pen
English edit
Pronunciation edit
- IPA(key): /pɛn/
Audio (US) (file) - (pin–pen merger) IPA(key): /pɪn/
Audio (US-Inland North) (file) - Homophone: pin (pin-pen merger)
- Rhymes: -ɛn
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle English pen, penne (“enclosure for animals”), from Old English penn (“enclosure, fold, pen”), from Proto-Germanic *pennō, *pannijō (“pin, bolt, nail, tack”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“pointed peg, nail, edge”). Related to pin.
Sense “prison” originally figurative extension to “enclosure for persons” (1845), later influenced by penitentiary (“prison”), being analyzed as an abbreviation (1884).[1]
Noun edit
pen (plural pens)
- An enclosure (enclosed area) used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.
- There are two steers in the third pen.
- (slang) Penitentiary, i.e. a state or federal prison for convicted felons.
- They caught him with a stolen horse, and he wound up in the pen again.
- (baseball) The bullpen.
- Two righties are up in the pen.
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
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Etymology 2 edit
From Middle English pennen, from Old English *pennian (“to close, lock, bolt”, attested in onpennian (“to open”)), derived from penn (see above). Akin to Low German pennen (“to secure a door with a bolt”).
Verb edit
pen (third-person singular simple present pens, present participle penning, simple past and past participle penned or pent)
- (transitive) To enclose in a pen.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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Etymology 3 edit
From Middle English penne, from Anglo-Norman penne, from Old French penne, from Latin penna (“feather”), from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ~ pth₂én- (“feather, wing”), from *peth₂- (“to rush, fly”) (from which petition). Proto-Indo-European base also root of *petra-, from which Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) (whence pterodactyl), Sanskrit पत्रम् (patram, “wing, feather”), Old Church Slavonic перо (pero, “pen”), Old Norse fjǫðr, Old English feðer (Modern English feather);[1] note the /p/ → /f/ Germanic sound change.
Doublet of panne, penna, and pinna. See feather and πέτομαι (pétomai) for more.
Noun edit
pen (plural pens)
- A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used to write or make marks.
- He took notes with a pen.
- (figurative) A writer, or their style.
- He has a sharp pen.
- 1655, Thomas Fuller, edited by James Nichols, The Church History of Britain, […], new edition, volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [James Nichols] for Thomas Tegg and Son, […], published 1837, →OCLC:
- those learned pens
- (colloquial) Marks of ink left by a pen.
- He's unhappy because he got pen on his new shirt.
- A light pen.
- (zoology) The internal cartilage skeleton of a squid, shaped like a pen.
- 2017, Danna Staaf, Squid Empire, ForeEdge, →ISBN, page 117:
- A pen is nothing more complex than a decalcified shell, so one mutation of the genes that controlled calcification could be all it took.
- (now rare, poetic, dialectal) A feather, especially one of the flight feathers of a bird, angel etc.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, “(please specify the book)”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
- And eke the pennes, that did his pineons bynd,
Were like mayne-yards, with flying canuas lynd,
With which whenas him liſt the ayre to beat […]
- (poetic) A wing.
- 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the book number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- but feather'd soon and fledge
They summed their pens, and soaring the air sublime
- A syringe-like device for injecting a dose of medication such as insulin or epinephrine. (See Injector pen.)
- 2023 August 29, Geri Krotow, A Wasp in the Woods, Tule Publishing, →ISBN:
- "I'm sure she had more than one EpiPen […] " "But she didn't have one when she got stung or she'd have used it." By all appearances, Mariah died in the woods, […] If she managed to grab the pen found under her leg from her bag or pocket, she never discharged it. But Crystal doesn't have these details. "Doesn't it make sense that she kept an extra pen in her cupboard, and one in her bag? The extra pen fell out, is all."
- Short for vapor pen (“electronic cigarette”).
