feþer

See also: fether, feyer, and féther

Middle English

Alternative forms

• fether, fethere, fedder

Etymology

From Old English feþer, from Proto-Germanic *feþrō, from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ~ pth₂én-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛðər/, /ˈfɛːðər/, /ˈfɛdər/

Noun

feþer (plural feþeres)

1. a feather

Descendants

• English: feather
• Scots: fedder

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *feþrō, from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ~ pth₂én- (“feather, wing”), from *peth₂- (“to fly”). Cognate with Old Frisian fethere, Old Saxon fethera, Old High German fedara, Old Norse fjǫðr. The Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek πέτεσθαι (pétesthai), πτῶσις (ptôsis), Latin penna, Old Armenian թիռ (tʻiṙ), Celtic Proto-Celtic *petno- (Old Irish én, Breton ein (“bird”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfe.θer/, [ˈfe.ðer]

Noun

feþer f (nominative plural feþra)

1. a feather
2. a pen (writing instrument)

   Iċ sōðlīċe þenċe mid mīnre feðre, for þon þe mīn hēafod oft nāt nāwiht be þām þe mīn hand wrītt.

   I really do think with my pen, because my head often knows nothing about what my hand is writing.

Declension

Declension of feþer (strong ō-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	feþer	feþra, feþre
accusative	feþre	feþra, feþre
genitive	feþre	feþra
dative	feþre	feþrum

Related terms

• fiþere

Derived terms

• feþerbǣre

Descendants

• Middle English: feþer, fether, fethere, fedder
  • English: feather
  • Scots: fedder

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “feþer”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.