pinion
Syllables: pin·ion/ˈpɪnjən/
pinion noun: a wing.
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Noun (1)
pinion (plural pinions)
- A wing.
- Therefore do nimble Pinion'd Doues draw Loue,
And therefore hath the wind-ſwift Cupid wings:c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and... - See o'er the Alps his tow'ring Pinions ſoar,
Where never Engliſh Poet reach'd before.1712 May, [Alexander Pope], “The Rape of the Locke. An Heroi-comical Poem.”, in Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, canto I, page 153
- Therefore do nimble Pinion'd Doues draw Loue,
- The joint of a bird's wing farthest from the body.
- Any of the outermost primary feathers on a bird's wing.
- An argument that he is pluckt, when hither / He ſends ſo poore a Pinnion of his Wing,c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- A moth of the genus Lithophane.
Verb
pinion (third-person singular simple present pinions, present participle pinioning, simple past and past participle pinioned)
- To cut off the pinion of a bird’s wing, or otherwise disable or bind its wings, in order to prevent it from flying.
- They that meane to fatte Pigions…some…do softly tie their Legges:…some vse onely to pinion them.1577, Konrad Heresbach, translated by Barnabe Googe, Foure Bookes of Husbandrie, book iv (1586), page 169
- When they are aboute fortnights olde (for they must bee driven noe longer) yow must watch where the henne useth to sitte on nights, and come when it beginneth to bee darke and throwe somethinge over the henne as shee broodeth them, then take and clippe every of theire right wings. Then when they...1641–2, Henry Best (author), Donald Woodward (editor), The Farming and Memorandum Books of Henry Best of Elmswell, 1642: With a Glossary and Linguistic Commentary by Peter McClure, Oxford University...
- To bind the arms of someone, so as to deprive him of their use; to disable by so binding.
- “[…] Captain Markam had been found lying half-insensible, gagged and bound, on the floor of the sitting-room, his hands and feet tightly pinioned, and a woollen comforter wound closely round his mouth and neck ; whilst Mrs. Markham's jewel-case, containing valuable jewellery and the secret plans of...1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Fate of the Artemis”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London...
- Pinioning its extremities with the edge of the towel, she crushed off its offensive and defensive weapons with a splinter from the wall. The blowfly was her next victim, but an unexciting one.1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 168
- Synonyms:
- shackle
- To restrain; to limit.
- Know, sir that I / Will not wait pinion'd at your master's court, / Nor once be chastis'd with the sober eye / Of dull Octavia.c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
- I was suddenly seized from behind and thrown to earth. As I fell, a warm body fell on top of me, and hands grasped my arms and legs. When I could look up, I saw a number of giant fingers pinioning me down, while others stood about surveying me.1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter IX, in Hugo Gernsback, editor...
Noun (2)
pinion (plural pinions)
- The smallest gear in a gear train.
- A certain period elapses, and some unseen mysterious principle again sets in motion the magic pinions and the wizard wheels.1844, Edgar Allan Poe, The Premature Burial
- The usual front sprocket has teeth, which which mesh into a pinion on a shaft that carries power to the wheel through a pair of pinions at the rear.1898, Alexander Schwalbach, Julius Wilcox, “The Chainless Wheel”, in The Modern bicycle and its accessories; a complete reference book for rider, dealer, and maker, New York: The Commercial...
Proper noun capitalized: Pinion
Pinion (plural Pinions)
- A surname.
pinion meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada
pinion in Tamil
- சிறிய பற்சக்கரம், சிறுபற்சக்கரம், பற்சில்லு, துணைப்பொறிச்சக்கரம், பற்சிலி, பறவையின் சிறகு
pinion in Urdu
- جکڑنا, پر
pinion in Malayalam
- ചിറക്, കൈയാമം, കൈത്തള
pinion in Kannada
- ಹೆಡಕಟ್ಟು, ಹೆಡಗುಡಿ ಕಟ್ಟು, ಹೆಡಗಯ್ ಕಟ್ಟು, ಹೆಡಮುರಿಗೆ ಕಟ್ಟು
More languagesFewer languages
- pinion in Sanskrit
- पर्ण parṇá
Examples of pinion in a sentence
- Press on! for it is godlike to unloose The spirit, and forget yourself in thought; Bending a pinion for the deeper sky, And, in the very fetters of your flesh, Mating with the pure essences of heaven!1826, N. P. Willis, Poem delivered at the Departure of the Senior Class of Yale College:
- Never seraph spread a pinion / Over fabric half so fair.1839 September, Edgar A[llan] Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, in William E[vans] Burton and Edgar A. Poe, editors, Burton’s...
- Suppoſe, thou Fortune could to tameneſs bring, / And clip or pinion her wing; / Suppoſe thou could’ſt on Fate ſo far prevail / As not to cut off thy Entail.1665–1667, Abraham Cowley, The Works of Mʳ Abraham Cowley (fifth edition, 1678), “Several Diſcourſes by way of Eſſays, in Verſe and Proſe”...
- The two old ducks…being pinioned, could not fly away.1727, Peter Longueville, Philip Quarll, published 1816, page 67:
Synonyms of pinion
Forms of pinion
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | pinions |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | pinions |
| present participle | pinioning |
| past participle | pinioned |
| past | pinioned |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Pinions |
Origin of pinion
From Middle English pynyon, from Old French pignon, from Latin penna (“feather”).
Borrowed from French pignon.
Words formed from pinion
Phrases with pinion
Words that rhyme with pinion
Questions about pinion
- What does pinion mean?
- Pinion means a wing.
- What is pinion in Tamil?
- Pinion in Tamil is சிறிய பற்சக்கரம், சிறுபற்சக்கரம், பற்சில்லு. See Pinion meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use pinion in a sentence?
- Press on! for it is godlike to unloose The spirit, and forget yourself in thought; Bending a pinion for the deeper sky, And, in the very fetters of your flesh, Mating with the pure essences of heaven!
- What part of speech is pinion?
- Pinion can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce pinion?
- Pinion is pronounced /ˈpɪnjən/.
- What is the plural of pinion?
- The plural of pinion is pinions.
Words near pinion in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pinion (page history and authors); Pinion (page history and authors); pinion (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pinion (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pinion (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); pinion (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); पर्ण (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-pinion.ogg.
Cite this entry: “pinion.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pinion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.