| 释义 |
▪ I. feather, n.|ˈfɛðə(r)|
Forms: α. 1, 2 feðer, 3 south. veðer, 2–5 feþer(e, -ir, 4–6 feder, 5 fedder, 5 fedyr, 4–6 fether, 6– feather. β. 1 fiðer(e, fyðer(e, 2 fi-, fyðer, 2, 4 fyþer.
[Com. Teut. OE. feðer str. fem. = OS. fethara (Du. veder, veer), OHG. fedara (MHG. veder(e, mod.G. feder), ON. fiǫþr (Icel. fjöðr, Da. fjeder, Sw. fjäder):—OTeut. *feþrâ:—pre-Teut. *petrā fem., corresponding (exc. as to declension) to Gr. πτερόν wing, f. root *pet-, whence Skr. pat, Gr. πέτεσθαι to fly. With this word in ME. was to some extent confounded its derivative fiðere neut., wing (:—pre-Eng. type *fiþrjo-m), the examples of which are therefore placed here.]
I. As an appendage.
1. a. One of the epidermal appendages of a bird, usually in the form of a central shaft or midrib, of a horny nature, in part tubular, for the rest square in section and solid, fringed on either side with a ‘vane’, i.e. a row of thin narrow plates mutually adpressed (the ‘barbs’), which form a rounded outline at the end. Often preceded by some qualifying word, as contour-, covert-, pin-, quill- etc. feather. In pl. also plumage.
a1000Phœnix 145 (Gr.) Þriwa ascæceð feðre flyhthwate. a1225Ancr. R. 140 Ase brid þet haueð lutel uleschs & monie ueðeren. a1250Owl & Night. 1668 Ne schal..a wrecche feþer on ow bileve. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xv. 173 Þe pokok and þe popeiay with here proude federes. 1440Promp. Parv. 152/2 Fedyr, penna, pluma. 1508Fisher Wks. (1867) 154 She proyneth & setteth her feders in ordre. 1655Moufet & Bennet Health's Improv. (1746) 171 The best part of a Duck are his Feathers. 1748F. Smith Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass. I. 155 The whole Feathers (excepting the Pinion Feathers, and the large Feathers of the Tail) are double. 1870Yeats Nat. Hist. Comm. 309 A feather consists of three parts, the quill, the shaft, and the vane.
b. In various fig. expressions: † two feathers out of a goose: a very small part of anything. † to gain more feathers: (of a rumour) to assume larger proportions. to make the feathers fly: to cause a disturbance, to ‘stir up’ someone. † to pick feathers off (a person): to plunder. † to pull the feathers off (a person's fame): to detract from. to smooth one's rumpled feathers: to recover one's equanimity. to find a white feather in one's tail; to mount, show the white feather: (in allusion to the fact, that a white feather in a game-bird's tail is a mark of inferior breeding) to perceive, show signs of cowardice. to crop the feathers of: to strip of bravery and pomp. you could (or might) have knocked me (etc.) down with a feather (and similar expressions): used hyperbolically = I was much surprised, astounded, etc.
c1430Lydg. Bochas i. xii. (1544) 24 a, Of his good fame she gan the feders pull. 1600Holland Livy ix. xxxviii. (1609) 342 The brute..got more feathers still as it flew. 1677A. Yarranton Eng. Improv. 24 All that is, desired is but two Feathers out of their Goose. Ibid. 25 The Lawyers Objections are only made..that they may pick some more Feathers off him. 1741Richardson Pamela I. vii. 13, I was so confounded at these Words, you might have beat me down with a Feather. 1825On Bull-baiting i. (Houlston Tracts I. xxvii. 4), I've long guess'd..that we should find a white feather in thy tail. 1825J. Neal Bro. Jonathan I. iv. 94 If my New York master..had hold o' him; he'd make the feathers fly. Ibid. II. xxiii. 339 When they are at home..how the feathers fly! 1827Pollok Course T. v. 1001 Vanity, With a good conscience pleased, her feathers cropped. 1829Scott Jrnl. 15 April, No one will defend him who shows the white feather. 1843[see sense 10 a]. 1849Dickens Barn. Rudge lix, ‘―’ said Simon, as he smoothed his rumpled feathers. 1853Lytton My Novel III. ix. xiii. 69 You might have knocked them down with a feather! 1856Reade Never too late xvi, You..tempt a..sick creature to mount the white feather. 1924C. Mackenzie Heavenly Ladder v. 75 At present you could knock me down on a feather, as old Mrs. Geary used to say, I'm that overgone by it all. 1930W. S. Maugham Cakes & Ale vii. 89 When I..saw Rosie standing there, you could 'ave knocked me down with a feather. 1970Globe & Mail (Toronto) 26 Sept. 5/5 You could have knocked me over with a feather.
c. Proverb.
1714Mandeville Fab. Bees (1725) I. 130 Fine feathers make fine birds.
d. transf.
1784Cowper Task v. 26 The bents..fledged with icy feathers, nod superb. 1821Shelley Prometh. Unb. iv. 221 Its plumes are as feathers of sunny frost.
2. a. collect. Plumage; also transf. (of plants); and in fig. sense: Attire, ‘get-up’. all fowls in feather = birds of all feather.
c1400Destr. Troy 343 All fowles in ffether fell þere vppon. a1400–50Alexander 5604 Þar fand þai bridis..Of feþir fresch as any fame. a1634Randolph Amyntas ii. iii, What's their Feather? 1842Tennyson Talking Oak 269 All grass of silky feather grow. 1842G. Darling in Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. 10 Which proved to be the male in tolerable feather and condition. 1855Thackeray Newcomes II. 34, I saw him in full clerical feather.
b. In fig. phrases. in fine, good, high, etc. feather: in good condition of health, spirits, etc. in full feather: see quots. Of the weather: high feather = brilliant condition. † a man of (the first) feather: one of (very) showy parts. to cut out of all feather: to take all ‘the shine’ out of.
