English

Noun

1. A branching, hair-like structure that grows on the wings of birds that allows their wings to create lift.
   • 1873, W. K. Brooks, "A Feather", Popular Science Monthly, volume IV, page 687

     Notice, too, that the shaft is not straight, but bent so that the upper surface of the feather is convex, and the lower concave.

   • 1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Beasts of Tarzan, chapter V

     Big fellows they were, all of them, their barbaric headdresses and grotesquely painted faces, together with their many metal ornaments and gorgeously coloured feathers, adding to their wild, fierce appearance.

   • 2000, C. J. Puotinen, The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care‎, page 362

     Nesting birds pluck some of their own feathers to line the nest, but feather plucking in pet birds is entirely different.

Verb

1. To cover with feathers.
2. To arrange in the manner or appearance of feathers.

   The stylist feathered my hair.

3. To rotate the oars while they are out of the water to reduce wind resistance.
4. To streamline the blades of an aircraft's propeller by rotating them perpendicular to the axis of the propeller when the engine is shut down so that the propeller doesn't windmill as the aircraft flies.

   After striking the bird, the pilot feathered the left, damaged engine's propeller.

5. To finely shave or bevel an edge.
6. To intergrade or blend the pixels of an image with those of a background or neighboring image.