feather
part of speech
noun (feather, feathers); verb (feather a nest — to make it soft)
meaning for a pupil
1) A feather is one of the light, soft parts that cover a bird's body. tree →
2) Feathers keep birds warm and dry and help them fly. tree →
3) «Light as a feather» means very light. tree →
4) People who are alike like to spend time together. tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: The crop (the bird's throat pouch) of an offered bird is taken away with its feathers and thrown beside the altar. Tradition says this keeps the altar clean and the offering pure. The prophets and Job also use feathers in pictures of great eagles and the ostrich, and Ezekiel's eagles are read as standing for mighty kings. In the primary lessons: maths: things counted or collected; feathers per hat or pillow (total = items × feathers each); science: only birds have feathers, feathers for flying and warmth, birds moult; art: feather pens long ago (quills); phrases: «birds of a feather flock together»
examples
- And he shall take away its crop with the feathers thereof, and cast it beside the altar on the east part, in the place of the ashes. (Torah LEV.1.16, JPS 1917) tree →
- The wing of the ostrich beateth joyously; but are her pinions and feathers the kindly stork's? (Writings JOB.39.13, JPS 1917) tree →
- and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the top of the cedar; (Prophets EZK.17.3, JPS 1917) tree →
- There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and, behold, this vine did bend its roots toward him, and shot forth its branches toward him, from the beds of its plantation, that he might water it. (Prophets EZK.17.7, JPS 1917) tree →
- She found 14 feathers. tree →
- Each hat has 3 feathers. tree →
- A pillow has 200 feathers. tree →
- How many feathers in 5 hats? tree →
- The peacock has bright blue and green feathers. tree →
- Long ago people wrote with feather pens. tree →
- The box was as light as a feather. tree →
- Feathers help birds stay warm. tree →
- Birds of a feather flock together. tree →
note
Thing counted. Trap: none. Only birds have feathers. Spelling: f-e-a-t-h-e-r.
In the corpora
- The wing of the ostrich beateth joyously; but are her pinions and feathers the kindly stork's?
- Owl wing feathers have comb-like front edges, soft fringes and a velvety surface that muffle the sound of flying.
- Penguins also keep warm with a thick layer of fat and tightly packed waterproof feathers.
- Male sandgrouse soak their belly feathers at a waterhole and fly many kilometres back to their chicks, which drink from the wet feathers.
- Birds and many dinosaurs share hollow bones, wishbones, three-toed feet and feathers.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «feather» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.