Wiktionary

plumage

English

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Etymology

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From Old French plumage (14c.), itself from plume (“feather”) (from Latin plūma (“feather, down”), from a Proto-Indo-European base *plews- (“to pluck, a feather, fleece”) + -age.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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plumage (countable and uncountable, plural plumages)

  1. (ornithology, collective noun) Layer or collection of feathers covering a bird’s body; feathers used ornamentally; feathering.
    Synonym: (obsolete) pennage
    • 1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros‎[1], London: Jonathan Cape, page 33:
      Somewhat like a heron she was, but stouter, and shorter of leg, and her beak shorter and thicker than the heron’s; and so long and delicate was her pale gray plumage that hard it was to say whether it were hair or feathers.
    • 1969, Monty Python, “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”, in Dead Parrot sketch:
      [Owner]: No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable bird, the Norwegian Blue, idn'it, ay? Beautiful plumage!
      [Mr. Praline]: The plumage don't enter into it. It's stone dead.
  2. Finery or elaborate dress.

Derived terms

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Translations

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collection of feathers covering a bird’s body

French

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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plumage m (plural plumages)

  1. (ornithology, collective noun) plumage (a bird's feathers, collectively speaking)
    Synonyms: (falconry) pennage, plumée
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Further reading

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Note 1