips; her spine, her legs weakened, went soft at the wafting warmth. 2001, Joan Hohl, Maybe Tomorrow, Zebra Books, page 186
    A soft breeze feathered her face and hair. The smell of honeysuckle blanketed the air. She concentrated on shutting out every sound except the whisper of her heart. Gradually the inner distractions became fewer. 2006, Gary Parker, Her Daddy's Eyes, Baker Books, page 143
15. (transitive) To move softly, like a feather.
    She feathered her fingers through Mitchell's hair. “Besides, I like you a whole lot better than Frye.” 2005, Radclyffe, Justice Served, Bold Strokes Books Inc
    “Asking me not to breathe would be simpler,” Drake said. “If I could spare you what's coming—” “No.” Drake feathered her fingers through Sylvan's hair. “We fight together.” Sylvan nodded and relaxed in her embrace. Drake didn't fear death. 2011, L.L. Raand, Blood Hunt, Bold Strokes Books Inc