plume

Etymology 1

From Late Middle English plum, plume (“feather; plumage”), from Anglo-Norman plum, plume and Middle French, Old French plume, plome (“plumage; down used for stuffing pillows, etc.; pen, quill”) (modern French plume (“feather; pen, quill; pen nib; (figurative) writer”)), and directly from its etymon Latin plūma (“feather; plumage; down”) (compare Late Latin plūma (“pen, quill”)), from Proto-Italic *plouksmā, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly; to flow; to run; to flap with hands; to splash”). The English word is a doublet of pluma.

noun

1. (archaic, literary and poetic) A feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.
   [T]he most valuable cargo carried by the Titanic wasn't diamonds or gold but 12 cases of ostrich plumes valued at $2.3 million in today's money. 4 August 2020, Richard Conniff, “They may Look Goofy, but Ostriches are Nobody’s Fool”, in National Geographic, Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-10-09
2. (archaic, literary and poetic) A cluster of feathers worn as an ornament, especially on a helmet; a hackle.
3. (figurative) A token of honour or prowess; that on which one prides oneself; a prize or reward.
4. The vane (“flattened, web-like part”) of a feather, especially when on a quill pen or the fletching of an arrow.
5. Short for plume moth (“a small, slender moth of the family Pterophoridae”).
6. Things resembling a feather.
   1. 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.
   2. An upward spray of mist or water.
   3. (astronomy) An arc of glowing material (chiefly gases) erupting from the surface of a star.
   4. (botany) A large and flexible panicle of an inflorescence resembling a feather, such as is seen in certain large ornamental grasses.
   5. (geology) Short for mantle plume (“an upwelling of abnormally hot molten material from the Earth's mantle which spreads sideways when it reaches the lithosphere”).
   6. (zoology) A body part resembling a feather.
      1. The furry tail of certain dog breeds (such as the Samoyed) that curls over their backs or stands erect.
      2. More fully gill plume: a feathery gill of some crustaceans and molluscs.

Etymology 2

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).

verb

1. (transitive, also figurative) To adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or plumes, or as if with feathers or plumes.
2. (transitive, reflexive) Chiefly of a bird: to arrange and preen the feathers of, specifically in preparation for flight; hence (figurative), to prepare for (something).
   I bless thee that thy angel-presence still infolds me here! / Forgive me, ere thy spirit plumest for the heavenly sphere. 1854 January, J. D. Bell, “Lines. Inscribed to My Mother.”, in D[avis] W[asgatt] Clark, editor, The Ladies’ Repository: A Monthly Periodical, Devoted to Literature and Religion, volume XIV, Cincinnati, Oh.: L. Swormstedt and A. Poe; […], →OCLC, page 38, column 2
   … Ruth resembled the dove that plumeth its wings in readiness to fly away and be at rest, in the ark of everlasting peace and joy. 1870 September, J. C. H., “The Story of Ruth. A Modern Version.”, in Dublin University Magazine, a Literary and Political Journal, volume LXXVI, number CCCCLIII, Dublin: George Herbert,[…]; London: Hurst and Blackett, →OCLC, page 290, column 1
   Victor Love—His far dominion / Owneth with proud glance, / See, he plumeth now his pinion, / Wakeneth from his trance; … [1873], L[aura] L[ouisa] McL[auchlan] B[ackler], “Love and the Maiden”, in Light and Shadow, London: S. W. Partridge and Co.,[…], →OCLC, page 37
3. (transitive, reflexive, by extension) To congratulate (oneself) proudly, especially concerning something unimportant or when taking credit for another person's effort; to self-congratulate.
   He plumes himself on his skill.
   But now thy armour beauteous, / all brass-belaid and sparkling, / Among the Troïans is held: / for motley-helmed Hector / Across his shoulders bearing it / plumeth himself; nor deem I / Long shall he vaunt it; sith alsó / on him o'erhangeth slaughter. 1856, Homer, “Book XVIII”, in F[rancis] W[illiam] Newman, transl., The Iliad of Homer: Faithfully Translated into Unrhymed English Meter, London: Walton and Maberly,[…], →OCLC, lines 130–133, page 322
   Challenger plumed himself like some unwieldy bird under the influence of flattery. 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Disintegration Machine
4. (transitive, archaic) To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.
   1. (by extension) To peel, to strip completely; to pillage; also, to deprive of power.
   2. (falconry, obsolete) Of a hawk: to pluck the feathers from prey.
      The hauke proineth when ſhe fetcheth oyle with her beake over the taile, and anointeth her feet and her fethers. She plumeth when ſhe pulleth fethers of anie foule and caſteth them from her. 1793, Samuel Johnson, George Steevens, “King Henry IV. Part I.”, in William Shakespeare, The Plays of William Shakespeare:[…], volume VIII, London: […] T[homas] Longman,[…], →OCLC, act I, scene i, footnote 3, page 366
5. (intransitive) 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.