Wiktionary

pen

See also: Appendix:Variations of "pen"

EnglishEdit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

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]

NounEdit

pen (plural pens)

  1. An enclosure (enclosed area) used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.
    There are two steers in the third pen.
  2. (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.
  3. (baseball) The bullpen.
    Two righties are up in the pen.
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
penitentiary — see penitentiary
(baseball) bullpen — see bullpen

Etymology 2Edit

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”).

VerbEdit

pen (third-person singular simple present pens, present participle penning, simple past and past participle penned or pent)

  1. (transitive) To enclose in a pen.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit

Etymology 3Edit

 
A ballpoint pen, showing assembly.

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.

See feather and πέτομαι (pétomai) for more.

NounEdit

pen (plural pens)

  1. A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used to write or make marks.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.
  2. (figuratively) A writer, or their style.
    He has a sharp pen.
  3. (colloquial) Marks of ink left by a pen.
    He's unhappy because he got pen on his new shirt.
  4. A light pen.
  5. (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.
  6. (now rare, poetic, dialectal) A feather, especially one of the flight feathers of a bird, angel etc.
  7. (poetic) A wing.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
light pen — see light pen
wing — see wing

VerbEdit

pen (third-person singular simple present pens, present participle penning, simple past and past participle penned)

  1. (transitive) To write (an article, a book, etc.).
    • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, OCLC 246633669, 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.
TranslationsEdit

Etymology 4Edit

Origin uncertain. Compare hen.

NounEdit

pen (plural pens)

  1. A female swan.
SynonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit

Etymology 5Edit

Clipping of penalty.

NounEdit

pen (plural pens)

  1. (soccer, slang) Penalty.

ReferencesEdit

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “pen”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

AnagramsEdit

AngloromaniEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

Inherited from Romani phen.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): [ˈpʰen], [ˈpen], [pʰɛn]

NounEdit

pen

  1. sister
    Synonyms: minnipen, rakla
    Sa see pal te pen? ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Derived termsEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • “pen”, in Angloromani Dictionary, The Manchester Romani Project, 2004-2006, page 132

CumbricEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Brythonic *penn, from Proto-Celtic *kʷennom, of uncertain derivation.

NounEdit

pen

  1. head
  2. top, summit

ReferencesEdit

  • Attested in Cumbric toponymic compounds and phrasal names (Pen-y-Ghent)

DanishEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From late Old Norse penni, from Latin penna (“feather”).

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /pɛnˀ/, [pʰɛnˀ]

NounEdit

pen c (singular definite pennen, plural indefinite penne)

  1. pen
  2. quill
  3. pane, peen
DeclensionEdit
Declension of pen
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative pen pennen penne pennene
genitive pens pennens pennes pennenes

Etymology 2Edit

AdjectiveEdit

pen (neuter pent, plural and definite singular attributive pene, comparative penere, superlative (predicative) penest, superlative (attributive) peneste)

  1. Obsolete spelling of pæn

DutchEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle Dutch penne, ultimately from Latin penna. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

pen f (plural pennen, diminutive pennetje n)

  1. a long feather of a bird
  2. pen (writing utensil)
  3. pin
    Synonym: pin

Derived termsEdit

DescendantsEdit

  • Afrikaans: pen
  • Negerhollands: pen
  • → Caribbean Hindustani: pen
  • → Caribbean Javanese: pèn
  • → Indonesian: pen
  • → Papiamentu: pèn, pen, pènchi, pennetsje (from the diminutive)
  • → Sranan Tongo: pen
    • → Saramaccan: peni

AnagramsEdit

Haitian CreoleEdit

 
Haitian Creole Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ht

EtymologyEdit

From French pain (“bread”).

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

pen

  1. bread

IndonesianEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): [ˈpɛn]
  • Hyphenation: pèn

Etymology 1Edit

From Dutch pen, from Latin penna (“feather, pen”). Doublet of pena.

NounEdit

pèn (first-person possessive penku, second-person possessive penmu, third-person possessive pennya)

  1. (nonstandard) alternative form of pena (“pen”).
  2. (medicine) pin, metal used to fasten or as a bearing.

Etymology 2Edit

VerbEdit

pen

  1. (slang) syncopic form of pengen

Further readingEdit

JapaneseEdit

RomanizationEdit

pen

  1. Rōmaji transcription of ペン

MandarinEdit

RomanizationEdit

pen

  1. Nonstandard spelling of pēn.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of pén.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of pěn.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of pèn.

Usage notesEdit

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

MapudungunEdit

VerbEdit

pen (Raguileo spelling)

  1. to see
    Synonym: petun

Middle EnglishEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Anglo-Norman penne.

NounEdit

pen

  2. Alternative form of penne

Etymology 2Edit

From Old English penn, from Proto-Germanic *pennō, perhaps from the root of pinn (“peg, pin”).

Alternative formsEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

pen

  2. A enclosed structure for securing animals.
Related termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
ReferencesEdit

MindiriEdit

NounEdit

pen

  1. woman

Further readingEdit

  • Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)

Norwegian BokmålEdit

EtymologyEdit

Possibly from French.

AdjectiveEdit

pen (neuter singular pent, definite singular and plural pene, comparative penere, indefinite superlative penest, definite superlative peneste)

  1. nice
    pent vær ― nice weather
  2. neat
  3. beautiful, pretty
  4. handsome, good-looking

ReferencesEdit

Norwegian NynorskEdit

EtymologyEdit

Possibly from French.

AdjectiveEdit

pen (neuter singular pent, definite singular and plural pene, comparative penare, indefinite superlative penast, definite superlative penaste)

  1. nice
    pent vêr ― nice weather
  2. neat
  3. beautiful, pretty
  4. handsome, good-looking

ReferencesEdit

Old CornishEdit

From Proto-Celtic *kʷennom.

NounEdit

pen

  1. head

RadeEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from French pince.

NounEdit

pen

  1. pincers

RomaniEdit

PronounEdit

pen

  1. themselves (third-person plural reflexive pronoun)

See alsoEdit

Romani personal pronouns
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

Tok PisinEdit

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Etymology 1Edit

From English paint.

NounEdit

pen

  1. paint

Etymology 2Edit

From English pen.

NounEdit

pen

  1. pen

Etymology 3Edit

From English pain.

NounEdit

pen

  1. 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.”
      →New International Version translation

VolapükEdit

NounEdit

pen (nominative plural pens)

  1. pen

DeclensionEdit

declension of pen
singular plural
nominative pen pens
genitive pena penas
dative pene penes
accusative peni penis
vocative 1 o pen! o pens!
predicative 2 penu penus
  • 1 status as a case is disputed
  • 2 in later, non-classical Volapük only

WelshEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle Welsh and Old Welsh penn, from Proto-Brythonic *penn, from Proto-Celtic *kʷennom.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

pen m (plural pennau)

  1. (anatomy) head
  2. chief
  3. top, apex
  4. end, extremity

Related termsEdit

AdjectiveEdit

pen (feminine singular pen, plural pen, equative penned, comparative pennach, superlative pennaf)

  1. head
  2. chief
  3. supreme, principal

MutationEdit

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.

ReferencesEdit

  • 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
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