feathered, ppl. a.
(ˈfɛðəd)
[f. feather n. and v. + -ed.]
1. a. Of birds, animals, etc.: Provided with or having feathers. Phr. feathered friend: a bird (used sentimentally or ironically). Also in parasynthetic comb., as black-feathered, hard-feathered, pen-feathered, well-feathered adjs.
| [c 1150 Eadwine's Psalter (E.E.T.S.) lxxvii. 27 Fuglæs ᵹefeðerede.] a 1300 Cursor M. (Cott.) 15991 Þe cok lepe vp..federd fayrer þan be-forn. c 1300 K. Alis. 5406 Hy weren blake fethered on the wombe. a 1440 Found. St. Bartholomew's i. vi, The vision of the federyd beiste. 1577 Googe Heresbach's Husb. (1586) 163, I wil not refuse to shew you somwhat also of my feathered cattle. 1684 R. H. School Recreat. 131 See that he [the cock] be sound, hard feather'd. 1708 Prior Turtle & Sparrow 263 My children then were just pen-feather'd. 1721 R. Bradley Wks. Nature 85 Thus have I remark'd what is most observable in the feathered Tribe. 1769 J. Wallis Nat. Hist. Northumberland I. ix. 311 The young being surprized..when they are near full feathered. 1840 F. D. Bennett Whaling Voy. II. 242 The legs are..feathered to the feet. 1876 Smiles Sc. Natur. vii. (ed. 4) 105 A feathered wanderer flew by. 1933 E. A. Robertson Ordinary Families xiv. 294, I did not write one letter about ‘our feathered friends’ which was not published. 1953 E. Simon Past Masters i. iii. 35 We keep chickens..and so far our feathered friends are letting us down badly. 1967 Guardian 4 Feb. 14/8 The British farmers'..war against our furred and feathered friends might be an enormous mistake. |
| transf. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xii, One of the supporting cliffs..was in deep shade, but the other, feathered with foliage. 1851 H. Mayo Truths in Pop. Superst. (ed. 2) 25 An abrupt craggy ridge, feathered with underwood. |
b. Pertaining to or consisting of animals with feathers.
| a 1605 Montgomerie Natur Passis Nuriture 53 Fra sho with fedrit flesh was fed. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Matinée, The Fox that sleepes a mornings meets with no feathered break⁓fasts. 1889 (title of periodical), The Feathered World. |
2. That is, or seems to be, supplied with wings; winged, fleet.
| 1587 Turberv. Trag. T. 100 b, The God that feadreth [sic] is and blinde. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. i. 106, I saw young Harry..Rise from the ground like feathered Mercury. 1608 ― Per. v. ii. 15 In feather'd briefness sails are fill'd. 1636 R. Durham in Ann. Dubrensia (1877) 56 Those Grey-hounds, which with feather'd feete, Fly ore your pleasant downes. a 1658 Cleveland Poems 43 (L.) Nor think..our feathered minutes may Fall under measure. 1792 S. Rogers Pleas. Mem. i. 62 The feathered feet of Time. 1865 Lowell Poet. Wks. (1879) 429 Yet sometimes feathered words are strong. |
3. Of an arrow: Fitted with a feather. Of a wound: Inflicted by an arrow.
| c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 143 Sagitta, uel spiculum, ᵹefyðerad flaa. 1513 Douglas æneis x. v. 82 Als swyft as ganze or fedyrit arrow fleis. 1579 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 403 Syxe sheffe of goode arrowes, well fethered hedds. 1697 Dryden Virgil (1806) IV. 161 Across the shoulders came the feather'd wound; Transfix'd, he fell. 1715–20 Pope Iliad i. 68 He twang'd his deadly bow, And hissing fly the feather'd fates below. 1825 Coleridge Aids Refl. (1848) I. 53 The arrows of satire feathered with wit. |
4. Adorned with a feather or plume of feathers.
| 1624 Trag. Nero iv. i. in Bullen O. Pl. I. 63 The feather'd man of Inde. 1631 T. Powell Tom All Trades 170 Your feathered Gallant of the Court. 1752 A. Macdonald in Scots Mag. July (1753) 338/1 Allan was..dressed in a blue side-coat..and feathered hat. 1813 Scott Trierm. ii. xxiii, Their feather'd crests alone Should this encounter rue. |
5. Furnished or ornamented with something resembling a feather or feathers:
a. of animals.
