What does PEN mean?
Definitions for PEN
pɛnpen
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word PEN.
Princeton's WordNet
pennoun
a writing implement with a point from which ink flows
pennoun
an enclosure for confining livestock
playpen, pennoun
a portable enclosure in which babies may be left to play
penitentiary, pennoun
a correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes
penverb
female swan
write, compose, pen, inditeverb
produce a literary work
"She composed a poem"; "He wrote four novels"
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Pennoun
Etymology: penna, Latin.
Never durst poet touch a pen to write,
Until his ink were temper’d with love’s sighs. William Shakespeare.Eternal deities!
Who write whatever time shall bring to pass,
With pens of Adamant on plates of brass. Dryden.He takes the papers, lays them down again;
And, with unwilling fingers, tries the pen. Dryden.I can, by designing the letters, tell what new idea it shall exhibit the next moment, barely by drawing my pen over it, which will neither appear, if my hands stand still; or though I move my pen, if my eyes be shut. John Locke.
The pens that did his pinnions bind,
Were like main-yards with flying canvas lin’d. Fairy Queen.Feather’d soon and fledg’d,
They summ’d their pens; and soaring th’ air sublime,
With clang despis’d the ground. John Milton, Paradise Lost.My father stole two geese out of a pen. William Shakespeare.
The cook was ordered to dress capons for supper, and take the best in the pen. Roger L'Estrange.
She in pens his flocks will fold. John Dryden, Horace.
Ducks in thy ponds, and chickens in thy pens,
And be thy turkeys num’rous as thy hens. King.The gather’d flocks
Are in the wattled pen innumerous press’d,
Head above head. James Thomson, Summer.To Penverb
Etymology: pennan and pindan , Saxon.
Away with her,
And pen her up. William Shakespeare, Cymbeline.My heavy son
Private in his chamber pens himself. William Shakespeare.The plaister alone would pen the humour already contained in the part, and forbid new humour. Francis Bacon.
As when a prowling wolf,
Whom hunger drives to seek new haunt for prey,
Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve In hurdled cotes, amid the field secure
Leaps o’er the fence with ease into the fold. John Milton.The glass, wherein it is penned up, hinders it to deliver itself by an expansion of its parts. Boyle.
The prevention of mischief is prescribed by the Jewish custom; they pen up their daughters, and permit them to be acquainted with none. Gideon Harvey, on Consumptions.
Ah! that your bus’ness had been mine,
To pen the sheep. Dryden.For prey these shepherds two he took,
Whose metal stiff he knew he could not bend
With hearsay pictures, or a window look,
With one good dance or letter finely penn’d. Philip Sidney.I would be loth to cast away my speech; for, besides that it is excellently well penn’d, I have taken great pains to con it. William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night.
Read this challenge, mark but the penning of it. William Shakespeare.
A sentence spoken by him in English, and penned out of his mouth by four good secretaries, for trial of our orthography, was set down by them. William Camden, Remains.
He frequented sermons, and penned notes with his own hand. John Hayward, on Edward VI.
The digesting my thoughts into order, and the setting them down in writing was necessary; for without such strict examination, as the penning them affords, they would have been disjointed and roving ones. Kenelm Digby, on the Soul.
Almost condemn’d, he mov’d the judges thus:
Hear, but instead of me, my Oedipus;
The judges hearing with applause, at th’ end
Freed him, and said, no fool such lines had penn’d. John Denham.Gentlemen should extempore, or after a little meditation, speak to some subject without penning of any thing. John Locke.
Should I publish the praises that are so well penn’d, they would do honour to the persons who write them. Addison.
Twenty fools I never saw
Come with petitions fairly penn’d,
Desiring I should stand their friend. Jonathan Swift.
ChatGPT
pen
A pen is a writing instrument used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper, for purposes such as writing or drawing. It typically consists of a metal nib or ball, enclosed in a barrel, fitted with a reservoir that stores the ink. Pens come in various types, including ballpoint, fountain, and felt-tip pens.