1592Nashe P. Penilesse Wks. (Grosart) II. 78 You shall heare a Caualier of the first feather. 1667Dryden Maiden Queen v. i, A man of garniture and feather is above the dispensation of the sword. 1781G. Selwyn Let. in 15th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. vi. (1897) 505 He [sc. C. J. Fox] is in high feather. 1834W. N. Glascock Naval Sketch-Bk. 2nd Ser. I. 149 A lady in full feather approached the sentinel on the sward. 1844Dickens Mart. Chuz. (Househ. ed.) 416/2 Todgers's was in high feather. 1852R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour xiii. 65 Our friend..was now in good feather; he had got a large price for his good-for-nothing horse. 1855Dickens Dorrit xxxii, I'm in wonderful feather. 1855J. E. Cooke Ellie 476 No words can describe the serene effulgence of the Heartsease appearance, when in full feather, and high spirits. 1860Hotten Slang Dict. 138 In full feather, rich. a1865Smyth Sailor's Word-Bk. (1867) 327 Full feather, attired in best dress or uniform. 1865Scott in Reader No. 121. 452/3 She cut me out of all feather. 1873Edwardes & Merivale Life Sir H. Lawrence I. 389 Havelock in great feather showed us round the fields of battle. 1878T. Hardy Ret. Native i. (1879) 10 In summer days of highest feather. 1886Baring-Gould Court Royal xxiv, Never was Mr. Rigsby in finer feather than at Court Royal. 1886Graphic 30 Jan. 130/2 Watty, by reason of his office [of butler], was of course always ‘in full feather’.
c. Description of plumage; species (of bird). Often transf. in phrases of the same, that, every, etc. feather: = of the same, etc. kind or character. Proverb, birds of a feather flock together.
1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 300 A Byrd of the same feather. 1599Minsheu Sp. Gram. 83 Birdes of a feather will flocke togither. 1607Shakes. Timon i. i. 100, I am not of that Feather, to shake off My Friend when he must neede me. 1608Day Hum. out of Br. iv. iii, A whole brood of signets, and all of a feather. 1611Cotgr. s.v. Alaine, A bird of his owne feather. 1645Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 60 Fowls of a feather flock together. 1650R. Stapylton Strada's Low C. Warres v. 121 Many of the Covenanters were birds of the same feather. 1665J. Spenser Vulg. Prophecies 70 He knows good men are soonest decoyed by those which seem of a feather with themselves. 1767S. Paterson Another Traveller! II. 48 Four hundred and fifty of them..will be of the misjudging feather. 1827Pollok Course T. v. 328 Birds of social feather, helping each His fellow's flight. 1829Carlyle Misc. (1857) I. 272 Literary quacks of every feather. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 4 Ferns of all feather.
†3. Used in pl. for: Wings. Obs. [Cf. L. pennæ; the pl. feðera was so used in OE., but some of the examples in 12–14th c. prob. belong to OE. fiðere wing.]
c850Martyrology Fragm. in O.E. Texts (1885) 177 Þa hi bæron to heofonum mid hiora fiðra flyhte. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxvi. §2 Ic hæbbe swiþe swifte feþera. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxiii. 37 Swa seo henn hyre cicenu under hyre fyþeru [c 1160 Hatton fiþera] ᵹegaderað. c1200Vices & Virtues (1888) 101 Vnder ðare scadewe of ðine fiðeres. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 64/357 And feþerene to beren eow up-on heiȝ. a1340Hampole Psalter xvii. 12 He flow abouen þe feþirs of wyndes. c1450De Imitatione iii. xxiii, Ȝeue me feders of very liberte. 1535Coverdale 2 Sam. xxii. 11 He..appeared vpon the fethers of the wynde. 1595Shakes. John iv. ii. 174 Be Mercurie, set feathers to thy heeles. 1614Raleigh Hist. World i. 146 Josephus gave all Noah's children feathers, to carry them far away.
fig.c1374Chaucer Boeth. iv. i. 110, I shal ficche feþeres in þi þouȝt. 1593Shakes. Lucr. 1216 Fleet-wing'd duty with thought's feathers flies. 1595Drake's Voy. (Hakluyt Soc.) 4 Hee hath feathers to fly to the toppe of his high desires.
4. A feathered animal; a bird. Also collect. Feathered game.
1601Shakes. Twel. N. iii. i. 71 Like the Haggard, checke at euery Feather. 1684R. H. School Recreat. 136 Your Setting-Dog must..love naturally to hunt Feathers. 1875‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. i. vii. §7. 106 The true Sussex may easily be kept strictly to feather. 1887Pall Mall G. 24 Aug. 13/2 He wandered..slaying whatever of fur and feather came in his way.
II. As a detached object.
5. a. Simply; also pl. as a commodity.
c1000Sax. Leechd. I. 234 Smyre mid nire [i.e. niwre] feþere. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1026 For..folde þer-on a lyȝt fyþer & hit to founs synkkez. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xii. 50 If men caste a fether þerin, it synkez to þe grund. c1440Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 469 And with a feder sprinke and spot the congour. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. i. 84 Looke, as I blow this Feather from my Face. 1608–11Bp. Hall Medit. & Vows ii. §25 The Larke..while it playeth with the feather..is caught in the Fowlers-net. 1614― Recoll. Treat. 413 That was but as the fowlers feather, to make mee stoope. 1745De Foe's Eng. Tradesman xxvi. (1841) I. 266 The feathers also from the same country. 1800tr. Lagrange's Chem. II. 422 Feathers..give nearly the same products as hair. 1841–44Emerson Ess., Prudence Wks. (Bohn) I. 99 Everything in nature, even motes and feathers, go by law.
b. Proverb.
1861A. Leighton Curious Storied Traditions Ser. ii. 263 There's aye feathers where the doo [doves] roosts.
†6. A pen. Obs.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke xvi. 6 Nim þine feðere & site hraðe & writ fiftiᵹ. c1205Lay. 49 Feþeren he [Laȝamon] nom mid fingren. 1781S. C. King in Med. Obs. & Inq. (1784) VI. xxii. 231, I send you a feather or pen..extracted from the œsophagus of a man.
7. A portion, or (sing. and pl.) portions, of a feather attached to the base of an arrow, to direct its flight. Also collect.
a1631Drayton Robin Hood, Their arrows finely paired, for timber and for feather. 1661Boyle Style of Script. 90 Those Historical Circumstances..are like the Feathers that wing our Arrows. 1748Richardson Clarissa Wks. 1883 VIII. 406 The barbed dart..sticks not in their hearts..up to the very feathers. 1825Fosbroke Encycl. Antiq. (1843) II. xiii. 689/1 They required nimble strong arrows, with a middling feather. 1874Boutell Arms & Arm. viii. 134 The shafts of these arrows were provided, near their base, with feathers, or with strips of leather.
8. a. As a personal decoration; a plume, esp. in ostrich-feather. Also collect. Prince of Wales' feathers, also the feather: the plume of three ostrich feathers, first adopted as a crest by the Black Prince. flush feather: see quot. 1823.