- a dab pen; a wax pen
Derived terms edit
- 3D pen
- ball pen
- ball-point pen
- beard pen
- border pen
- bow pen
- brush pen
- bull pen
- cartridge pen
- conductive pen
- dab pen
- dip one's pen in someone's inkwell
- dip pen
- don't dip your pen in company ink
- electric pen
- eraser pen
- feather pen
- felt pen
- felt-tipped pen
- felt-tip pen
- fountain pen
- fude pen
- fude-pen
- gel pen
- geometric pen
- glass dip pen
- glass pen
- goose-pen
- goose pen
- ink pen
- J pen
- keelyvine pen
- knight of the pen
- laser pen
- lettering pen
- marker pen
- marking pen
- music pen
- nib pen
- pen and ink
- pen-and-ink money
- pen-and-paper
- pen and paper
- pen-and-wash
- pen cancellation
- pen drive
- pen-driver
- pen feather
- penfriend
- pen gun
- pen licence
- penmanship
- pen-mate
- pen name
- pen pal
- pen pencil
- pen picture
- pen portrait
- pen-pusher
- pen register
- pen shell
- pen spinning
- pen-tailed treeshrew
- pentel pen
- penthusiasm
- pen torch
- poison pen
- poison-pen letter
- put pen to paper
- quill pen
- reed pen
- ruling pen
- sea pen
- set pen to paper
- shading pen
- slip of the pen
- stylographic pen
- technical pen
- the pen is mightier than the sword
- touch pen
- vape pen
- vapor pen
- veto pen
- you don't dip your pen in company ink
- you don't dip your pen in the company inkwell
- you don't dip your pen in the company's ink
- you don't dip your pen in the inkwell
Translations edit
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Verb edit
pen (third-person singular simple present pens, present participle penning, simple past and past participle penned)
- (transitive) To write (an article, a book, etc.).
- 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Nonuel:
- Prying open the crate, you discover a carefully wrapped, handwritten copy of one of Matriarch Dilinaga's treatises. It is unlikely she penned it herself, but the flowing brushwork and intricate watercolor illustrations clearly show the hand of a master scribe.
- 2021 February 9, Christina Newland, “Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, in BBC[1]:
- His two most recent films are last year's Greyhound, a Hanks-penned World War Two thriller in which he plays a naval commander, and now News of the World, a Western set in the years immediately following the close of the US Civil War, directed by Paul Greengrass, which is premiering around the world on Netflix tomorrow.
- 2021 December 29, Conrad Landin, “Glasgow Subway: a city institution”, in RAIL, number 947, page 45:
- It was in this era, too, that author and Scotland the Brave songwriter Cliff Hanley penned The Glasgow Underground, a tongue-in-cheek love letter to the Subway in song.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
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Etymology 4 edit
Origin uncertain. Compare hen.
Noun edit
pen (plural pens)
- A female swan.
Synonyms edit
- swaness (rare)
Translations edit
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Etymology 5 edit
Noun edit
pen (plural pens)
Etymology 6 edit
By incorrect analogy with man → men.
Noun edit
pen (uncountable)
See also edit
- pen test (etymologically unrelated, as "pen" refers to penetration)
References edit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Douglas Harper (2001–2024), “pen”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams edit
Angloromani edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
pen
Derived terms edit
References edit
- “pen”, in Angloromani Dictionary, The Manchester Romani Project, 2004-2006, page 132
Cumbric edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Brythonic *penn, from Proto-Celtic *kʷennom, of uncertain derivation.
Noun edit
pen
References edit
- Attested in Cumbric toponymic compounds and phrasal names (Pen-y-Ghent)
Danish edit
Etymology 1 edit
From late Old Norse penni, from Latin penna (“feather”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
pen c (singular definite pennen, plural indefinite penne)
Declension edit
Etymology 2 edit
Adjective edit
pen (neuter pent, plural and definite singular attributive pene, comparative penere, superlative (predicative) penest, superlative (attributive) peneste)
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
From Middle Dutch penne, ultimately from Latin penna. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
pen f (plural pennen, diminutive pennetje n)
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
- Afrikaans: pen
- Negerhollands: pen
- → Caribbean Hindustani: pen
- → Caribbean Javanese: pèn
- → Indonesian: pen
- → Japanese: ペン (pen)
- → Papiamentu: pèn, pen, pènchi, pennetsje (from the diminutive)
- → Sranan Tongo: pen
- → Saramaccan: peni
Anagrams edit
Haitian Creole edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
pen
Indonesian edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Dutch pen, from Latin penna (“feather, pen”). Doublet of pena.
Noun edit
pèn (first-person possessive penku, second-person possessive penmu, third-person possessive pennya)
- (nonstandard) alternative form of pena (“pen”).
- (medicine) pin, metal used to fasten or as a bearing.
Etymology 2 edit
Verb edit
pen
Further reading edit
- “pen” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Japanese edit
Romanization edit
pen
Mandarin edit
Romanization edit
pen
- Nonstandard spelling of pēn.
- Nonstandard spelling of pén.
- Nonstandard spelling of pěn.
- Nonstandard spelling of pèn.
Usage notes edit
- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Mapudungun edit
Verb edit
pen (Raguileo spelling)
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Anglo-Norman penne.
Noun edit
pen
- Alternative form of penne
Etymology 2 edit
From Old English penn, from Proto-Germanic *pennō, perhaps from the root of pinn (“peg, pin”).
