preen

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -iːn

Etymology 1

From Middle English pren, from Old English prēon, from Proto-Germanic *preunaz (compare Icelandic prjónn (“pin, knitting-needle”), Danish pryne ‘needle, eel-spear’), from Proto-Indo-European *brewn- (“protrusion, tip, edge”) (compare Lithuanian briaunà ‘edge’, Albanian brez ‘belt, girdle’). The verb is from Middle English prenen, from pren (“a preen”).

Alternative forms

• prin (dialectal)

Noun

preen (plural preens)

1. A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.
2. (dialectal) pin
3. (dialectal) bodkin; brooch

Verb

preen (third-person singular simple present preens, present participle preening, simple past and past participle preened)

1. (transitive) To pin; fasten.

Etymology 2

Variant of prune (by influence of preen above) Attested in Chaucer (c. 1395) in the variants preyneth, prayneth, proyneth, prunyht, pruneth.

Verb

preen (third-person singular simple present preens, present participle preening, simple past and past participle preened)

1. (of birds) To groom; to trim or dress with the beak, as the feathers.
2. To show off, posture, or smarm.
   • 1993, Scott Simmon, The Films of D W Griffith

     His preening self-satisfaction, chest thrown forward as he settles into a chair in his mansion...

   • 2004, Jude Deveraux, Counterfeit Lady

     He preened under her compliments.

3. (UK, dialect, dated) To trim up, as trees.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)

Translations

To groom

• Finnish: sukia (fi)
• German: putzen (de)

• Russian: прихорашиваться (ru) (prixorašivatʹsja)

To show off

• German: sich brüsten (de)

See also

• primp

Anagrams

• neper