1473J. Warkworth Chron. 14 He..wered ane estryche feder. 1536Wriothesley Chron. (1875) I. 51 Hattes of blake velwett and whyte feethers. 1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. iii. 24 They must..leaue those remnants Of foole and Feather. 1615J. Stephens Satir. Ess. (ed. 2) 211 Hee stickes a feather in his Hat. 1742Young Nt. Th. viii. 429 Not in the feather, wave it e'er so high..Is glory lodg'd. 1802Wolcott (P. Pindar) Gt. Cry Little Wool Wks. 1812 V. 166 The tradesmen..proud of the feather. 1804Windham Sp. Additional Force Bill 5 June in Sp. 1812 II. 229 The volunteers have..feathers as high..as those of the regular troops. 1823Crabb Technol. Dict., Feather (Mil.), an ornamental mark worn by officers and soldiers on their caps and hats..the flush feather, a straight smooth feather worn by officers on the staff. 1887Pall Mall G. 27 Sept. 11/1 The Prince of Wales's feathers stand separate.
b. Phrases: a feather in the cap, hat: a decoration, mark of honour, lit. and fig. (also ellipt.); also † the badge of a fool; hence † Jack with the feather, a plume of feathers, for a trifling person. † to shake, wag the feather: to make a display of one's honours.
1581G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. Pref. (1586) A vj b, Though a man shake the feather after the best fashion, and take upon him never so biglie, hee [etc.]. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. iv. i. 96 What plume of feathers is hee that indited this Letter. a1633Flodden F. xii. in Child Ballads III. vi. clxviii. 353 Jack with a feather was lapt all in leather. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. v. iv. §17 He wore a feather in his cap, and wagg'd it too often. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v., He has a Feather in his Cap, a Periphrasis for a Fool. 1734Duchess of Portland Let. to Miss Collingwood in Autob. Mrs. Delany I. 511 My Lord..esteems it a feather in his hat, that [etc.]. 1736T. Lediard Life Marlborough III. 370 A Feather in his Cap, was the least that was expected for him. 1818Byron Juan i. cxcix, Their favour in an author's cap's a feather. 1825M. Constable Let. 2 May in J. Constable's Corr. (1962) 220, I expect your Barge Horse will do wonders for you—only think of the Medal, what a feather it is. 1874Helps Soc. Press. v. 70 It is always a feather in my cap when [etc.]. 1958Times 22 Oct. 14/1 Had Slater collected these two feathers to go with yesterday's collection he would have had a memorable match. 1968J. F. Straker SIN & Johnny Inch 211 Strip off if you feel like it; I reckon this has been quite a feather.
9. In pl. As material for filling bedding, etc.
1649G. Daniel Trinarch., Rich. II, clxxviii, Richard..Sleeps on the feathers which himselfe had drest.
10. a. Referred to as an object almost without weight, and capable of being moved with the greatest ease.
1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 35 Than shall we see two men beare a fether. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. ii. iii. 154, I am a Feather for each Wind that blows. 1728Pope Dunc. ii. 44 A brain of feathers and a heart of lead. a1839Praed Poems (1864) I. 232 Folly's breath..would not stir a feather. 1843Hood Forge ii. xvi, Fit for knocking down with a feather. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. vii, She felt the weight of her boy as if it had been a feather. 1872Black Adv. Phaeton xxii. 307 Tita, who weighs about a feather and a half.
b. Hence: Anything of little strength or importance; a very small amount, a trifle. † (to be pleased) to a feather: to a nicety.
1601Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 232 You boggle shrewdly, euery feather starts you. 1659Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 376 They must be pleased to a feather. 1675Traherne Chr. Ethics xxv. 390 A straw and a feather shall forfeit all the obligations in the world, in some tempers. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Titter, to Laugh at a Feather. 1794T. Jefferson Writ. (1859) IV. 112 Rising at a feather against our friends.
c. = feather-weight. to ride a feather: see quot. 1823.
1760Heber Horse Matches ix. 20 Mr. Turner's bay..5 years old, carrying a feather. 1822Examiner 232/2 Dr. Ph-ll-m-re, very light, a feather, took the field on his new rat-tail mare. 1823‘J. Bee’ Dict. Turf, etc., Boys under six stone are said to ‘ride a feather’.
III. Something resembling a feather.
11. a. On human beings: A tuft or ridge of hair standing more or less upright. b. On horses: (see quot. 1803). Also on other animals.
a.c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 301 Arthur and Bawdwin..shoke theyr eares to put awaye the fethers fro their heyre. 1580Baret Alv. F 320 Feather..the curled bush of frizled haire (wherewith lustie gallants of late would seeme to counterfeit this iollie feather. 1841S. Warren Ten Thousand a Year II. v, What's a feather?.. You see, sir, 'tis when a small lot of hair on a gent's head will stick up, do all we can to try and get it down. 1851Blackw. Mag. June 680 He wore his hair cropped close, except just in front, where it formed what the hair-dresser called a feather.
b.1580Blundevil Art of Riding i. ii. 2 The Horse that hath an Ostrich feather..on his forhead..can neuer be euill Horse. 1598Florio, Circhiello, that which is called a feather in a horse. 1617Markham Caval. ii. 6 Euery horse..hath a feather in his forehead. 1682Lond. Gaz. No. 1692/4 A light Grey Nag..a Feather in the..Neck. 1737H. Bracken Farriery (1757) II. 7 Feathers, or different Turnings of the Hair, in several parts of a Horse's body. 1803W. Taplin Sport Dict. 248 Feather. The Centrical division, and different directions, of the surrounding hair in a horse's forehead is so called: they are also frequently seen upon the neck..the mane, and..the hind quarters, and are considered natural ornaments. 1878C. Hallock Hallock's Amer. Club List & Sportsman's Gloss. p. iv/2 Feather, the long, flowing hairs which adorn the legs of a dog. 1884G. Stables Our Friend the Dog vii. 60 Feather, the long hair on chest, legs, and tail, &c., of some breeds. The hair generally. 1897Outing (U.S.) XXX. 413/1 The coat [of the Russian wolfhound] is long.., forming a liberal ‘feather’ upon the legs, chest, belly and hindquarters. 1914N.Z. Farmer Apr., Although the General Trend of the hair [sc. on the part between the hock and the vulva of a cow] is in an ascending direction there are variations on certain points where changes in the direction of the growth makes the hair stand up on ridges, sometimes forming figures. These variations are called feathers. There are in all seven feathers. 1 The Oval feather. 2 The Buttock feather. 3 The Babine feather. 4 The Vulvous feather. 5 The Bastard feather. 6 The Thigh feather. 7 The Dart feather. 1942‘M. Innes’ Daffodil Affair i. 30 ‘A nice dog,’ Appleby said... Mr. Gee swung round. ‘Dish-faced,’ he said... ‘Cow-hocked. No feather. Apple-headed. Pily’. 1954E. Megargee Dog Dict. 47 There is abundant feather on the chest, belly, hindquarters, and legs [of a field spaniel].
c. The foamy crest of a wave. Cf. cut v. 38 b.
