plumage

Definition

Layer or collection of feathers covering a bird’s body; feathers used ornamentally; feathering.

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

• "In some few cases the young in their first plumage differ from each other according to sex; the young males resembling more or less closely the adult males, and the young females more or less closely the adult females."
• "Somewhat like a heron she was, but stouter, and shorter of leg, and her beak shorter and thicker than the heron’s; and so long and delicate was her pale gray plumage that hard it was to say whether it were hair or feathers."
• "[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."

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