What is "feather"

Feather \Feath"er\ (f[e^][th]"[~e]r), n. [OE. fether, AS. fe[eth]er; akin to D. veder, OHG. fedara, G. feder, Icel. fj["o][eth]r, Sw. fj["a]der, Dan. fj[ae]der, Gr. ptero`n wing, feather, pe`tesqai to fly, Skr. pattra wing, feather, pat to fly, and prob. to L. penna feather, wing. [root]76, 248. Cf. Pen a feather.]

1. One of the peculiar dermal appendages, of several kinds, belonging to birds, as contour feathers, quills, and down.

   Note: An ordinary feather consists of the quill or hollow basal part of the stem; the shaft or rachis, forming the upper, solid part of the stem; the vanes or webs, implanted on the rachis and consisting of a series of slender lamin[ae] or barbs, which usually bear barbules, which in turn usually bear barbicels and interlocking hooks by which they are fastened together. See Down, Quill, Plumage.

2. Kind; nature; species; -- from the proverbial phrase, ``Birds of a feather,'' that is, of the same species. [R.]

   I am not of that feather to shake off My friend when he must need me.
   --Shak.

3. The fringe of long hair on the legs of the setter and some other dogs.

4. A tuft of peculiar, long, frizzly hair on a horse.

5. One of the fins or wings on the shaft of an arrow.

6. (Mach. & Carp.) A longitudinal strip projecting as a fin from an object, to strengthen it, or to enter a channel in another object and thereby prevent displacement sidwise but permit motion lengthwise; a spline.

7. A thin wedge driven between the two semicylindrical parts of a divided plug in a hole bored in a stone, to rend the stone.
   --Knight.

8. The angular adjustment of an oar or paddle-wheel float, with reference to a horizontal axis, as it leaves or enters the water. Note: Feather is used adjectively or in combination, meaning composed of, or resembling, a feather or feathers; as, feather fan, feather-heeled, feather duster. Feather alum (Min.), a hydrous sulphate of alumina, resulting from volcanic action, and from the decomposition of iron pyrites; -- called also halotrichite. --Ure. Feather bed, a bed filled with feathers. Feather driver, one who prepares feathers by beating. Feather duster, a dusting brush of feathers. Feather flower, an artifical flower made of feathers, for ladies' headdresses, and other ornamental purposes. Feather grass (Bot.), a kind of grass ( Stipa pennata) which has a long feathery awn rising from one of the chaffy scales which inclose the grain. Feather maker, one who makes plumes, etc., of feathers, real or artificial. Feather ore (Min.), a sulphide of antimony and lead, sometimes found in capillary forms and like a cobweb, but also massive. It is a variety of Jamesonite. Feather shot, or Feathered shot (Metal.), copper granulated by pouring into cold water. --Raymond. Feather spray (Naut.), the spray thrown up, like pairs of feathers, by the cutwater of a fast-moving vessel. Feather star. (Zo["o]l.) See Comatula. Feather weight. (Racing)

   1. Scrupulously exact weight, so that a feather would turn the scale, when a jockey is weighed or weighted.

   2. The lightest weight that can be put on the back of a horse in racing.
      --Youatt.

   3. In wrestling, boxing, etc., a term applied to the lightest of the classes into which contestants are divided; -- in contradistinction to light weight, middle weight, and heavy weight. A feather in the cap an honour, trophy, or mark of distinction. [Colloq.] To be in full feather, to be in full dress or in one's best clothes. [Collog.] To be in high feather, to be in high spirits. [Collog.] To cut a feather.

      1. (Naut.) To make the water foam in moving; in allusion to the ripple which a ship throws off from her bows.

      2. To make one's self conspicuous. [Colloq.]

         To show the white feather, to betray cowardice, -- a white feather in the tail of a cock being considered an indication that he is not of the true game breed.

Feather \Feath"er\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Feathered; p. pr. & vb. n. Feathering.]

1. To furnish with a feather or feathers, as an arrow or a cap.

   An eagle had the ill hap to be struck with an arrow feathered from her own wing.
   --L'Estrange.

2. To adorn, as with feathers; to fringe.

   A few birches and oaks still feathered the narrow ravines.
   --Sir W. Scott.

3. To render light as a feather; to give wings to.[R.]

   The Polonian story perhaps may feather some tedious hours.
   --Loveday.

4. To enrich; to exalt; to benefit.

   They stuck not to say that the king cared not to plume his nobility and people to feather himself.
   --Bacon.
   --Dryden.

5. To tread, as a cock.
   --Dryden.

   To feather one's nest, to provide for one's self especially from property belonging to another, confided to one's care; -- an expression taken from the practice of birds which collect feathers for the lining of their nests.

   To feather an oar (Naut), to turn it when it leaves the water so that the blade will be horizontal and offer the least resistance to air while reaching for another stroke.

   To tar and feather a person, to smear him with tar and cover him with feathers, as a punishment or an indignity.

Feather \Feath"er\, v. i.

1. To grow or form feathers; to become feathered; -- often with out; as, the birds are feathering out.

2. To curdle when poured into another liquid, and float about in little flakes or ``feathers;'' as, the cream feathers.

3. To turn to a horizontal plane; -- said of oars.

   The feathering oar returns the gleam.
   --Tickell.

