plume

¹plume

noun \ˈplüm\

Definition of PLUME

1

: a feather of a bird: as a : a large conspicuous or showy feather b : contour feather c : plumage d : a cluster of distinctive feathers

2

a : material (as a feather, cluster of feathers, or a tuft of hair) worn as an ornament b : a token of honor or prowess : prize

3

: something resembling a feather (as in shape, appearance, or lightness): as a : a plumose appendage of a plant b : an elongated and usually open and mobile column or band (as of smoke, exhaust gases, or blowing snow) c : an animal structure having a main shaft bearing many hairs or filamentous parts; especially : a full bushy tail d : any of several columns of molten rock rising from the earth's lower mantle that are theorized to drive tectonic plate movement and to underlie hot spots

Examples of PLUME

1. a hat with bright ostrich plumes
2. <the Nobel Prize for Literature is the plume that all authors covet>

Illustration of PLUME

Origin of PLUME

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin pluma small soft feather — more at fleece

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to PLUME

Synonyms: accolade, blue ribbon, decoration, distinction, honor, kudo, award, premium, prize

Related Words: badge, crown, cup, laurel, medal, order, plaque, plate, ribbon, trophy; applause, bravo, encomium, eulogy, hallelujah, homage, paean, panegyric, plaudit, tribute; citation, commendation, compliment, honorable mention

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Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

Rhymes with PLUME

bloom, boom, broom, brume, combe, cwm, doom, flume, fume, gloom, glume, groom, khoum, loom, neume, rheum, room, spume, tomb, toom, vroom, whom, womb, zoom