pen

[ pen ]

/ pɛn /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pen ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of various instruments for writing or drawing with ink or a similar substance.

a detachable metal penpoint, filled by dipping or with a quill; nib.

such a penpoint with its penholder.

fountain pen.

ball-point pen.

the pen as the instrument of writing or authorship: The pen is mightier than the sword.

a person's style or quality of writing: He writes with a witty, incisive pen.

a writer: I leave this story to abler pens.

the profession of writing: a master of the pen.

Computers. stylus(def 3).

Ornithology.

a quill.
a pinfeather.

something resembling or suggesting a feather or quill.

Zoology. an internal, corneous or chitinous, feather-shaped structure in certain cephalopods, as the squid.

verb (used with object), penned, pen·ning.

to write with or as with a pen; put down in writing: to pen an essay.

to draw with or as with a pen: to pen a sketch.

Nearby words

Origin of pen

1250–1300; Middle English penne < Old French penne pen, feather < Late Latin penna, Latin: feather

Related formspen·like, adjectivepen·ner, noun

pen

[ pen ]

/ pɛn /

noun

a small enclosure for domestic animals.

animals so enclosed: We have a pen of twenty sheep.

an enclosure used for confinement or safekeeping: We have built several pens to hold our harvest of corn.

playpen.

bull pen.

a dock having a protective concrete structure overhead, used to service and repair submarines.

verb (used with object), penned or pent, pen·ning.

to confine in or as in a pen.

Origin of pen

before 1000; (noun) Middle English penne, Old English penn (in compounds); perhaps akin to pin; (v.) Middle English pennen, derivative of the noun

pen

[ pen ]

/ pɛn /

noun Slang.

penitentiary(def 1).

Origin of pen

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; shortened form

pen

⁴

[ pen ]

/ pɛn /

noun

a female swan.

Origin of pen

⁴

First recorded in 1540–50; origin uncertain

Pen.

or pen.

peninsula.

pen-

variant of pene- before a vowel: penannular.

P.E.N.

International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pen

So, I had a pen and a pencil and started scribbling and drawing, and I felt good about it.
The Renegade: Robert Downey Sr. on His Classic Films, Son’s Battle with Drugs, and Bill Cosby|Marlow Stern|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Knox wanted to write under a pen name at first, which the paper allowed her to do.
Amanda Knox, Cub Reporter: The Convicted Murderer Is Now Writing Theater Reviews for a Small Seattle Paper|Justin Miller|November 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The lawyer asserted that an autopsy of Sarbandi showed how the pen knife wound was itself not fatal.
The Real Reason Iran Killed This Woman for Defending Herself|Eli Lake|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Jabbari only stabbed him with a pen knife, but did not kill him.
The Real Reason Iran Killed This Woman for Defending Herself|Eli Lake|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Yes, Trainor managed to pen a few songs for Rascal Flatts, but she was more interested in crafting pop tunes.
‘All About That Bass’ Singer Meghan Trainor On Haters and Her Polarizing (and Unlikely) No. 1 Hit|Marlow Stern|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He cannot write a letter without allowing the “seven empty particles” to tyrannize over his pen.
Village Life in China|Arthur H. Smith
Sabine seized the pen greedily and holding it between clenched fingers added a line of significant little lop-sided symbols.
Cape Breton Tales|Harry James Smith
Mr Brass slyly tickles his nose with his pen, and looks at Kit with the water standing in his eyes.
The Old Curiosity Shop|Charles Dickens
She tossed down her pen as her sister entered, and, taking up a blotter, carefully laid it across the page she had been writing.
The Red Seal|Natalie Sumner Lincoln
His death ends the long and crowded Chronicle, though the pen of the writer struggles through a few more unfinished sentences.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 2|Various

British Dictionary definitions for pen

pen

/ (pɛn) /

noun

an implement for writing or drawing using ink, formerly consisting of a sharpened and split quill, and now of a metal nib attached to a holderSee also ballpoint, fountain pen

the writing end of such an implement; nib

style of writing

the pen

writing as an occupation
the written wordthe pen is mightier than the sword

the long horny internal shell of a squid

verb pens, penning or penned

(tr) to write or compose

Word Origin for pen

Old English pinne, from Late Latin penna (quill) pen, from Latin: feather

noun

an enclosure in which domestic animals are keptsheep pen

any place of confinement

a dock for servicing submarines, esp one having a bombproof roof

verb pens, penning, penned or pent

(tr) to enclose or keep in a pen

Word Origin for pen

Old English penn, perhaps related to pin

noun

US and Canadian informal short for penitentiary (def. 1)

noun

a female swan

Word Origin for pen

C16: of unknown origin

PEN

/ (pɛn) /

n acronym for

International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists

Pen.

abbreviation for

Peninsula

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pen

pen

n.1

"writing implement," late 13c., from Old French pene "quill pen; feather" (12c.) and directly from Latin penna "a feather, plume," in plural "a wing," in Late Latin, "a pen for writing," from Old Latin petna, pesna, from PIE *pet-na-, suffixed form of root *pet- "to rush; to fly" (see petition (n.)).

Latin penna and pinna "a feather, plume;" in plural "a wing;" also "a pinnacle; battlement" (see pin (n.)) are treated as identical in Watkins, etc., but regarded as separate (but confused) Latin words by Tucker and others, who derive pinna from PIE *spei- "sharp point" (cf. spike (n.1)) and see the "feather/wing" sense as secondary.

In later French, this word means only "long feather of a bird," while the equivalent of English plume is used for "writing implement," the senses of the two words thus are reversed from the situation in English. Pen-and-ink (adj.) is attested from 1670s. Pen name is recorded from mid-19c.

pen

n.2

"enclosure for animals," Old English penn, penne, "enclosure, pen, fold," of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Old English pinn "pin, peg" (see pin (n.)) on notion of a bolted gate or else "structure made of pointed stakes."

v.1

late 15c., from pen (n.). Related: Penned; penning.

v.2

"to enclose in a pen," c.1200, from Old English *pennian, from the source of pen (n.2). Related: Penned; penning.

n.3

slang, "prison," 1884, shortening of penitentiary; earlier use (1845) probably is a figurative extension of pen (n.2).

pen-

Brythonic for "head;" common in place names in Cornwall and Wales (e.g. Penzance, see also Pendragon).

Idioms and Phrases with pen

pen

see slip of the lip (pen).

pen

noun

verb (used with object), penned, pen·ning.

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of pen

pen

noun

verb (used with object), penned or pent, pen·ning.

Origin of pen

pen

noun Slang.

Origin of pen

pen

noun

Origin of pen

Pen.

or pen.

pen-

P.E.N.

Examples from the Web for pen

pen

noun

verb pens, penning or penned

Word Origin for pen

noun

verb pens, penning, penned or pent

Word Origin for pen

noun

noun

Word Origin for pen

PEN

n acronym for

Pen.

abbreviation for

pen

pen

pen-

pen