PEN

pen

(noun) female swan

pen

(noun) a writing implement with a point from which ink flows

pen

(noun) an enclosure for confining livestock

penitentiary, pen

(noun) a correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes

playpen, pen

(noun) a portable enclosure in which babies may be left to play

write, compose, pen, indite

(verb) produce a literary work; “She composed a poem”; “He wrote four novels”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

pen (plural pens)

An enclosure (enclosed area) used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.

(slang) A prison cell.

(baseball) The bullpen.

Verb

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

(transitive) To enclose in a pen.

Etymology 2

Noun

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A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used to write or make marks.

(figurative) A writer, or his style.

(colloquial) Marks of ink left by a pen.

A light pen.

(zoology) The internal cartilage skeleton of a squid, shaped like a pen.

(now, rare, poetic, dialectal) A feather, especially one of the flight feathers of a bird, angel etc.

(poetic) A wing.

Verb

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

(transitive) To write (an article, a book, etc.).

Etymology 3

Noun

pen (plural pens)

A female swan.

Etymology 4

Shortened form of penalty.

Noun

pen (plural pens)

(soccer, slang) penalty

Anagrams

• NEP, Nep, PNe, nep

Noun

PEN (countable and uncountable, plural PENs)

(organic chemistry) Abbreviation of polyethylene naphthalate.

(speed skating) Abbreviation of penalty. (a scorecard score when a skater is penalized out of their skate)

Anagrams

• NEP, Nep, PNe, nep

Etymology 1

Proper noun

Pen

A diminutive of the female given name Penelope

Etymology 2

Proper noun

the Pen

The 68th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.

Anagrams

• NEP, Nep, PNe, nep

Source: Wiktionary


Pen, n. Etym: [OE. penne, OF. penne, pene, F. penne, fr. L. penna.]

1. A feather. [Obs.] Spenser.

2. A wing. [Obs.] Milton.

3. An instrument used for writing with ink, formerly made of a reed, or of the quill of a goose or other bird, but now also of other materials, as of steel, gold, etc. Also, originally, a stylus or other instrument for scratching or graving. Graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock. Job xix. 24.

4. Fig.: A writer, or his style; as, he has a sharp pen. "Those learned pens." Fuller.

5. (Zoöl.)

Definition: The internal shell of a squid.

6. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zoöl.)

Definition: A female swan. [Prov. Eng.] Bow pen. See Bow-pen.

– Dotting pen, a pen for drawing dotted lines.

– Drawing, or Ruling, pen, a pen for ruling lines having a pair of blades between which the ink is contained.

– Fountain pen, Geometric pen. See under Fountain, and Geometric.

– Music pen, a pen having five points for drawing the five lines of the staff.

– Pen and ink, or pen-and-ink, executed or done with a pen and ink; as, a pen and ink sketch.

– Pen feather. A pin feather. [Obs.] -- Pen name. See under Name.

– Sea pen (Zoöl.), a pennatula. [Usually written sea-pen.]

Pen, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Penned; p. pr. & vb. n. Penning.]

Definition: To write; to compose and commit to paper; to indite; to compose; as, to pen a sonnet. "A prayer elaborately penned." Milton.

Pen, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Penned or Pent (p. pr. & vb. n. Penning.] Etym: [OE. pennen, AS. pennan in on-pennan to unfasten, prob. from the same source as pin, and orig. meaning, to fasten with a peg.See Pin, n. & v.]

Definition: To shut up, as in a pen or cage; to confine in a small inclosure or narrow space; to coop up, or shut in; to inclose. "Away with her, and pen her up." Shak. Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve. Milton.

Pen, n. Etym: [From Pen to shut in.]

Definition: A small inclosure; as, a pen for sheep or for pigs. My father stole two geese out of a pen. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 May 2025

CRITICAL

(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; “a critical reading”; “a critical dissertation”; “a critical analysis of Melville’s writings”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest coffee press is 230 cm (7 ft 6 in) in height and 72 cm (2 ft 4 in) in diameter and was created by Salzillo Tea and Coffee (Spain) in Murcia, Spain, in February 2007. The cafetière consists of a stainless steel container, a filtering piston, and a superior lid.

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