1838Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 272/1 The feather only of each wave would be seen. 1896Daily News 10 July 3/6 White feathers from their bows.
d. (See quot. 1928.)
1928Papers Mich. Acad. Sci. Arts & Lett. X. 292 Feather, the wake or ripple left by a protruding periscope. The ‘feather’ was often visible when the periscope was not. 1943‘T. Dudley-Gordon’ Coastal Command 28 You may pass by the tell-tale feather of a periscope.
12. A blemish or flaw having a feather-like appearance:
a. in the eye;
b. in a precious stone.
1847Lever Knt. of Gwynne xxxix. 335 He had only one [eye], there was a feather on the other. 1866M. E. Braddon Lady's Mile 190 She had learned to discover a ‘feather’ in a fifty-guinea emerald ring. 1879― Vixen III. 293, I don't think there is a feather in one of the stones.
13. Confectionery. One of the degrees in boiling sugar. Also the great, little feather: see quots. Cf. Fr. à la (grande, petite) plume.
1827G. A. Jarrin Italian Confectioner (ed. 3) 3 Confectioners..have seven essential..bases of their art..4. La plume, the feather. Ibid. 4 The larger and greater quantity of bubbles, when blown through the skimmer, are the large feather. Ibid. 9 Boil to the feather some of the same clarified sugar. Ibid. 60 Clarify a pound of loaf sugar, boil it to the large feather. 1829Ibid. 177 Take a pound of clarified sugar, boil to the little feather. 1883Workshop Receipts Ser. ii. 152 For the ‘feather,’ dip the skimmer again into the sugar, and blow through the holes as before.
†14. Swedish feather: see quot. Obs.
1652Urquhart Jewel Wks. (1834) 243 Staves with iron pikes at both ends, commonly called Swedish feathers.
15. In various phrases: (to wear) the bull's feather: see bull 11 b. Naut. to cut a feather: see cut v. 38 b. In quot. fig. To move briskly.
1684T. Goddard Plato's Demon 317 Men who..have not the skill to cut a feather, very often dance themselves into that noose. 1822Scott Pirate xxxiv, He shambles about..as well as ever he did—for Jack could never cut a feather.
16. In various technical uses.
a. A longitudinal rib added to a shaft, etc. to increase its strength.
1823Buchanan Millwork 263 Apply the feathers merely to prevent bending in the middle. 1839R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 63, Z is a strengthening feather, under the crank frame. Ibid. 65 From the eye run six strong arched radii or feathers, terminating in a ledge. 1842–76Gwilt Encycl. Archit. §1629 d, Transverse ribs or feathers on cast iron beams are to be avoided.
b. Mining and Quarrying. (see quot.)
1865J. T. F. Turner Slate Quarries 13 A hole is jumped in the block [of slate] near the edge; in this, two slightly curved pieces of iron are placed (the ‘feathers’), having the concave surfaces toward each other, between them is inserted an iron punch; this is forcibly hammered in, and breaks the stone asunder. 1883Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal-Mining, Feathers. [Describes a similar contrivance in coal mines.]
c. A projection on a board, implement, or piece of machinery; esp. one intended to fit into some other part. Cf. fin.
1765A. Dickson Treat. Agric. (ed. 2) 212 The firm earth..is opened by the feather of the other sock. 1874Knight Dict. Mech. I. 828/1 Feather, a slip inserted longitudinally into a shaft or arbor, and projecting as a fin therefrom so as to fit a groove. Ibid., Feather, a tongue on the edge of a board. 1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 237 There is a feather in the straight part of the mandrel hole.
d. Salt-works. (see quot.)
1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., Mid-Feather in the English salt-works, the name given to a sort of partition placed in the middle of the furnace..This partition divides the body of the furnace into two chambers.
e. dial. ‘A linch-pin; a pin used to keep machinery tight’ (N.W. Linc. Gloss. 1877).
1908Westm. Gaz. 28 May 4/2 The gear-wheels are mounted on shafts, each having four ‘feathers’.
IV. [Properly a distinct word: f. the vb.]
17. Rowing. The action of feathering. See feather v. 11.
1865Pall Mall G. 16 May 10 Oxford and Cambridge styles used to be palpably different to the eye by the height of the feather. 1884St. James's Gaz. 28 Mar. 6/2 The feather was cleaner than that of Cambridge. 1885Manch. Guard. 28 Mar. 6/6 The feather is exquisitely even, and this is the best point in their rowing.
V. attrib. and Comb.
18. General combinations:
a. simple attrib., as feather boa, feather-bolster, feather-brush, feather club, feather-embroidery, feather-fan, feather-flower, feather-guise, feather-merchant, feather-pattern, feather-plume, feather-tract.
b. objective, as feather-beater, feather-cleanser, feather-dresser, feather-drier, feather-finisher, feather-seller; feather-bearing adj.c. instrumental, as feather-cinctured, feather-clouded, feather-tasselled adjs.d. parasynthetic and similative, as feather-legged, feather-light, feather-like, feather-nerved, feather-soft, feather-tailed, feather-thick, feather-veined, feather-white, feather-witted, adjs.; feather-wise adv.
c1050Glosses in Wr.-Wülcker 465 Penniger, *feþerberend. 1881Mivart Cat 377 The feather-bearing side of the hand.
1855H. Clarke Dict., *Feather-beater, feather cleanser.
1895Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List 15 Sept. 1041 Black and Coloured *Feather Boas. 1902Queen 15 Feb. Advt. 2nd sheet, Lace Berthes and Feather Boas.
1533in Rogers Agric. & Prices III. 573/4 *Feather bolster 5/-.
1856W. Collins After Dark Yellow Mask iii. v, He was dusting his favourite busts..with a *feather-brush when she came in.
1757Gray Progress of Poesy ii. ii, Their *feather-cinctur'd Chief, and dusky Loves. 1829Gen. P. Thompson in Westm. Rev. XI. 229 Some feather-cinctured sage.
1605Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iv. Captains 747 His *feather-clouded Crest.
1899R. Whiteing No. 5 John St. x. 101 A *Feather Club is an institution for supplying our younger womankind with..ostrich plumes for their hats.
1647Haward Crown Rev. 26 *Feather-dresser: Fee—13. 6. 8. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Feather-dresser.
