French word

plume

Pronunciation

IPA/plym/

Meaning

  • feminine nounfeather

Example

Il a ramassé une plume dans le jardin.

He picked up a feather in the garden.

Illustration for plume (feather)

More examples

Une plume blanche flottait sur l'eau.

A white feather floated on the water.

Core concept

One delicate feather, from natural bird covering to an old writing tool.

Common phrases

  • une plume

    a feather

  • une plume d'oiseau

    a bird feather

  • une plume blanche

    a white feather

Similar words

plumage: A bird's entire covering of feathers.
aile: A projecting body part that enables a bird or aircraft to fly.
poil: The fine hair covering an animal's body.
duvet: Soft, fine feather material used as bedding filling.

Definition in French

Organe léger et plat qui couvre le corps des oiseaux, et par extension l'instrument d'écriture ancien fait à partir d'une grande plume.

Word origin

The French noun plume is inherited from Latin pluma through Old French; its writing-tool sense developed because large feathers served as pens.

Usage tips

  • The writing sense is literary or historical, while ordinary plume usually means "feather"; prendre la plume means taking up writing.

Other meanings

  • quillnoun

Related words

  • plumageplumagenoun
  • plumerpluckverb

Word lists with this word