Webster Dictionary
Pennoun
a feather
Pennoun
a wing
Pennoun
an instrument used for writing with ink, formerly made of a reed, or of the quill of a goose or other bird, but now also of other materials, as of steel, gold, etc. Also, originally, a stylus or other instrument for scratching or graving
Pennoun
fig.: A writer, or his style; as, he has a sharp pen
Pennoun
the internal shell of a squid
Pennoun
a female swan
Penverb
to write; to compose and commit to paper; to indite; to compose; as, to pen a sonnet
Pen
to shut up, as in a pen or cage; to confine in a small inclosure or narrow space; to coop up, or shut in; to inclose
Pennoun
a small inclosure; as, a pen for sheep or for pigs
Etymology: [OE. pennen, AS. pennan in on-pennan to unfasten, prob. from the same source as pin, and orig. meaning, to fasten with a peg.See Pin, n. & v.]
Wikidata
Pen
A pen is a writing implement used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used, with a nib dipped in the ink. Ruling pens allow precise adjustment of line width, and still find a few specialized uses, but technical pens such as the Rapidograph are more commonly used. Modern types also include ballpoint, rollerball, fountain, and felt or ceramic tip pens.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Pen
pen, v.t. to shut up: to confine in a small enclosure:—pr.p. pen′ning; pa.t. and pa.p. penned or pent.—n. a small enclosure: a fold for animals: a coop. [A.S. pennan, to shut up, in comp. on pennan, to unpen. Prop. to fasten with a pin.]
Pen
pen, n. one of the large feathers of the wing of a bird: an instrument used for writing, formerly made of the feather of a bird, but now of steel, &c.: style of writing: a female swan—opp. to Cob.—v.t. to write, to commit to paper:—pr.p. pen′ning; pa.t. and pa.p. penned.—adj. Pen′-and-ink′, written, literary: executed with pen and ink, as a drawing.—ns. Pen′-case, a holder for a pen or pens; Pen′craft, skill in penmanship: the art of composition; Pen′-driv′er, a clerk; Pen′ful, what one can write with one dip of ink; Pen′-hold′er, a holder for pens or nibs; Pen′-wī′per, a piece of cloth, leather, &c. for wiping pens after use; Pen′-wom′an, a female writer. [O. Fr. penne—L. penna, a feather.]
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
pen
A cape or conical summit. Also, the Creole name for houses and plantations in the country. Also, an inclosure for fishing on the coast.
Rap Dictionary
pennoun
Penitentiary, jail. "To all of my peoples in the pens, keep ya head up" -- Lost Boyz (Lex Coupes, Beamaz and Benz's).
Editors Contribution
pen
A type of product created and designed in various colors, materials, mechanisms, shapes, sizes and styles.
We allnuse a pen every day.
Submitted by MaryC on April 6, 2016
Suggested Resources
PEN
What does PEN stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the PEN acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
PEN
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Pen is ranked #18971 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Pen surname appeared 1,438 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Pen.
80.4% or 1,157 total occurrences were Asian.
12.4% or 179 total occurrences were White.
2.9% or 43 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
2% or 30 total occurrences were of two or more races.
2% or 29 total occurrences were Black.
Matched Categories
British National Corpus
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'PEN' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1806
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'PEN' in Nouns Frequency: #1583
Anagrams for PEN »
nep
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of PEN in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of PEN in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
Examples of PEN in a Sentence
Let your heart dance with pen and paper. Now fill the paper with dancing letters.
Representative Rob Bishop of Utah:
This surreptitious land grab reveals that the Obama administration will stop at nothing to lock up more and more land, with the stroke of a pen. I condemn this shameful power move which makes states and citizens fearful that the federal government can invade at any time to seize more lands like bandits in the night.
No man was more foolish when he had not a pen in his hand, nor more wise when he had.