Ibid., *Feather-drier.
1843Prescott Mexico (1850) I. 299 Beautiful mantles of the plumaje, or *feather embroidery.
1864Tennyson Aylmer's F. 289 Cooling her false cheek with a *featherfan.
1886Besant Children of Gibeon ii. vi, Sign⁓writers, *feather-finishers and the like.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Feather-flowers, artificial flowers made of feathers..used by ladies for head ornaments and for fancy plumes.
1889R. B. Anderson tr. Rydberg's Teut. Myth. 60 In the Norse mythology several goddesses..have..*feather-guises.
1872–4L. Wright Poultry xi. 129 The chickens were *feather-legged.
c1837Hood Ode to My Son i, With spirits *feather-light.
1776Withering Bot. Arrangem. Vegetables 680 Little *feather-like shoots rising single from the base of the leaves. 1807T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 270 Long, slender, flat, feather-like crystals.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Feather-merchant, an importer or wholesale dealer in feathers.
1840Paxton Bot. Dict., *Feather-nerved, the nerves disposed like the feathers of a pen.
1883W. G. Collingwood Philos. Ornament iv. 85 Barbaric annulets, zigzags, *feather-patterns, are found upon early vases.
1885A. M. Clerke Pop. Hist. Astron. 83 *Feather-plumes or aigrettes.
1755Johnson, *Featherseller, one who sells feathers for beds.
1923E. Sitwell Bucolic Comedies 38 The goose-girl smoothed down her *feather-soft Breast.
1883F. M. Crawford Mr. Isaacs ii, Small head, small feet, and *feather-tailed.
1883Gd. Words 113 Gorgeous articles of native dress *feather-tasseled, shell-fringed, coral-beaded.
1884Browning Ferishtah (1885) 122 Snow, *feather-thick, is falling while I feast.
1878Bell Gegenbauer's Comp. Anat. 419 The arrangement also of these first rudiments of the feathers in definite areas (*feather-tracts, pterylia).
1861Bentley Manual Bot. 152 *Feather-veined..In these the midrib gives off lateral veins which proceed at once to the margins and are connected by numerous branching veinlets. 1876H. Balfour in Encycl. Brit. (ed. 9) IV. 110 Veins going directly to the margin and forming feather-veined leaves (Oak and Chestnut). 1883W. C. Russell Sailor's Lang., *Feather-white sea, said of the sea when covered with foam.
1600Holland Livy x. xxix. (1609) 373 b, Opposing their targuets before them, raunged and joined one over another *featherwise.
1930W. de la Mare On Edge 295 That black-eyed, painted-up, *feather-witted little Italian Countess.
19. a. Special comb.: feather-alum, see alum n. 4; feather ball, a golf-ball stuffed with feathers (cf. feathery a. 4); feather-bird dial., the Whitethroat (Sylvia cinerea); feather-boarding, a covering of boards which thin off towards the lower edge, and overlap like a bird's feathers; feather-bog, a quagmire, dial. (Halliwell 1847); feather-brain, a person with a light or weak brain, whence also a light or weak brain; feather-brained a., foolish, giddy; feather-cling, Sc., a disease among cattle; feather-cloth (see quot.); † feather-cock, a coxcomb; feather-curler, one employed in curling feathers; † feather-driver, (a) = quill-driver, (b) ‘one who cleanses feathers by whisking them about’ (J.); feather-duster, a brush made of feathers, used for dusting; feather-eyed, ? having a ‘feather’ (12 a) in one's eye; feather-foot, a foot as light as a feather, in quot. fig.; † feather-glory nonce-wd., light and transitory glory; feather-heeled a. = feather-footed; feather-joint (see quot.); † feather-lock, Sc., a spring-lock; feather-mail, the dress of feathers resembling a coat of mail worn by the Indians of Mexico, prior to the Spanish conquest; feather-monger, one who deals in feathers, also transf. of a bird; feather-mosaic, patterns worked in feathers; feather-ore Min. (see quot. 1863); feather-painting, the art of using feathers of various colours in place of pigments; feather-pated a. = feather-headed; † feather-peeper, ? tips of feathers decorating a headdress; feather-pie (see quot.); feather-poke, (a) a bag of feathers, (b) applied to the Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), the Long-tailed Titmouse (Acredula rosea), and the Wren (Motacilla troglodytes), perhaps from the appearance of their nests; feather-process (see quot.); feather-pulp, the pulp or matrix from which the feather is formed; feather-shot copper (see quot.); feather-spray (see quot.); feather-spring, the spring in a gun-lock which causes the sear, which holds the hammer at full or half cock, to catch in the notch of the tumbler; † feather-staff, a light kind of halbert; feather-star, a star-fish (Comatula rosacea); feather-stick, a stick covered with feathers; feather-top, nickname of a parrot (also attrib. = next); feather-topped a., (of a wig) frizzed at the top (see feather n. 11); feather-tuft, an edible mushroom, Clavaria cristata (Hay Brit. Fungi (1887) 234); † feather-wife, a woman whose duty it was to prepare feathers for use; † feather-worker, one who prepares feathers. Also feather-bed, feather-edge, feather-footed a., etc.
a1693Urquhart Rabelais iii. lii. 425 Do not here instance in competition with this Sacred Herb the *Feather Allum. 1863–72Watts Dict. Chem. II. 617 Feather-alum, a name applied to native hydrated sulphate of aluminum..and to native iron-alum or halotrichite..both of which occur in delicate fibrous crystals or masses.
1893H. G. Hutchinson Golfing 4 All this went on before the days of gutta-percha. Men played with ‘*feather balls’—that is, balls of leather stuffed..tightly with feathers.
1885Swainson Prov. Names Brit. Birds 23 *Feather bird.
a1846Loudon in Worcester, *Feather-boarding.
1839Carlyle Chartism x. 181 Poor palpitating *featherbrain. 1888W. S. Gilbert Yeom. of Guard (1889) i. 7 Thou hast a feather-brain. 1941A. L. Rowse Tudor Cornwall xi. 269 Perhaps..it was his feather-brains which saved his head.
1820Scott Monast. xvi, Such a *feather-brained coxcomb as this. 1841Emerson Lect., Conservative Wks. (Bohn) II. 269 Your opposition is feather-brained and over-fine.
1799Highland Soc. Ess. II. 218 *Feather Cling..is occasioned by want of water in very dry summers or in the hard frosts of winters.
1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework, *Feather Cloth, a mixture of cloth and feathers woven together.
1612tr. Benvenuto's Passenger 19 Muskats, syrenists, *feather-cockes.