   Stopping his sculls in the air to feather accurately.
   --Macmillan's Mag.

4. To have the appearance of a feather or of feathers; to be or to appear in feathery form.

   A clump of ancient cedars feathering in evergreen beauty down to the ground.
   --Warren.

   The ripple feathering from her bows.
   --Tennyson.

Old English feðer "a feather; a pen," in plural, "wings," from Proto-Germanic *fethro (cognates: Old Saxon fethara, Old Norse fioþr, Swedish fjäder, Middle Dutch vedere, Dutch veder, Old High German fedara, German Feder), from PIE *pet-ra-, from root *pet- "to rush, to fly" (see petition (n.)). Feather-headed "silly" is from 1640s. Feather-duster attested by 1835. Figurative use of feather in (one's) cap attested by 1734. Birds of a feather "creatures of the same kind" is from 1580s.

Old English fiðerian "to furnish with feathers or wings," from feðer (see feather (n.)). Meaning "to fit (an arrow) with feathers" is from early 13c.; that of "to deck, adorn, or provide with plumage" is from late 15c. In reference to oars (later paddles, propellers, etc.) from 1740, perhaps from the notion of the blade turned edgewise, or from the spray of the water as it falls off (compare nautical feather-spray, that produced by the cutwater of a fast vessel). The noun in reference to this is from the verb. Meaning "cut down to a thin edge" is from 1782, originally in woodworking. Phrase feather one's nest "enrich oneself" is from 1580s. Related: Feathered; feathering.

n. 1 A branching, hair-like structure that grows on the bodies of birds, used for flight, swimming, protection and display. 2 Long hair on the lower legs of a dog or horse, especially a draft horse, notably the Clydesdale breed. Narrowly only the rear hair. 3 One of the fins or wings on the shaft of an arrow. 4 A longitudinal strip projecting from an object to strengthen it, or to enter a channel in another object and thereby prevent displacement sideways but permit motion lengthwise; a spline. 5 Kind; nature; species (from the proverbial phrase "birds of a feather"). 6 One of the two shim of the three-piece stone-splitting tool known as (w: plug and feather) or plug and feathers; the feathers are placed in a borehole and then a wedge is driven between them, causing the stone to split. 7 The angular adjustment of an oar or paddle-wheel float, with reference to a horizontal axis, as it leaves or enters the water. vb. 1 To cover or furnish with feathers. 2 To arrange in the manner or appearance of feathers. 3 (context ambitransitive rowing English) To rotate the oars while they are out of the water to reduce wind resistance. 4 (context aeronautics English) To streamline the blades of an aircraft's propeller by rotating them perpendicular to the axis of the propeller when the engine is shut down so that the propeller doesn't windmill as the aircraft flies. 5 (context carpentry engineering English) To finely shave or bevel an edge. 6 (context computer graphics English) To intergrade or blend the pixels of an image with those of a background or neighboring image. 7 To adorn, as with feathers; to fringe. 8 To render light as a feather; to give wings to. 9 To enrich; to exalt; to benefit. 10 To tread, as a cock.

1. n. the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds [syn: plume, plumage]

2. turning an oar parallel to the water between pulls [syn: feathering]

1. v. join tongue and groove, in carpentry

2. cover or fit with feathers

3. turn the paddle; in canoeing [syn: square]

4. turn the oar, while rowing [syn: square]

5. grow feathers; "The young sparrows are fledging already" [syn: fledge]

feather is a mini album by Japanese singer/pianist Misako Odani, released October 29, 2003 on the Toshiba-EMI label. The album is actually a cover album made by a band called ta-ta which was a side project of Misako. The band featured Misako on vocals, Tomu Tamada on drums, Tomokazu Ninomiya on bass, Hisako Tabuchi on guitar, and Takafumi Ikeda on keyboard.

The CD also contains a music video of track 4.

Feathers are epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on coelurosaurian dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They are among the characteristics that distinguish the extant Aves from other living groups.

Although feathers cover most parts of the body of birds, they arise only from certain well-defined tracts on the skin. They aid in flight, thermal insulation, and waterproofing. In addition, coloration helps in communication and protection. Plumology (or plumage science) is the name for the science that is associated with the study of feathers.

Feathers are epidermal growths which form an outer covering on birds and some dinosaurs.

Feather may also refer to:

Feather or Feather step is a dance figure in the International Style Foxtrot. Depending on a syllabus, it consists of three or four steps (man stepping basically forward), with the third step (right foot) done outside the lady (lady on the right side) with a slight turn in the body position to the right.

The feather is also known as the continuity finish in silver American Style Foxtrot.

The step was first introduced in 1920 by G. K. Anderson.

The ISTD syllabus considers the fourth step that aligns the man with the lady into a normal dance position to be part of the Feather Step variation, while the IDTA syllabus does not.

The pattern and especially its distinctive part (steps 2 and 3) gave rise to several variations:

• "Curved Feather",
• "Overturned Feather",
• "Back Feather",
• "Hover Feather".
• Endings of more complex variations:
  • "Feather Finish" (the first step is taken back),
  • "Feather Ending" (the first step is taken in promenade position)