Cf. feather n. 11.
| 1686 Lond. Gaz. No. 2195/4 A black Brown Gelding..Feather'd of each side the Neck. 1721 Bradley Wks. Nature 137 Moths have their Antennæ short and feathered. |
b. Archit. Cf. feathering vbl. n. 2 b.
| 1845 Ecclesiologist IV. 14 note, A very rich canopied monument, with..double feathered arch. 1848 Rickman Goth. Archit. 90 The arch.. is richly feathered. |
c. of a plough-share.
Cf. feather n. 16 c.
| 1765 A. Dickson Treat. Agric. (ed. 2) 215 Giving it a..feathered sock. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 95 In land, which is free of stones, the feathered share is preferred. |
6. a. Of leaves or petals, timber, etc.: Having feather-like markings.
| 1610 W. Folkingham Art of Survey i. iii. 7 High grounds produce wood of a more beautiful-feathered and better graine. 1833 Hogg Suppl. Florists' Flowers 31 [A tulip with certain markings is called] a feathered Bybloemen or feathered Rose. |
b. Of plants, branches, etc.: Formed or arranged like feathers; having feather-like hairs or tufts; feather-like.
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. vii. 155 A littell crownet, out of the whiche the small feathered leaues do grow. 1776 Withering Brit. Plants (1796) I. 224 Summits..reflected, feathered. 1783 Watson Philip III (1839) 359 Fir trees, whose close and feathered branches intwined with one another. 1820 Keats Hyperion i. 9 The feathered grass. |
7. In various names of
a. flowers and
b. moths.
| a. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. vii. 156 Single Gillofers..are called in Englishe by diuers names, as..feathered Gillofers. 1823 Crabb Technol. Dict., The..feathered Columbine, the Thalictrum aquilegifolium. 1878–86 Britten & Holland Plant-n., Feathered Gillofers, Dianthus plumarius. |
| b. 1839 Wood Index Entomol. 28 Eulepia grammica, feathered Footman. Ibid. 51 Heliophobus Leucophæus, feathered Ear. Heliophobus popularis, feathered Gothic. 1869 E. Newman Brit. Moths 289 The Feathered Brindle (Aporophyla australis). Ibid. 399 The Feathered Ranunculus (Epunda Lichenea). 1870 Wood Common Moths Eng. 50 The Feathered Thorn (Himera pennaria). |
8. a. Of an oar or paddle: That is or has been turned so as to ‘feather’: see
feather v. 11.
| 1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms ii. 417 As if the lightly feather'd oar..could take them to the shore. 1866 F. W. Brearey Remarks upon Aërial Navigation in Rep. Brit. Assoc. 1865 ii. 17 The downward blow of paddles made of bamboo and silk, if returning feathered for each succeeding stroke, would enable him to effect this. 1891 Daily News 15 Sept. 3/4 The swish of feathered oars upon the water. |
b. Of the propeller of an aircraft: having the blades turned about their axes so as to be in line with the air-flow.
Cf. feather v. 11 c.
| 1935 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXIX. 1026 The feathered propeller has only about 3 per cent. of the drag of the normal airplane. 1940 Flight 15 Aug. e/2 In the ‘fully feathered’ position the airscrew blades are turned round until the average torque exerted by the windmilling blades becomes nearly zero. 1970 H. A. Taylor Airspeed Aircraft since 1931 117 The prototype was controllable, with the propeller of the critical engine feathered.., down to speeds as low as 110kt. |
9. Sugar-boiling.
Cf. feather n. 13.
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Feathered Boiling of Sugar..is when after several Boilings, the Artist blows thro' the Holes of the Skimmer..till thick and large Bubbles flying up on high, the Sugar is become Feathered. |
10. feathered-shot (see
quot.).
Cf. feather-shot copper,
feather n. 19.
| 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Feathered-shot, copper granulated by pouring into cold water. |
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▸ Of hair: cut with a number of thin, tapered, wispy layers.
Cf. feather-cut n. and
adj. at
feather n. Additions.
| 1927 K. Norris My Best Girl xvi. 269 She saw a steel-bright handsome face looking at her under beautiful scallops of feathered hair. 1957 Chron.-Telegram (Elyria, Ohio) 25 Apr. 28/4 The feathered cut appeared in several variations. 1989 Washington Post (Nexis) 2 Dec. d1 Her black, feathered hair held blond highlights. 2001 J. Stammers Panoramic Lounge-bar 23 Your feathered black fringe and Irish-blue eyes. |