1881Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 79 *Feather..Curler. 1895Daily News 4 Apr. 5/6 Earning fifteenpence a day as a feather-curler.
1593Nashe Four Lett. Confut. K 1 b, The onely *feather-driuer of phrases and putter of a good word to it when thou hast once got it. 1713Derham Phys. Theol. vi. vii. 152 note, A Feather-Driver who had these Bladders filled with the fine Dust or Down of Feathers.
1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Feather-duster.
c1600Day Begg. Bednall Gr. ii. ii, So *feather-ey'd ye cannot let us passe in the kings high way?
1821Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 209 The breeze with *feather-feet, Crimping o'er the waters sweet.
a1626Bp. Andrewes Serm. (1856) I. 31 Glory, not like ours here *feather-glory.
16..Songs Lond. 'Prentices (Percy Soc.) 66 The *feather-heel'd wenches that live by their owne. 1840Hood Up the Rhine 100 The wit of the Germans is not feather-heeled.
1874Knight Dict. Mech., *Feather-joint, a mode of joining the edges of boards by a fin or feather let into opposite mortises on the edges of the boards.
1478Act. Audit. 82 That Schir Jhone..pay for..a *fethir lok xviii d.
1843Prescott Mexico (1850) I. 363 The like colours on the *feather-mail of the Indians, showed that they were the warriors of Xicotencatl.
1599Nashe Lenten Stuffe 51 Some fowler with his nets, as this host of *fether mungers were getting up to ride double, inuolued or intangled them. 1767S. Paterson Another Traveller! II. 147 The open⁓hearted feather-monger.
1843Prescott Mexico (1850) I. 153 The arts of working in metals, jewelry, and *feather-mosaic.
1767Seiferth tr. Gellert's Metal. Chem. 41 *Feather ore consists of the smallest capillary-like feathers. 1863–72Watts Dict. Chem. II. 617 Feather ore, this name is applied to the capillary form of native sulphantimonite of lead.
1843Prescott Mexico (1850) I. 123 Count Carli is in raptures with a specimen of *feather-painting which he saw in Strasbourg.
1820Scott Ivanhoe xxxiv, The *feather-pated giddy mad⁓men.
1757Mrs. Delany Life & Corr. (1861) III. 467 Madame Godineau in a round card cap of black lace..it was a pity ‘*feather-peepers’ were not added to the cap.
a1825Forby Voc. E. Anglia, *Feather-pie, a hole in the ground, filled with feathers fixed on strings, and kept in motion by the wind. An excellent device to scare birds.
1559Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees) 170 Two *feder poks, two payre of harne sheits, two couerletts. 1831W. Howitt Bk. Seasons Apr. 91 The little willow-wren builds an oval nest after the fashion of the common wren and the feather-poke. 1837Bywater Sheffield Dial. (1877) 193 It's just loik thrustin yer hand up to't rist into a feather poke nest. 1877N.W. Linc. Gloss., When it snows we say ‘t'owd woman is shackin' her feather-poke’. 1885Swainson Prov. Names Brit. Birds 26 Willow warbler..Feather poke. Ibid. 32 British Long-tailed Titmouse..Feather poke. 1888Sheffield Gloss., Feather poke, the wren.
1878Bell Gegenbauer's Comp. Anat. 419 The first sign of the feather is the growth of the knobs into papilliform processes (*feather-processes).
1859Todd Cycl. Anat. V. 480/1 On the surface of the *feather-pulp a series of ridges are developed.
1869Eng. Mech. 31 Dec. 388/1 Bean..and *feather shot copper [is made] by pouring [melted copper] into cold water.
1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Feather spray, such as is observed at the cutwater of fast steamers, forming a pair of wing feathers.
1807Sporting Mag. XXIX. 207 Mr. Meredith's pistol had no *feather spring. 1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 95 The Recruit..is to take it..near the lock, his little finger touching the feather-spring.
1622F. Markham Bk. War iv. iv. 135 The only weapons for a Captaine, are a faire *Feather-staffe in the time of Peace.
1862Ansted Channel Isl. ii. ix. (ed. 2) 237 The *feather-star (Comatula rosacea), represents the crinoids.
1824W. J. Burchell Trav. II. 579 The *feather-stick often renders the natives important service.
1775D. Garrick Bon Ton Prol., The Tyburn scratch, thick club, and Temple tye, The parson's *feather-top, frizz'd broad and high! 1891Scott. Leader 24 Oct. 4 The antique feather-top screamed the same phrases twelve months ago at Mr. Colston.
1785A. M. Bennett Juv. Indiscretions (1786) I. 185 His nice *feather-top-wig.
1774Foote Cozeners i. Wks. 1799 II. 158 His wig..white as a curd, *feather-topped, and the curls as close as a cauliflower. 1788V. Knox Winter Even. III. vii. i. 4 Divest them of their feather-topt wigs, their gowns and cassocks.
1867Lady Llanover Good Cookery 53 As soon as the feathers were dry, they were taken away by the *featherwife.
1552Huloet, *Fetherworcker, plumarius.
b. In various plant-names as feather-bow = feverfew; feather-columbine (see quot. 1878–86); feather-fern (see quot. 1882); feather-foil, the water violet (Hottonia palustris); feather-grass, a perennial feather grass (Stipa pennata); feather-moss, the name of a genus (Hypnum) of British mosses; feather-top wild campion (see quot. 1597); feather-top grass (see quot. 1878–86); feather-wood (see quot. 1884).
1880E. Cornwall Gloss., *Feather bow, fever few, Matricaria parthenium.
1878–86Britten & Holland Plant-n., *Feather..Columbine.. A frequent book-name for Thalictrum aquilegifolium L. an old-fashioned garden plant.
1882Friend Devon. Plant-n., *Feather Fern, Spiræa Japonica L.
1776Withering Bot. Arrangem. Vegetables 115 *Featherfoil. 1861Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. IV. 219 Common Water-Violet, or Featherfoil. 1875Anderida I. viii. 155 His paddle..hung in the stems of water-crowfoot and featherfoil.
1776Withering Bot. Arrangem. Vegetables 44 *Feathergrass. 1861Miss Pratt Flower Pl. VI. 66 Order Gramineæ..(Common Feather-grass).
1776Withering Bot. Arrangem. Vegetables 680 *Feathermoss, Hypnum. 1854Stark Brit. Mosses 228 Hypnum Trichomanoides..(Blunt Fern-like Feather Moss). Ibid. 229 Hypnum Complanatum..(Flat Feather Moss).
1597Gerarde Herbal i. vi. §2. 8 In English a Bent, or *Feather-top grasse.
Ibid. ii. cxxi. §9. 385 Lychnis Plumaria, *Fethertop wilde Campion. 1678Littleton Lat. Dict. s.v. Princes, Feather-top grass. Gramen tomentosum arundinaceum. 1878–86Britten & Holland Plant-n., Feathertop Grass, Calamagrostis Epigejos.
1884A. Nilson Timber Trees N.S.W. (Index) 135 *Featherwood, Polyosma Cunninghamii. Saxifrageæ. 1927Blackw. Mag. Oct. 464/1 The delicate green tracery of the graceful featherwoods and celery-top pines. 1947R. H. Anderson Trees N.S.W. (ed. 2) 218 In addition to the Opossum Wood and the Featherwood there are four related species belonging to the same family (Escalloniaceae).
▸ feather-cut n. and adj. (a) n. a hairstyle in which the hair is cut into thin, tapered, feather-like layers; (b) adj. having or designating hair in this style.
1924Port Arthur (Texas) News 4 Nov. 13/3 The fashionable boyish cut is the equivalent to the *feather cut in the masculine world. 1944F. Crane Amethyst Spectacles iv. 36 Bee's black hair curled naturally and she wore it in a feathercut. 1981Fortune (Nexis) 1 June 52 The phone gets tucked between her feather-cut blond head and raincoat-clad shoulder. 1996C. J. Stone Fierce Dancing vii. 101 They had long feather-cut hair and wore cap-sleeved T-shirts.
▪ II. feather, v.|ˈfɛðə(r)|
Forms: 4–5 feder, -ir, -yr, 6 fedder, 4 feþer, 4–6 fether, 6– feather. Also with prefix 1 ᵹefiðerian; pa. pple. (senses 1, 2) 3 iviðered, 4 yfeþered, 6 yfethred.
[OE. ᵹefiðrian, f. the n., to which it has been assimilated in form from 14th c.]
I. To cover or furnish with feathers.
†1. trans. To give wings to; to ‘wing’ for flight. lit. and fig. Obs.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxvi. §1 Ic sceal ærest þin mod ᵹefiðerian. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 223, I not by what craft he feþered his feet and his hondes, for he wolde flee in Dedalus his wise. 1534Whittinton Tullyes Offices iii. (1540) 160 Oh stable truthe: faythfulnesse fethered to flye to heuen. c1611Chapman Iliad ii. 139 Horse slaughter'd horse, Need feather'd flight. 1634Ford P. Warbeck iii. i, The Cornish..flew Feather'd by rage. a1647R. Loveday Lett. (1662) 204 The Polonian Story..perhaps may feather some tedious hours. c1825Beddoes Poems, Second Brother ii. ii, Blessings of mine Feather your speed!
2. To fit (an arrow) with a feather.
a1225Ancr. R. 60 Ase earewe þæt is iviðered. c1380Sir Ferumb. 2728 Dartes y-feþered wiþ bras. c1400Rom. Rose 942 Ten brode arrowes held he there..But they were..feathered aright. 1530Palsgr. 547/1, I feder a shafte, as a fletcher doth. a1577Gascoigne Wks. (1587) 185 Be his flights yfethred from the goose Or peacocks quils. 1599Hayward 1st Pt. Hen. IV, 60 The King having feathered these arrowes against his owne brest, passed foorth [etc.]. 1668Dryden Evening's Love i. ii, Cupid's arrow was well feathered. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull iii. v, An arrow feathered with his own wing. 1821Byron Sardan. iv. i. 90 Shaft-heads feather'd from the eagle's wing.
fig.a1340Hampole Psalter xvii. 16 His aruys, that is his apostles..for thai ere feþerid wiþ vertus. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxiii. 118 Manye brode arwes, Were fetherede with faire by-heste! 1631Massinger Believe as you list ii. ii, All arrowes in thy quiver feathered with Sclanders. 1665J. Spencer Vulg. Prophecies 77 Language, feathered with soft and delicate phrases, and pointed with pathetical accents. 1721Ramsay Cupid thrown into S. Sea iv, With transfers a' his darts were feather'd. 1835Lytton Rienzi iii. iii, Whose arrow was not feathered by sadness.
3. a. To clothe or provide with feathers; to furnish with plumage; to deck or adorn with, or as with, feathers; to form a feather-like covering or adornment for.
1483Cath. Angl. 124/2 To Fedyr, pennare, plumare. 1525Ld. Berners Froiss. iii. xlii. 54/2 These gentell byrdes had pyte on hym and fethered hym agayne. 1618N. Field Amends for Ladies v. ii, A branch of willow feathering his hat. 1622Bacon Hen. VII, 111 The King cared not to plume his Nobilitie..to feather himselfe. 1810Scott Lady of L. i. xiv, A wildering forest feathered o'er His ruined sides. 1833H. Martineau Cinnamon & Pearls i. 19 With more than her usual fancy did she feather with cocoa-nut leaves the poles of bamboo. a1843Southey Doctor iii. (1862) 14 A craggy hill, feathered with birch, sheltered it from the north. 1864Burton Scot Abr. I. iii. 140 He sought to feather his hat with..French plumage. 1878Bell Gegenbauer's Comp. Anat. 134 The stalk..retains some of its primitive character by being feathered.
†b. To decorate (a person) with the projecting feather of an arrow; hence to pierce, wound. Also, To bury (an arrow) up to the feather. Obs.
1415Pol. Poems (Rolls) III. 125 Thei felle to grownde, Here sydes federed. 1577Harrison England ii. xvi. (1877) I. 279 An other [arrow should haue beene] fethered in his bowels. 1589Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 38 A man of meane estate..being feathered with Cupidis bolt.
†c. pass. To be covered with white waves.
1749F. Smith Voy. Disc. N.-W. Pass. II. 251 The Sea was feathered with a strong Tide.
4. refl. and intr. for refl. Of a bird: To get its feathers, to become fledged. ? Obs. exc. dial.
c1450Bk. Hawkyng in Rel. Ant. I. 298 Thou seist hym [your young hawk] hym begyn to feder. 1486Bk. St. Albans A ij a, When they bene vnclosed and begynneth to feder any thyng of lengthe. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iv. (1586) 169 They that meane to fatte Pigions..doo sever them when they be newly feathered. 1659D. Pell Improv. Sea 118 The Vulture..beholds her young to thrive and feather. 1790A. Wilson Discons. Wren Poet. Wks. (1846) 98 A' safe and weel about our nest, An' them quiet feath'ring laid!
5. To cover with feathers,
a. internally: To line with feathers, in phr. to feather one's nest: to avail oneself of opportunities for laying up wealth, to enrich oneself.
1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 38 By this meanes..they feather their nests well inough. 1612T. Taylor Comm. Titus i. 7 Yet all this worke is neglected, that his owne neast may be well feathered. 1658Osborn Jas. I Wks. (1673) 514 He might have feathered his Family better than he did. 1753Smollett Ct. Fathom (1784) 41/2 His spouse..was disposed to feather her own nest, at the expence of him and his heirs. 1876F. E. Trollope Charming Fellow III. xii. 149 Maxfield has feathered his nest very considerably.
b. externally: To coat with feathers; more fully, to tar and feather (see tar v.).
1774Foote Cozeners iii. Wks. 1799 II. 194 You wanted to send me to be feathered abroad. 1829W. H. Maxwell Stories of Waterloo, F. Kennedy 205 The population were amusing themselves..in..feathering tithe proctors.
†6. Of a cock: To cover with outspread feathers; to tread. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 357 He fetherid Pertelote twenty tyme, And trad as ofte. 1700Dryden Fables, Cock & Fox 70 Ardent in love..He feather'd her a hundred times a day.
†7. ? To touch with or as with a feather; to touch lightly. Obs. rare—1.
a1225Ancr. R. 200 Þer ich feðri on, awurðeð tene oðer tweolue.
II. To present or give (to anything) the appearance of feathers.
8. a. intr. To move, wave or float like feathers; to grow, extend in a feathery form.
1770T. Whately Mod. Gardening 197 A noble wood crowns the top, and feathers down to the bottom of a large, oval, swelling hill. 1797G. Colman Br. Grins, Maid of Moor iii, The snow came feathering down. 1820Scott Monast. ii, Little patches of wood and copse..feathering naturally up the beds of empty torrents. 1857S. Osborn Quedah xxiv. 356 The graceful palm, the plantain, and pandanus..feathering over the edge of a beetling cliff, as if they were ostrich-plumes. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 540 Her full-busted figure head Starred o'er the ripple feathering from her bows. 1881Blackmore Christowell iv, Like the wave and dip of barley feathering to a gentle July breeze.
b. U.S. Of cream: To rise upon the surface of tea, etc. like small flakes or feathers.
1860Bartlett Dict. Amer., The cream feathers. 1889in Farmer Americanisms. 1890Critic 21 June 314/1 To keep cream from feathering in hot weather.
c. trans. To send up feather-wise. rare.
1861Thornbury Turner (1862) I. 222 Where..Vesuvius feathers up its quiet plume of pure white smoke.
9. Of a flower (chiefly, a tulip), to be feathered: to be marked with feather-like lines.
1833Hogg Suppl. on Florists' Flowers 31 When a Tulip is feathered with dark purple. 1881Gard. Chron. XVI. 748 The outer segments variously feathered with dark purple.
10. trans. To cut (wood, etc.) down gradually to a thin edge. Cf. feather-edged a.
1782Edgeworth in Phil. Trans. LXXIII. 138 An arm of deal, feather-edged, and supported by stays of the same material, feathered in the same manner. 1794Vince ibid. LXXXV. 44 Pieces of lead with the edges feathered off.
11. a. to feather an oar: to turn it as it leaves the water at the end of a stroke, so that it may pass through the air edgeways.
a1740[see feathering ppl. a. b.] 1774in Hone Every-day Bk. II. 1062 He feather'd his oars with..skill. 1847J. Wilson Chr. North I. 248 We to-day shall feather an oar.
absol.1825L. Hunt Bacchus in Tuscany 857 Boaters, who know how to feather, Never get tired. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xiii. (1889) 121 This wind will make it very rough..Mind you feather high.
b. To fix (paddle-boards) so as to offer the least resistance while entering and leaving the water. (Cf. feathering ppl. a. b.)
1848Rep. Comm. Patents 1847 (U.S.) 71 Improvements in the mode of feathering the floats of paddle wheels.
c. trans. To rotate (the blades of a propeller) so that they are parallel to the direction of motion and offer the least resistance to the water or air when not driven. Hence, on a rotating-wing aircraft (or helicopter): to vary the angle of incidence of (the blades).
1883A. E. Seaton Man. Marine Engin. xv. 298 Yachts and ships which are required to sail as well as steam, cannot well do the former when the screw is stopped, unless some means be adopted of feathering the blades. 1909F. T. Jane All World's Air-Ships 52/1 The blades can be feathered, and either propeller feathered independently of the other. 1921S. W. Barnaby Marine Propellers (ed. 6) iii. 58 In a twin-screw ship screws that can be feathered fore and aft by internal mechanism will be found advantageous. 1940Flight 15 Aug. e/2 Should a power unit in a multi-engined aircraft suddenly fail..it is a great advantage to be able to feather the airscrew. 1947Times 2 Sept. 2/5 After gaining height the piston engines were switched off and their airscrews feathered. 1955Liptrot & Woods Rotorcraft v. 44 Displacement (or lag) therefore causes any movement about the flapping hinge..to ‘feather’ the blade, that is change its incidence. 1967C. H. Barnes Shorts Aircraft since 1900 358 For the first time a fully loaded Sunderland could be flown safely with two airscrews feathered on the same side.
d. intr. Of a propeller: to assume a ‘feathered’ position (see feathered ppl. a. 8 b).
1933Jane's Fighting Ships 228 Variable pitch propeller on inner shaft which ‘feathers’ when Turbines only are used. 1951Engineering 9 Mar. 301/2 Propellers of aircraft..so built that they could ‘feather’.
III. In various uses.
12. Shooting. To knock a few feathers from (a bird) without killing.
1890Payne-Gallwey Let. Young Shooters 137 You would have shot ‘well behind’, and not even feathered the tail of a cock-pheasant. 1892Field 9 Apr. 524/1 Mr. Mervyn Watts..feathered a strong bird from No. 2 trap.
13. Hunting.
a. Of a hound: To make a quivering movement with the tail and body, while searching for the trail.
b. Of the huntsman (see quot. 1884).
1803Spirit Public Jrnls. (1804) VII. 111 The leading hound, beginning to feather. 1839F. D. Radcliffe Noble Science ix. 163 See that old bitch how she feathers—how her stern vibrates with the quickened action of her pulses. 1861G. F. Berkeley Sportsm. W. Prairies 310 At last Druid began ‘to feather’..on the traces of a deer. 1884Jefferies Red Deer vii. 118 The harbourer likes to ‘feather’—to set the hounds direct on the trail. 1892Field 7 May, In a lot of oats Saul feathered about, but could not find. |