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pen
pen pointed implement used in writing or drawing to apply ink or a similar colored fluid to any surface, such as paper. Various kinds of pens have been used since ancient times. Reeds that were slit or frayed at the end were used in antiquity; similar pens, usually made of bamboo, are commonly employed in Asia today. In ancient Greece and Rome much writing was done by scratching the wax coating of a tablet with a stylus, or style—a pointed implement whose blunt end was used to make erasures by smoothing the wax. Quills were introduced early in the Middle Ages and continued to be the main writing device until the mid-19th cent. Plucked from live birds (usually geese), the quills were treated with heat and shaped with a penknife, and they required frequent sharpening. Although metal pens were known to the Romans, and a few had been made in Europe in the 18th cent., a cheap, efficient slip-in nib did not come into common use until Josiah Mason improved existing models and began large-scale production in 1828 at Birmingham, England. The fountain pen, which feeds ink to the pen point from a reservoir, was first successfully produced on a commercial scale in the 1880s. The ball-point pen, introduced c.1944, offered several advantages over the fountain pen. Tipped with a ball bearing that rolls a gelatinous instant-drying ink onto paper, the ball-point pen contains a longer-lasting supply of ink than the fountain pen and is less likely to leak. Although soft-tip pens had been used in ancient times (the Egyptians made soft-tip pens from rushes c.4000 BC, and the Chinese later used hair-tip pens), it was not until the 1950s that felt-tip markers came into fairly common use in the United States. By the 1960s felt-tip markers had been largely replaced by fiber-tip markers. These are made of such materials as nylon and plastic, are available in a wide variety of colors, and are capable of marking any surface, including plastic and glass. |
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"pen." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pen." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pen.html "pen." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-pen.html |
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pen
pen. Writing and drawing instrument used with ink or a similar coloured fluid. From Early Christian times until the 19th century the standard form of pen in Europe was the quill, made from bird feathers, and most of the pen drawings of the Old Masters were done with such instruments. Goose, swan, and turkey quills have commonly been used for writing and crow quills provide a very fine point for drawing. The reed pen, made from stems of bamboo-like grasses, was already in use in classical antiquity and is probably older than the quill. The point is much coarser, producing a bold, thick line, sometimes slightly blurred at the edges. For drawing it has been used much less than the quill, though Rembrandt, for example, was a master of the broad energetic technique appropriate to it. The metal pen dates back at least to Roman times, but steel nibs of the modern type were not made until late in the 18th century and began to replace the quill only after machine methods of producing them were developed in the 1820s. More recent developments include the fountain pen (the first efficient model was patented by the American inventor L. E. Waterman in 1884), the ballpoint (the first satisfactory model was developed in the 1930s by Laśzló Biró, a Hungarian inventor living in Argentina), and the fibre-tip pen (first produced in Japan in the 1970s).
No other drawing tool can produce such a variety of texture as the pen or reveal so intimately the personal ‘handwriting’ of an artist. It is the ideal medium for rapidly noting down the first idea and has been used in this way by draughtsmen as different as Pisanello, Michelangelo, Dürer, and Rembrandt. However, it has also been used with great effect in a careful, calligraphic manner, as in Botticelli's illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy. Often pen drawing is combined with washes of ink. |
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IAN CHILVERS. "pen." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "pen." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-pen.html IAN CHILVERS. "pen." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-pen.html |
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pen
pen1 / pen/ • n. 1. an instrument for writing or drawing with ink, typically consisting of a metal nib or ball, or a nylon tip, fitted into a metal or plastic holder. ∎ (the pen) the occupation or practice of writing: she was forced to support herself not only by the pen, but as a secret agent. ∎ an electronic penlike device used in conjunction with a writing surface to enter commands or data into a computer. 2. Zool. the tapering cartilaginous internal shell of a squid. • v. (penned , pen·ning ) [tr.] write or compose: he had not penned a line to Lizzie in three years. PHRASES: put (or set) pen to paper write or begin to write something. pen2 • n. a small enclosure in which sheep, pigs, cattle, or other domestic animals are kept. ∎ a number of animals in or sufficient to fill such an enclosure: a pen of young horses. ∎ any small enclosure in which someone or something can be confined. ∎ a covered dock for a submarine or other warship. • v. (penned , pen·ning ) [tr.] put or keep (an animal) in a pen: it was the practice to pen the sheep for clipping. ∎ (pen someone up/in) confine someone in a restricted space: they had been penned up day and night in the house. pen3 • n. a female swan. pen4 • n. inf. short for penitentiary (sense 1). |
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Cite this article
"pen." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pen." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pen010.html "pen." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pen010.html |
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pen
pen. Writing and drawing instrument used with ink or a similar coloured fluid. From Early Christian times until the 19th century the standard form of pen in Europe was the quill, made from bird feathers, and most of the pen drawings of the Old Masters were done with such instruments. Goose, swan, and turkey quills have commonly been used for writing and crow quills provide a very fine point for drawing. The reed pen, made from stems of bamboo-like grasses, was already in use in classical antiquity and is probably older than the quill. The point is much coarser, producing a bold, angular line, sometimes slightly blurred at the edges. For drawing it has been used much less than the quill, though Rembrandt, for example, was a master of the broad energetic technique appropriate to it. The metal pen dates back at least to Roman times, but steel nibs of the modern type were not made until late in the 18th century and began to replace the quill only after machine methods of producing them were developed in the 1820s. No other drawing tool can produce such a variety of texture as the pen or reveal so intimately the personal ‘handwriting’ of an artist. It is the ideal medium for rapidly noting down the first idea and has been used in this way by draughtsmen as different as Pisanello, Michelangelo, Dürer, and Rembrandt. However, it has also been used with great effect in a careful, calligraphic manner, as in Botticelli's illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy.
