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sickle feather

sickle feather

8.6
A long curved tail feather on a rooster that looks decorative
  • noun
  • /ˈsɪkəl ˈfɛðər/
translation icon : pluma de hoz
  • The rooster's sickle feathers gleamed in the sunlight as he strutted across the yard.

Examples

  • Poultry judges pay special attention to the curve and color of a bird's sickle feathers.

  • The rooster displayed its beautiful sickle feather proudly.

  • He collected sickle feathers from the barn to use in his crafts.

  • Many sickle feathers are vibrant in color.

  • The rooster's sickle feathers gleamed in the sunlight as he strutted across the yard.

  • Poultry judges pay special attention to the curve and color of a bird's sickle feathers.

  • Many sickle feathers are vibrant in color and can vary in shape.

Synonyms

tail feather
vssickle feather
4 2.4

A feather that grows on a bird's tail

is the long curved showy type, especially on male birds
quill feather
vssickle feather
7.0

A long stiff part of a bird's wing once used for writing

is the long curved showy tail type, not the stiff writing plume

How Long

sickle feather
8.6
tail feather
4 2.4
saddle feather
  • Specialized
8.9
contour feather
  • Specialized
8.2
down feather
1 3.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

sickle + feather

The sense of a feather shaped like a sickle — long and curved — is directly derivable from combining 'sickle' (a curved blade) with 'feather' (a bird plume). This is a simple descriptive compound that follows transparent shape+object composition and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words, despite being somewhat specialized vocabulary.

Etymology

Sickle feather comes from the curved shape of a rooster's long feather, which looks like a farmer's sickle, a curved farm tool. That's why it means one of the long, showy 'tail' feathers that bend like a sickle.