pen
A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument,…A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used to write or make marks.
Recorded US: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 3
By meaning 4
Examples
927 sentencesYour pen is better than mine.
Твоя ручка краща, ніж моя. — deniko
ruТвоя ручка лучше моей. — afyodor
deDein Stift ist besser als meiner. — Fingerhut
Would you lend me your pen?
Позичиш мені свою ручку? — deniko
ruМожно взять твою ручку? — Olya
Don't forget to bring a pen.
Не забудь принести ручку. — deniko
ruНе забудь принести ручку. — marafon
deVergiss nicht, einen Stift mitzubringen! — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Meaning
14 sensesA tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used to write or make marks.
He took notes with a pen.
another novel from the pen of everybody's fave thriller writer.
Kugelschreiber, Stift, Federhalter
ру́чкаrúčka, автору́чкаavtorúčka, перо́peró
ру́чкаrúčka, перо́peró
An enclosure (enclosed area) used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.
There are two steers in the third pen.
Pferch, Zwinger
заго́нzagón, коша́раkošára
загі́нzahín
A female swan.
Schwanenweibchen, weiblicher Schwan, Schwänin
лебёдкаlebjódka, лебёдушкаlebjóduška
female swan
More meanings 11
(figuratively)A writer, or their style.
He has a sharp pen.
Schreiber, Schreibstil, Feder
перо́peró
The internal cartilage skeleton of a squid, shaped like a pen.
The bullpen.
Two righties are up in the pen.
(colloquial)Marks of ink left by a pen.
He's unhappy because he got pen on his new shirt.
A light pen.
(poetic)A wing.
A syringe-like device for injecting a dose of medication such as insulin or epinephrine. (See Injector pen.)
(informal)Penetration.
(slang)A penitentiary, i.e. a state or federal prison for convicted felons.
They caught him with a stolen horse, and he wound up in the pen again.
Origin
From Middle English pen, penne (“enclosure for animals”), from Old English penn (“enclosurFrom Middle English pen, penne (“enclosure for animals”), from Old English penn (“enclosure, fold, pen”), from Proto-Germanic *pennō, *pannijō (“pin, bolt, nail, tack”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“pointed peg, nail, edge”). Related to pin.
From Middle English penne, from Anglo-Norman penne, from Old French penne, from Latin penna (“feather”), from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ~ pth₂én- (“feather, wing”), from *peth₂- (“to rush, fly”, whence petition), root of *petra-, whence Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “wing”, whence pterodactyl), and also of Sanskrit पत्रम् (patram, “wing, feather”), Old Church Slavonic перо (pero, “pen”), Old Norse fjǫðr (“feather”), Old English feþer, feðer (Modern English feather); note the /p/ → /f/ Germanic sound change.
Origin uncertain. Compare hen.
Clipping of penalty.
Clipping of penetration.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: pensSynonyms
3 synonyms- a portable enclosure in which babies may be left to play:playpen
- a correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes:penitentiary
Word family
115 related wordsCollocations
12 patterns- ballpoint pen
- have a pen
- fountain pen
- notebook and pen
- borrow a pen
- borrow your pen
- holding a pen
- pen pal
- a pen in
- how many pens
- use my pen
- with a pen
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.