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PLUMAGE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("plumage" is a kind of...):
body covering (any covering for the body or a body part)
animal material (material derived from animals)
Meronyms (parts of "plumage"):
vane; web (the flattened weblike part of a feather consisting of a series of barbs on either side of the shaft)
calamus; quill; shaft (the hollow spine of a feather)
Meronyms (substance of "plumage"):
ceratin; keratin (a fibrous scleroprotein that occurs in the outer layer of the skin and in horny tissues such as hair, feathers, nails, and hooves)
melanin (insoluble pigments that account for the color of e.g. skin and scales and feathers)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plumage"):
down; down feather (soft fine feathers)
aftershaft (a supplementary feather (usually small) on the underside of the base of the shaft of some feathers in some birds)
contour feather (feathers covering the body of an adult bird and determining its shape)
alula; bastard wing; spurious wing (tuft of small stiff feathers on the first digit of a bird's wing)
marabou (the downy feathers of marabou storks are used for trimming garments)
hackle (long slender feather on the necks of e.g. turkeys and pheasants)
flight feather; pinion; quill; quill feather (any of the larger wing or tail feathers of a bird)
scapular (a feather covering the shoulder of a bird)
Holonyms ("plumage" is a part of...):
bird (warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings)
Context examples:
Jane, be still; don't struggle so, like a wild frantic bird that is rending its own plumage in its desperation.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Scientists say this animal's plumage was chestnut-brown on top with a pale or carotenoid-colored underside.
(Scientists find dinosaur feathers preserved in amber, Wikinews)
All at once there began the most horrid, unearthly screaming, which at first startled me badly, though I had soon remembered the voice of Captain Flint and even thought I could make out the bird by her bright plumage as she sat perched upon her master's wrist.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
He was very cleanly dressed, in a blue coat, striped waistcoat, and nankeen trousers; and his fine frilled shirt and cambric neckcloth looked unusually soft and white, reminding my strolling fancy (I call to mind) of the plumage on the breast of a swan.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
And I was placed there, by whom I don't know: I was in no condition to note particulars; I was only aware that they had hoisted me up to the height of Mr. Brocklehurst's nose, that he was within a yard of me, and that a spread of shot orange and purple silk pelisses and a cloud of silvery plumage extended and waved below me.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
