plumage

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: plo͞om'ĭj, IPA^(key): /ˈpluːmɪdʒ/
• Rhymes: -uːmɪdʒ

Noun

plumage (countable and uncountable, plural plumages)

1. Feathers, either covering a bird or used ornamentally
   • 1969, Monty Python, "Monty Python’s Flying Circus" (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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ply.maʒ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

plumage m (plural plumages)

1. plumage, a bird's feathers

Further reading

• “plumage” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).