Library / English Dictionary

PEN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: penned    , penning    , pent   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Female swan

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("pen" is a kind of...):

swan (stately heavy-bodied aquatic bird with very long neck and usually white plumage as adult)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A writing implement with a point from which ink flows

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pen" is a kind of...):

writing implement (an implement that is used to write)

Meronyms (parts of "pen"):

nib; pen nib (the writing point of a pen)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pen"):

ballpen; ballpoint; ballpoint pen; Biro (a pen that has a small metal ball as the point of transfer of ink to paper)

felt-tip pen; felt-tipped pen; felt tip; Magic Marker (a pen with a writing tip made of felt (trade name Magic Marker))

fountain pen (a pen that is supplied with ink from a reservoir in its barrel)

quill; quill pen (pen made from a bird's feather)

Sharpie (a pen with indelible ink that will write on any surface)

Derivation:

pen (produce a literary work)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An enclosure for confining livestock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pen" is a kind of...):

enclosure (a structure consisting of an area that has been enclosed for some purpose)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pen"):

pigpen; pigsty; sty (a pen for swine)

rodeo (an enclosure for cattle that have been rounded up)

pinfold (a pen where stray animals are confined)

paddock (pen where racehorses are saddled and paraded before a race)

kraal (a pen for livestock in southern Africa)

holding paddock; holding pen; holding yard (a pen where livestock is temporarily confined)

fold; sheep pen; sheepcote; sheepfold (a pen for sheep)

creep (a pen that is fenced so that young animals can enter but adults cannot)

cattle pen; corral; cow pen (a pen for cattle)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes

Synonyms:

pen; penitentiary

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pen" is a kind of...):

correctional institution (a penal institution maintained by the government)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A portable enclosure in which babies may be left to play

Synonyms:

pen; playpen

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("pen" is a kind of...):

enclosure (a structure consisting of an area that has been enclosed for some purpose)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Produce a literary work

Example:

He wrote four novels

Synonyms:

compose; indite; pen; write

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "pen" is one way to...):

create verbally (create with or from words)

"Pen" entails doing...:

spell; write (write or name the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word))

Domain category:

authorship; composition; penning; writing (the act of creating written works)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "pen"):

script (write a script for)

write out; write up (put into writing; write in complete form)

cite; reference (refer to)

annotate; footnote (add explanatory notes to or supply with critical comments)

author (be the author of)

poetise; poetize; verse; versify (compose verses or put into verse)

draft; outline (draw up an outline or sketch for something)

adopt; dramatise; dramatize (put into dramatic form)

write copy (write for commercial publications)

rewrite (rewrite so as to make fit to suit a new or different purpose)

dash off; fling off; knock off; scratch off; toss off (write quickly)

write off (write something fluently, and without hesitation)

paragraph (write about in a paragraph)

paragraph (write paragraphs; work as a paragrapher)

profile (write about)

write about; write of; write on (write about a particular topic)

lyric (write lyrics for (a song))

draw (write a legal document or paper)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Did he pen his major works over a short period of time?

Derivation:

pen (a writing implement with a point from which ink flows)

penning (the act of creating written works)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The Duke took a pen in his quivering fingers and opened his check-book.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He says the pen can deliver results within 20 seconds and is much less invasive for the patient than the traditional method of diagnosis.

(New Invention Detects Cancer in Seconds, VOA/Elizabeth Lee)

I was aware of a pent, stifled feeling.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

When I had written in my diary and had fortunately replaced the book and pen in my pocket I felt sleepy.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

These are the scenes which my mind and my pen will dwell upon in every detail at some future day.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Fanny, said he directly, leaving his seat and his pen, and meeting her with something in his hand, I beg your pardon for being here.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

A sheet of vellum lay upon the board in front of him, and he held a pen in his hand, with which he had been scribbling in a rude schoolboy hand.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

I have had my pen in my hand to begin a letter to you almost every day since you left Bath, but have always been prevented by some silly trifler or other.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

But this time his feelings were all pent in his heart: I was not worthy to hear them uttered.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)