pen 1 (p n)n.1. An instrument for writing or drawing with ink or similar fluid, especially: a. A ballpoint pen. b. A fountain pen. c. A pen point. d. A penholder and its pen point. e. A quill. 2. An instrument for writing regarded as a means of expression: "Tyranny has no enemy so formidable as the pen" (William Cobbett). 3. A writer or an author: a hired pen. 4. A style of writing: wrote plays with a witty pen. 5. pens Pinions. 6. The chitinous internal shell of a squid. tr.v. penned, pen·ning, pens To write or compose with or as if with a pen.
[Middle English penne, from Old French, from Late Latin penna, from Latin, feather; see pet- in Indo-European roots.]
pen ner n. |
pen 2 (p n)n.1. a. A fenced enclosure for animals. b. The animals kept in such an enclosure. c. Any of various enclosures, such as a bullpen or playpen, used for a variety of purposes. 2. A repair dock for submarines. tr.v. penned or pent (p nt), pen·ning, pens To confine in or as if in a pen. See Synonyms at enclose.
[Middle English, from Old English penn.] |
pen 3 (p n)
[Origin unknown.] |
pen 4 (p n)n. Informal A penitentiary; a prison.
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ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Noun | 1. | penning - the act of creating written works; "writing was a form of therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed authorship"adoxography - fine writing in praise of trivial or base subjects; "Elizabethan schoolboys were taught adoxography, the art of eruditely praising worthless things"; "adoxography is particularly useful to lawyers" drafting - writing a first version to be filled out and polished later metrification - writing a metrical composition (or the metrical structure of a composition) redaction - the act of putting something in writing profile - write about; "The author of this article profiles a famous painter" paragraph - write paragraphs; work as a paragrapher rewrite - rewrite so as to make fit to suit a new or different purpose; "re-write a play for use in schools" write copy - write for commercial publications; "She writes copy for Harper's Bazaar" draft, outline - draw up an outline or sketch for something; "draft a speech" author - be the author of; "She authored this play" co-author - be a co-author on (a book, a paper) ghostwrite, ghost - write for someone else; "How many books have you ghostwritten so far?" annotate, footnote - add explanatory notes to or supply with critical comments; "The scholar annotated the early edition of a famous novel" write out, write up - put into writing; write in complete form; "write out a contract" script - write a script for; "The playwright scripted the movie" |
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A SHEPHERD penning his sheep in the fold for the night was about to shut up a wolf with them, when his Dog perceiving the wolf said, "Master, how can you expect the sheep to be safe if you admit a wolf into the fold? Doubtless the good man has spent many a studious hour in this old chair, either penning a sermon or reading some abstruse book of theology, till midnight came upon him unawares. For in the mere act of penning my thoughts of this Leviathan, they weary me, and make me faint with their out-reaching comprehensiveness of sweep, as if to include the whole circle of the sciences, and all the generations of whales, and men, and mastodons, past, present, and to come, with all the revolving panoramas of empire on earth, and throughout the whole universe, not excluding its suburbs. |