preen
Plural: preens
Verb
Verb Forms: preened, preening, preens
- To smooth or clean feathers with a beak; to primp oneself.
- clean with one's bill
- "The birds preened"
- pride or congratulate (oneself) for an achievement
- dress or groom with elaborate care
- To pin; fasten.
- To groom; to trim or dress the feathers with the beak.
- To spend time making oneself attractive and admiring one's appearance, e.g. in front of a mirror.
- To show off, posture, or smarm.
- To flatter.
- To comb; to make orderly.
- To trim up, as trees.
- To improve the appearance of; groom; prettify.
Noun
- A forked tool used by clothiers for dressing cloth.
- pin
- bodkin; brooch
Examples
- After a big Scrabble win, he would preen a little, subtly boasting about his score.
Origin / Etymology
From Middle English pren, from Old English prēon, from Proto-Germanic *preunaz (compare Icelandic prjónn (“pin, knitting-needle”), Danish pryne (“needle, eel-spear”)), of uncertain origin, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *brewn- (“protrusion, tip, edge”) (compare Lithuanian briaunà (“edge”), Albanian brez (“belt, girdle”)). Cognate with German Pfriem.
The verb is from Middle English prenen, from pren (“a preen”), akin to German pfriemen.
Synonyms
congratulate, dress, plume, primp, smarten up
Scrabble Score: 7
preen: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordpreen: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
preen: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary