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Glite Dictionary
plume of feathers

plume of feathers

3.9
A long soft feather or small group of feathers used to decorate clothing
  • noun
translation icon : pluma
  • The bird has a beautiful plume of feathers.

Examples

  • She decorated the hat with a large, colorful plume of feathers.

  • A majestic plume of feathers adorned the warrior's helmet.

  • The dancer wore a sparkling costume topped with a plume of feathers.

  • She wore a stunning plume of feathers in her hair.

  • The costume was decorated with a beautiful plume of feathers that added elegance to the outfit.

  • During the parade, the dancers wore bright headdresses adorned with a vibrant plume of feathers.

  • The collector proudly displayed his rare plume of feathers from exotic birds in a glass case.

Synonyms

plume
vsplume of feathers
8 4.9

A large decorative feather used on birds and hats

is mainly used as a long, soft, showy decorative feather
panache
vsplume of feathers
  • Archaic
1 8.9

A tall bunch of feathers worn on a helmet as decoration

is used more generally for long decorative feathers, not only helmet ornaments
plumette
vsplume of feathers
8.4

A small soft feather used as a decoration on clothes or hats

is larger and more showy rather than a small fashion ornament

How Showy

plume of feathers
3.9
plumage
9 5.8
feather
403 1.0
down
34 4.8

Surface Forms

plume of feathers singular
plumes of feathers plural

Morphology

plume + of + feather

The phrase is compositionally built from the nouns 'plume' and 'feathers' using a standard noun + of + noun construction, so its meaning (a large or decorative grouping of feathers) is directly derivable from the constituents. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift and similar constructions exist across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the component words will understand it.

Etymology

Plume of feathers may come from the image of a long, showy plume or group of feathers put on a hat or helmet to make a person look important. So, today it means a long, soft, decorative feather used for 'decoration' or 'adornment'.