pinion
1
8.2
- noun
- /ˈpɪn.jən/
- Specialized
:
pluma primaria
- The eagle soared through the sky, its pinions gracefully spread wide.
Examples
-
Earlier this afternoon, a flickering shadow had drawn Tess to the kitchen's west window, where sometimes a pinion jay came to beg.
Fiction book (1993) -
Sarah could see a wide space where several pinions should have been.
Fiction book (1999) -
"With his pinion He will cover you," "and beneath His wings you will be protected."
-
Our client chooses any kind of feather, from pinion to down, in any combination.
Fiction book (1994) -
The wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions of fine gold.
-
Fenton felt as if he were up there inside the bird's skin, feeling the rush of air under his wings, the working muscles, and the adjustment of pinions for guidance.
Fiction book (1999) -
On the height, the blue watch dragon, his rider mounted on his neck, stretched the great transparent pinions that carried him on the winds of Pern to fight the evil Thread that fell at certain times from the skies.
Fiction book (2002) -
Most students drooled sleepily onto desktops, but I sat in back alone, drawing to the music, trying to replicate the twittering pinions of the music room's mascot, a yellow canary.
Fiction book (1996) -
After the storm, a collection of pinions was found scattered on the ground beneath the oak tree.
-
The feathers used in the costume were beautiful pinions, giving the illusion of real wings.
Synonyms
2
8.7
A long feather at the outer edge of a bird's wing that helps it fly
1
5.3
The hollow central part of a bird's feather
1
4.5
A large stiff feather on a bird's wing or tail that helps it fly
1
5.2
A long part of a bird's wing at the outer edge that helps the bird fly
1
3.2
The outer end of a bird's wing with feathers at the far edge
A long outer flight feather on a bird's wing that helps it fly
A long stiff part of a bird's wing once used for writing
Compounds
- Specialized
1
6.0
A round gear and a flat bar with teeth that change turning into straight movement
- Specialized
A small wheel used in clocks that has short metal bars instead of teeth
- Specialized
Gears that fit together at a right angle to send power between car axles
Surface Forms
Etymology
Pinion for the large flight feathers comes from an old Latin word pinna meaning 'feather' or 'wing', so the bird's pinions are the big outer feathers that help it fly.