Pennage
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The confining of animals in pens. countable, uncountable
- 2 feathery covering; plumage obsolete
"AND IN THIS REGARD eſpecially, namely for breeding after the ſummer Sunſteed, the Halcyones are of great name and much marked. The very ſeas, and they that ſaile thereupon, know well when they ſit and breed. This very bird ſo notable, is little bigger than a ſparrow: for the more part of her pennage, blew, intermingled yet among with white and purple feathers, having a thin ſmall neck and long withall."
- 3 A fee paid for the accommodation of animals in pens. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"AND IN THIS REGARD eſpecially, namely for breeding after the ſummer Sunſteed, the Halcyones are of great name and much marked. The very ſeas, and they that ſaile thereupon, know well when they ſit and breed. This very bird ſo notable, is little bigger than a ſparrow: for the more part of her pennage, blew, intermingled yet among with white and purple feathers, having a thin ſmall neck and long withall."
Etymology
From pen + -age.
From penna + -age, from Latin penna, pinna (“wing, feather”). Perhaps analogous to French pennage, the same Latinate root and suffix elements having both entered at an earlier stage (cf. Middle English penne, -age).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.