If we give the bureaucrats absolute power, in the coming years will see the government uses the quill instead of the pen .
To give an accurate and exhaustive account of that period would need a far less brilliant pen than mine.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for PEN
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- penAfrikaans
- زريبة, قلم, حظيرة, قلم حبرArabic
- qələmAzerbaijani
- ручкаBelarusian
- писалкаBulgarian
- লিখন, লিখনী, কলম, লেখাBengali
- bolígrafCatalan, Valencian
- peroCzech
- pinWelsh
- pen, hunsvaneDanish
- Stift, weiblicher Schwan, Pferch, Kugelschreiber, Schwanenweibchen, einsperren, niederschreiben, verfassen, Füllhalter, Federhalter, SchwäninGerman
- κελί, στρούγκα, μαντρί, στυλό, μαντρώνω, στάνηGreek
- plumoEsperanto
- corral, pluma, escribir, celda, bolígrafo, lapicera, boliSpanish
- sulg, sulepeaEstonian
- lumaBasque
- خودکار, قلمPersian
- kynäillä, häkki, kynäilijä, selli, mustekynä, lentosulka, karsina, kynä, selkäkilpiFinnish
- pennurFaroese
- cellule, stylo, écrire, enclos, plume, cygne femelleFrench
- cró, peannIrish
- peannScottish Gaelic
- bolígrafoGalician
- עֵטHebrew
- क़लम, पेन, लेखनीHindi
- karám, tollHungarian
- գրիչArmenian
- pena, penIndonesian
- plumoIdo
- kví, penni, tröð, rétt, stíaIcelandic
- cella, recinto, penna, recintare, scrivere, ovile, chiusoItalian
- ボールペン, ペンJapanese
- კალამიGeorgian
- karamuKikuyu, Gikuyu
- қаламсап, қаламKazakh
- ប៉ាកា, ឋានវតី, ដងប៉ាកាKhmer
- 펜Korean
- پێنووس, نووسینKurdish
- калем, калемсапKyrgyz
- haraLatin
- StëftLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- ປາກກາLao
- plunksna, rašiklisLithuanian
- pildspalvaLatvian
- pene, rāiheMāori
- тoр, пенкало, ќелија, трло, пишуваMacedonian
- लेखणीMarathi
- kalam, pena, pen, pen mataMalay
- pinnaMaltese
- ကလောင်Burmese
- pennNorwegian
- कलमNepali
- schrijven, cellen, cel, ren, omheining, pen, opschrijvenDutch
- penn, hunnsvaneNorwegian Nynorsk
- kve, føre i pennen, innhegne, skrive, innhegning, hunnsvaneNorwegian
- କଲମOriya
- ручкӕ, фыссӕнOssetian, Ossetic
- pióro, łabędzica, pisać, długopisPolish
- curral, caneta, cisne, cercado, enclausurar, prender, escrever, celaPortuguese
- qillqanaQuechua
- загон, ручка, лебёдка, авторучка, лебёдушка, заключать, написать, запирать, писать, пероRussian
- hemijska olovka, pero, хемијска оловка, kemijska olovka, перо, labudica, кемијска оловкаSerbo-Croatian
- පෑනSinhala, Sinhalese
- peroSlovak
- peroSlovene
- stilolapsAlbanian
- hage, penna, bläckpennaSwedish
- seli, jela, zizi, kalamuSwahili
- కలం, కలము, పెన్నుTelugu
- қалам, ручкаTajik
- ปากกาThai
- ruçka, agylTurkmen
- plumaTagalog
- kalemTurkish
- قەلەمUyghur, Uighur
- перо, ручкаUkrainian
- قلم, پینUrdu
- ruchkaUzbek
- bút mực, cây viết chì, viết chì, cây bút, bútVietnamese
- jisvanVolapük
Get even more translations for PEN »
Translation
Find a translation for the PEN definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"PEN." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/PEN>.
Discuss these PEN definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In