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Preen hatched in 14th-century Middle English, and early on it displayed various spelling forms, including prenen, prayne, prene, and preyne. The word traces to the Anglo-French puroindre, or proindre, linking pur-, meaning "thoroughly," with uindre, oindre, meaning "to anoint or rub." One of the first writers known to apply preen to the human act of primping was Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales: "He preens himself and prunes and combs his curls / To take the fancy of this queen of girls." Centuries later (sometime during the late 19th century), the prideful meaning of preen took flight, joining bird-related verbs plume, which was being used with the meaning "to pride or congratulate (oneself)," and peacock, a word still used today to mean "to show off."
Examples of preen in a Sentence
Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024
Which brings us to the most galling mystery of the season: How on earth does this preening man-child get engaged?
—Laura Bradley, Vulture, 9 Aug. 2024
As Henry, Law is a galactic and mercurial presence — alternately preening and embittered and needy and contemptuous but always very loudly so.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 June 2024
The tensions are still there, however, sparked by Season 1’s Sergio, now out of jail and a preening Rio city councilor.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 18 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Preen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preen. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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