Pinion

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈpɪnjÉ™n/
• Rhymes: -ɪnjÉ™n

From Old French pignon, from Latin penna ("feather").

Full definition of pinion

Noun

1. A wing.
• Shakespeare Romeo, II.vTherefore do nimble-pinion'd doves draw Love,
  And therefore hath the wind-swift Cupid wings.
• Alexander PopeSwift on his sooty pinions flits the gnome.
• 1839, Edgar Allan Poe,Never seraph spread a pinion
  Over fabric half so fair.
2. The joint of a bird's wing farthest from the body.
3. Any of the outermost primary feathers on a bird's wing.
• Shakespeare Antony, III.xiiAn argument that he is pluck'd, when hither
  He sends so poor a pinion of his wing ...
4. A moth of the genus Lithophane.
5. (obsolete) A fetter for the arm.

Verb

1. To remove the joint of a bird's wing farthest from the body to prevent the bird from flying.
2. To restrain by binding or holding the arms.
• Shakespeare Antony, V.iiKnow, 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.
• 1905, w, w:The Case of Miss Elliott Chapter 1, “… 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 Port Arthur, had disappeared. â€¦â€
• 1916, James Joyce, , Macmillan Press Ltd, paperback, page 80Nash pinioned his arms behind while Boland seized a long cabbage stump which was lying in the gutter.
• 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot (novel) Chapter IXI 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.

From French pignon.

Noun

1. The smallest gear in a gear drive train.
• 1844, Edgar Allan Poe,A certain period elapses, and some unseen mysterious principle again sets in motion the magic pinions and the wizard wheels.

Derived terms

• rack and pinion