Middle English

Alternative forms

• fether
• fethere

Noun

feþer (plural feþeres)

1. a feather

Descendants

• English: feather

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *feþrō, from Proto-Indo-European *péth₂r̥ ~ pth₂én- ‎(“feather, wing”), from *peth₂- ‎(“to fly”). Cognate with Old Frisian feþere, fethere, Old Saxon feþera, fethera, Old Dutch fethera, fethara, Old High German fedara , Old Norse fjǫðr. The Indo-European root is also the source of Ancient Greek πέτεσθαι ‎(pétesthai), πτῶσις ‎(ptôsis), Latin penna, Old Armenian թիռ ‎(tʿiṙ), Celtic Proto-Celtic *petno- (Old Irish én, Breton ein ‎(“bird”)).

Noun

feþer f ‎(nominative plural feþra or feþre)

1. a feather

   Se fenix ascæceþ feþre.‎

   The phoenix shakes its feathers.

Declension

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Middle English: feþer
  • English: feather