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Cite this article
IAN CHILVERS. "pen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "pen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-pen.html IAN CHILVERS. "pen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-pen.html |
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pen
pen the pen is mightier than the sword proverbial saying, late 16th century, meaning that written words may often have more lasting force than military strength; the same idea is found in the writings of the Roman orator and statesman Cicero (106–43 bc), ‘arms give way to persuasion.’
pen-name an assumed name used by a writer instead of their real name. |
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pen.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "pen." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-pen.html |
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pen
pen2 instrument, orig. quill, for writing XIII; (dial.) feather XIV. ME. penne — (O)F. — L. penna feather, pl. pinions, wings, in late L. pen; see FEATHER.
Hence pen vb.2 XV. penknife XV. orig. one used for mending quill pens. |
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T. F. HOAD. "pen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pen1.html T. F. HOAD. "pen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pen1.html |
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pen
pen1 enclosure for domestic animals. XIV. presumably repr. OE. penn, evidenced only in designations of local features of uncertain meaning; implied in OE. onpennad ‘unpenned’, opened.
So pen vb.1 enclose, confine. XII. |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "pen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "pen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pen.html T. F. HOAD. "pen." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-pen.html |
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pen
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "pen." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "pen." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-pen.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "pen." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-pen.html |
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PEN
PEN, an international association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists founded in 1921 by Mrs Dawson-Scott, under the presidency of J. Galsworthy.
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "PEN." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "PEN." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-PEN.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "PEN." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-PEN.html |
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PEN
PEN • abbr. International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists. |
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Cite this article
"PEN." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "PEN." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pen.html "PEN." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-pen.html |
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Pen
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Pen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Pen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Pen.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Pen." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Pen.html |
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pen
pen n. a covered dock for a submarine or other warship.
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"pen." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pen." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-pen.html "pen." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-pen.html |
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pen
pen •Adrienne, again, amen, Ardennes, Behn, Ben, Benn, Bren, cayenne, Cévennes, Dairen, den, en, fen, gen, glen, Glenn, Guyenne, Gwen, hen, julienne, Karen, ken, Len, Loren, men, Nene, Ogaden, paren, pen, Penn, Phnom Penh, Rennes, Shenzhen, Sun Yat-sen, ten, then, Tlemcen, when, wren, yen, zazen, Zen
•Chechen • Nurofen • peahen
•moorhen • Origen • allergen • admen
•bagmen, ragmen, swagmen
•packmen • gasmen • taxmen
•jazzmen • ramen • yardmen • legmen
•chessmen • repairmen • flamen
•mailmen • cavemen • he-men
•freedmen • milkmen • linkmen
•middlemen • wingmen • hitmen
•handymen • bogeymen • hymen
•icemen • conmen • strongmen
•lawmen, strawmen
•cognomen, nomen, praenomen, snowmen
•patrolmen • oilmen • Shumen
•newsmen
•frontmen, stuntmen
•firemen, wiremen
•anchormen • newspapermen
•cameramen • motormen
•weathermen • mermen • playpen
•pigpen • fountain pen • bullpen
•samisen • Leuven • Ceinwen
•somewhen
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"pen." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "pen." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pen.html "pen." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-pen.html |
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