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
pen
Related terms edit
Descendants edit
References edit
- “pen, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-24.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2024), “pen”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Mindiri edit
Noun edit
pen
Further reading edit
- Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)
Mokilese edit
Noun edit
pen
Norwegian Bokmål edit
Etymology edit
Possibly from French.
Adjective edit
pen (neuter singular pent, definite singular and plural pene, comparative penere, indefinite superlative penest, definite superlative peneste)
References edit
- “pen” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk edit
Etymology edit
Possibly from French.
Adjective edit
pen (neuter singular pent, definite singular and plural pene, comparative penare, indefinite superlative penast, definite superlative penaste)
References edit
- “pen” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old Cornish edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Celtic *kʷennom.
Noun edit
pen
Rade edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
pen
Romani edit
Pronoun edit
pen
- themselves (third-person plural reflexive pronoun)
See also edit
Number | Person | Gender | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative | Instrumental | Possessive |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | First | — | me | man | manqe | manθe | manθar | mança | miro, -i, -e |
Second | — | tu | tut | tuqe | tuθe | tuθar | tuça | tiro, -i, -e | |
Reflexive third | — | — | pes | pesqe | pesθe | pesθar | peça | pesqero, -i, -e | |
Third | Masculine | ov | les | lesqe | lesθe | lesθar | leça | lesqero, -i, -e | |
Feminine | oj | la | laqe | laθe | laθar | laça | laqero, -i, -e | ||
Plural | First | — | amen | amenqe | amenθe | amenθar | amença | amaro, -i, -e | |
Second | — | tumen | tumenqe | tumenθe | tumenθar | tumença | tumaro, -i, -e | ||
Reflexive third | — | — | pen | penqe | penθe | penθar | pença | penqero, -i, -e | |
Third | — | on | len | lenqe | lenθe | lenθar | lença | lenqero, -i, -e |
Number | Person | Gender | Nominative | Accusative (long and short forms) | Dative | Locative | Ablative | Instrumental | Possessive |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | First | — | me | man, ma | mánge | mánde | mándar | mánsa | múrro m, múrri f, múrre pl |
Second | — | tu | tut, tu | túke | túte | tútar | túsa | tíro m, tíri f, tíre pl | |
Reflexive third | — | — | pês, pe | pêske | pêste | pêstar | pêsa | pêsko m, pêski f, pêske pl | |
Third | Masculine | wo | lês, le | lêske | lêste | lêstar | lêsa | lêsko m, lêski f, lêske pl | |
Feminine | woi | la, la | láke | láte | látar | lása | láko m, láki f, láke pl | ||
Plural | First | — | ame | amên, ame | amênge | amênde | amêndar | amênsa | amáro m, amári f, amáre pl |
Second | — | tume | tumên, tume | tumênge | tumênde | tumêndar | tumênsa | tumáro m, tumári f, tumáre pl | |
Reflexive third | — | — | pên, pe | pênge | pênde | pêndar | pênsa | pêngo m, pêngi f, pênge pl | |
Third | — | won | lên, le | lênge | lênde | lêndar | lênsa | lêngo m, lêngi f, lênge pl |
Tok Pisin edit
Etymology 1 edit
Noun edit
pen
Etymology 2 edit
Noun edit
pen
Etymology 3 edit
Noun edit
pen
- pain
- 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 3:16:
- Na God i tokim meri olsem, “Bai mi givim yu bikpela hevi long taim yu gat bel. Na bai yu gat bikpela pen long taim yu karim pikinini. Tasol bai yu gat bikpela laik yet long man bilong yu, na bai em i bosim yu.”
Volapük edit
Noun edit
pen (nominative plural pens)
Declension edit
Welsh edit
Picture dictionary | ||
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Etymology edit
From Middle Welsh and Old Welsh penn, from Proto-Brythonic *penn, from Proto-Celtic *kʷennom.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
pen m (plural pennau)
Derived terms edit
- goben (“penult”)
- gobennol (“penultimate”)
- gobennu (“to terminate, to accent on the penultimate syllable”)
- penglog (“skull”)
- pengoch (“redheaded”)
- pen tost (“headache”)
- pen-blwydd (“anniversary, birthday”)
- penddu (“blackheaded”)
- penfeddw (“giddy, lightheaded”)
- penfelyn (“yellow-headed”)
- penllwyd (“grey-haired”)
- pennaeth (“chief, leader”)
- pennog (“herring”)
- pensyfrdan (“stunned, bewildered”)
- penwyn (“white-headed”)
- uwchben (“overhead, above”)
Adjective edit
pen (feminine singular pen, plural pen, equative penned, comparative pennach, superlative pennaf)
Mutation edit
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
pen | ben | mhen | phen |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
References edit
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “pen”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies