Feath'er1, n.
(fĕth'er), n. [A-S. feðher, O. H. Ger. fedara, M. H. Ger. vedere, N. H. Ger. feder, D. veer, Icel. fjöðr, fiór, Sw. fjäder, Dan. fjæder, fïðr, allied to Gr. πτέρον, for πτερόν, from πέτομαι, to fly, Lat. penna, for pesna, equiv. to petna.] 1. One of the growths, generally formed each of a central quill and a vane upon each side of it, which make up the covering of a bird; a plume; a pen. She plumes her feathers, and lets grow her wings. Milton. The feathers covering the body are sometimes called plumage, in distinction from the longer feathers of the tail and wings. 2. Kind; nature; species; from the proverbial phrase, “Birds of a feather,” that is, of the same species. [Rare.] I am not of that feather to shake off My friend when he most needs me. Shak.
- A mark on the forehead or neck of a horse, consisting of a row of hair turned back or raised.
- A small, semi-cylindrical piece of iron used for splitting stone by inserting two of them in a hole and driving a wooden wedge between them.
- (Mach.) A ridge on an axis or cylinder fitting a groove in the eye of a wheel, to prevent the one from turning without the other.
A feather in the cap, an honor, or mark of distinction. — To be in high feather, to appear in high spirits and health, like birds when their plumage is full, after molting. — To cut a feather, to make the water foam in moving; — said of a ship. — To show the white feather, to give indications of cowardice; — a phrase borrowed from the cockpit, where a white feather in the tail of a cock is considered a token that he is not of the true game-breed. Grose.