Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PLUMAGE
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
pronounce
PLUMAGE:
Say it "PLOO midge."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Here's Elsa proudly displaying her plumage: her gorgeous attire that calls to mind the bright, showy feathers of a bird.
Note the soaring of her spirit. And the singing!
That word plumage gives us a fun way to compare people to birds, much like the words fledgling, skylark, and rara avis. Could you define each?
definition:
Our word "plumage" traces back to a Latin one meaning "a small feather."
Literally speaking, a bird's plumage is its feathers: "She's busy cleaning her plumage;" "What kind of plumage does this species have?"
Figuratively speaking, a person's plumage is all the fancy stuff they're wearing or showing off, as if they're a proud, brightly-colored bird.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "He showed off his plumage."
Other forms:
The plural is "plumages," but we hardly ever need it.
And someone can be "plumaged:" "The Indian peafowl is beautifully plumaged;" "She arrived, sumptuously plumaged in a sequin dress."
There's also a rare, silly-sounding adjective that you might pick for humor or sarcasm: "plumaceous."
how to use it:
"Plumage" is a common word, easily understood, and excellent for comparing people to brilliantly-colored birds.
It works well in a simile: "Pelosi's bright fuchsia dress was like the plumage of a brazen bird" (Washington Post).
It works equally well as a metaphor. "She strutted past the photographers, her plumage fluttering behind her." "Rob Fuller... logged on to Reddit to defend his work, mostly by displaying his own nerd plumage" (The New Yorker).
examples:
"A massive pink Valentino dress [made Lady Gaga] look like a cupcake decorated with flamingo plumage."
— Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 22 December 2018
"Polymath, polyglot, journalist, legionnaire... Koestler was, underneath all the accumulated plumage, a journalist."
— Tobir Fischer, The Guardian, 16 April 2019
has this page helped you understand "plumage"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "plumage" without saying "flashy get-up" or "showy equipage."
try it out:
I've mentioned before that one of my favorite songs is Fiona Apple's "Hot Knife." It's a happy, bouncy song about the thrill of love, filled with tight harmonies and layered verses, and when she sings it, Fiona seems ready to take off and fly:
"He makes my heart a CinemaScope screen
Showing a dancing bird of paradise."
The song, I think, displays her musical plumage.
With "Hot Knife" in mind as an example, talk about a song, album, poem, novel, movie, or any other creative work that seems to display the creator's plumage.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for April is "Netflix and Anagram."
Check out the anagrammed title of a series or movie you can watch on Netflix, along with a descriptive sentence or two about it from Google. See if you can come up with the real title. To see the answer, scroll all the way down.
Here's an example. IF CRUEL: "After abandoning his throne and retiring to Los Angeles, he indulges in his favorite things (women, wine and song) -- until a murder takes place outside of his upscale nightclub." The answer is LUCIFER.
Try this one today:
SLATHERING SALT: "They soon realize they cannot escape and something evil lurks in the grass."
review this word:
1.
A near opposite of PLUMAGE is
A. FALLOW YEAR.
B. DOWDY ATTIRE.
C. HARROWING HISTORY.
2.
Catching sight of her _____, I immediately think of a _____ plumage.
A. thick mass of tawny hair .. lion's
B. sparkling ice-blue eyes .. Siberian Husky's
C. vivid blend of blue, green, and red eye shadow .. parrot's
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Here's Elsa proudly displaying her plumage: her gorgeous attire that calls to mind the bright, showy feathers of a bird.
Our word "plumage" traces back to a Latin one meaning "a small feather."
Part of speech:
"Plumage" is a common word, easily understood, and excellent for comparing people to brilliantly-colored birds.
"A massive pink Valentino dress [made Lady Gaga] look like a cupcake decorated with flamingo plumage."
Explain the meaning of "plumage" without saying "flashy get-up" or "showy equipage."
I've mentioned before that one of my favorite songs is Fiona Apple's "Hot Knife." It's a happy, bouncy song about the thrill of love, filled with tight harmonies and layered verses, and when she sings it, Fiona seems ready to take off and fly:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
|