plume

noun

1. (archaic, literary, poetic)A feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.

   “Near-synonym: aigrette”

   “Under a Coronet his flowing haire / In curles on either cheek plaid, wings he wore / Of many a colourd plume ſprinkl'd with Gold, / His habit fit for ſpeed ſuccinct, and held / Before his decent ſteps a Silver wand.”

   “The firſt thing that ſtruck Manfred’s eyes was a groupe of his ſervants endeavouring to raiſe ſomething that appeared to him a mountain of ſable plumes. […] [W]hat a ſight for a father’s eyes!—he beheld his child daſhed to pieces, and almoſt buried under an enormous helmet, an hundred times more large than any caſque ever made for human being, and ſhaded with a proportionable quantity of black feathers.”

   “[T]he most valuable cargo carried by the Titanic wasn't diamonds or gold but 12 cases of ostrich plumes valued at $2.3 million in today's money.”

   “Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!”

2. (archaic, literary, poetic)A cluster of feathers worn as an ornament, especially on a helmet; a hackle.

   “Near-synonym: aigrette”

   “The fearful infant turn'd his head away, / And on his nurſe's neck reclining lay, / His unknown father ſhunning with affright, / And looking back on ſo uncouth a ſight; / Daunted to ſee a face with ſteel o'er-ſpread, / And his high plume that nodded o'er his head.”

3. (figuratively)A token of honour or prowess; that on which one prides oneself; a prize or reward.

   “But well thou comſt / Before thy fellows, ambitious to win / From me ſom Plume, that thy ſucceſs may ſhow / Deſtruction to the reſt: […]”

4. The vane (“flattened, web-like part”) of a feather, especially when on a quill pen or the fletching of an arrow.
5. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of plume moth (“a small, slender moth of the family Pterophoridae”).
6. Things resembling a feather.

   “Tidal gravitational effects cause plumes of sodium silicate to erupt from Elaaden's core, depositing unusually pure silicon sand across the surface—invaluable for manufacturing high-performance computer hardware.”

7. Things resembling a feather.

   “After the explosion, a plume of smoke could be seen in the sky for miles around.”

   “The pollutant creates a contaminant plume within an aquifer.”

   “Passengers on the earliest railway services would not even have enjoyed the luxury of a platform, instead having to step up onto the waiting open top wagons, where they would experience a journey that left many choking on the plumes of smoke exhaled by the leading locomotive.”

8. Things resembling a feather.
9. Things resembling a feather.
10. Things resembling a feather.
11. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Things resembling a feather.
12. Things resembling a feather.
13. Things resembling a feather.

verb

1. (also, figuratively, transitive)To adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or plumes, or as if with feathers or plumes.
2. (reflexive, transitive)Chiefly of a bird: to arrange and preen the feathers of, specifically in preparation for flight; hence (figurative), to prepare for (something).

   “I make no doubt she has made the best of her way back to the hospitable hall of Sir Watkyn Williams Wynne; and may very possibly be pluming her wings, at this present writing, among the breezy bowers of Wynnstay.”

   “I bless thee that thy angel-presence still infolds me here! / Forgive me, ere thy spirit plumest for the heavenly sphere.”

   “[…] Ruth resembled the dove that plumeth its wings in readiness to fly away and be at rest, in the ark of everlasting peace and joy.”

   “Victor Love—His far dominion / Owneth with proud glance, / See, he plumeth now his pinion, / Wakeneth from his trance; […]”

3. (broadly, reflexive, transitive)To congratulate (oneself) proudly, especially concerning something unimportant or when taking credit for another person's effort; to self-congratulate; to preen.

   “He plumes himself on his skill.”

   “pride and plume himself in his Deformities”

   “We mention this Obſervation, not with any View of pretending to account for ſo odd a Behaviour, but lest ſome Critic should hereafter plume himſelf on diſcovering it.”

   “Gentlemen of the free-and-easy sort, who plume themselves on being acquainted with a move or two, and being usually equal to the time-of-day, express the wide range of their capacity for adventure by observing that they are good for anything from pitch-and-toss to manslaughter; between which opposite extremes, no doubt, there lies a tolerably wide and comprehensive range of subjects.”

   “I could not but highly plume myself on my masterly management in getting rid of Bartleby.”

4. (archaic, transitive)To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.

   “the king cared not to plume his nobility”

   “They wou'd have plum'd his eagles on the field”

5. (archaic, broadly, transitive)To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.
6. (archaic, obsolete, transitive)To strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.

   “The hauke proineth when ſhe fetcheth oyle with her beake over the taile, and anointeth her feet and her fethers. She plumeth when ſhe pulleth fethers of anie foule and caſteth them from her.”

7. (intransitive)Of a dispersed substance such as dust or smoke: to fan out or spread in a cloud.

   “Smoke plumed from his pipe, then slowly settled towards the floor.”

name

1. A surname