preen
/pɹiːn/ · noun
Meaning
- A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.
- A pin.
- A bodkin; brooch.
- To pin; fasten.
- To groom; to trim or dress the feathers with the beak.
- To spend time making oneself attractive and admiring one's appearance, e.g. in front of a mirror.
- To show off, posture, or smarm.
- To flatter.
- To comb; to make orderly.
- To trim up, as trees.
- To improve the appearance of; groom; prettify.
Etymology / origin
From Middle English pren, from Old English prēon, from Proto-Germanic *preunaz (compare Icelandic prjónn (“pin, knitting-needle”), Danish pryne (“needle, eel-spear”)), of uncertain origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *brewn- (“protrusion, tip, edge”) (compare Lithuanian briaunà (“edge”), Albanian brez (“belt, girdle”)). Cognate with German Pfriem. The verb is from Middle English prenen, from pren (“a preen”), akin to German pfriemen.
- Pfriemen(German)→
- prenen(enm)→
- Pfriem(German)→
- brez(Albanian)→
- briaunà(lt)→
- *brew-(ine-pro)→
- pryne(da)→
- prjónn(Icelandic)→
- *preunaz(gem-pro)→
- prēon(ang)→
- pren(enm)→
- preen (English)
- Relations: inh, inh, inh, cog, cog, der, cog, cog, cog, inh, cog
Related words
Descendant words
- Pfriem(German) (cog)
- prjónn(Icelandic) (cog)
- briauna(Lithuanian) (cog)
Sources
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