'PEN' definitions:

Definition of 'pen'

From: WordNet
noun
A writing implement with a point from which ink flows
noun
An enclosure for confining livestock
noun
A portable enclosure in which babies may be left to play [syn: playpen, pen]
noun
A correctional institution for those convicted of major crimes [syn: penitentiary, pen]
noun
Female swan
verb
Produce a literary work; "She composed a poem"; "He wrote four novels" [syn: write, compose, pen, indite]

Definition of 'Pen'

From: GCIDE
  • Pen \Pen\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Penned; p. pr. & vb. n. Penning.] To write; to compose and commit to paper; to indite; to compose; as, to pen a sonnet. "A prayer elaborately penned." --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Pen'

From: GCIDE
  • Pen \Pen\ (p[e^]n), n. [OE. penne, OF. penne, pene, F. penne, fr. L. penna.]
  • 1. A feather. [Obs.] --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A wing. [Obs.] --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. 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. [1913 Webster]
  • Graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock. --Job xix. 24. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Fig.: A writer, or his style; as, he has a sharp pen. "Those learned pens." --Fuller. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. (Zool.) The internal shell of a squid. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zool.) A female swan; -- contrasted with cob, the male swan. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster]
  • Bow pen. See Bow-pen.
  • Dotting pen, a pen for drawing dotted lines.
  • Drawing pen, or Ruling pen, a pen for ruling lines having a pair of blades between which the ink is contained.
  • Fountain pen, Geometric pen. See under Fountain, and Geometric.
  • Music pen, a pen having five points for drawing the five lines of the staff.
  • Pen and ink, or pen-and-ink, executed or done with a pen and ink; as, a pen and ink sketch.
  • Pen feather. A pin feather. [Obs.]
  • Pen name. See under Name.
  • Sea pen (Zool.), a pennatula. [Usually written sea-pen.] [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Pen'

From: GCIDE
  • Pen \Pen\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pennedor Pent (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Penning.] [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.] 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. "Away with her, and pen her up." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Pen'

From: GCIDE
  • Pen \Pen\, n.
  • 1. [From Pen to shut in.] A small inclosure; as, a pen for sheep or for pigs. [1913 Webster]
  • My father stole two geese out of a pen. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. [From penitentiary.] A penitentiary[6]; a prison. [Slang] [PJC]

Definition of 'pen'

From: GCIDE
  • Penitentiary \Pen`i*ten"tia*ry\, n.; pl. Penitentiaries. [Cf. F. p['e]nitencier. See Penitent.]
  • 1. One who prescribes the rules and measures of penance. [Obs.] --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. One who does penance. [Obs.] --Hammond. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. A small building in a monastery where penitents confessed. --Shpiley. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. That part of a church to which penitents were admitted. --Shipley. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. (R. C. Ch.) (a) An office of the papal court which examines cases of conscience, confession, absolution from vows, etc., and delivers decisions, dispensations, etc. Its chief is a cardinal, called the Grand Penitentiary, appointed by the pope. (b) An officer in some dioceses since A. D. 1215, vested with power from the bishop to absolve in cases reserved to him. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. A house of correction, in which offenders are confined for punishment, discipline, and reformation, and in which they are generally compelled to labor; a prison; a jail. Colloquially often shortened to pen. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'pen'

From: Moby Thesaurus

Acronyms for 'PEN'

From: V.E.R.A.
  • Public Education Network

Words containing 'PEN'