pent1

[pent] /pɛnt/
verb
1.
a simple past tense and past participle of pen2 .
adjective
2.
shut in; confined.
Origin
past participle of late Middle English pend (now obsolete), variant of pen2 (v.); cf. spend

pent2

[pent] /pɛnt/
noun
1.
penthouse (def 4).
Origin
by shortening

Pent.

1.
Pentecost.

pen1

[pen] /pɛn/
noun
1.
any of various instruments for writing or drawing with ink or a similar substance.
2.
a detachable metal penpoint, filled by dipping or with a quill; nib.
3.
such a penpoint with its penholder.
4.
fountain pen.
5.
ball-point pen.
6.
the pen as the instrument of writing or authorship:
The pen is mightier than the sword.
7.
a person's style or quality of writing:
He writes with a witty, incisive pen.
8.
a writer:
I leave this story to abler pens.
9.
the profession of writing:
a master of the pen.
10.
Computers. stylus (def 3).
11.
Ornithology.
  1. a quill.
  2. a pinfeather.
12.
something resembling or suggesting a feather or quill.
13.
Zoology. an internal, corneous or chitinous, feather-shaped structure in certain cephalopods, as the squid.
verb (used with object), penned, penning.
14.
to write with or as with a pen; put down in writing:
to pen an essay.
15.
to draw with or as with a pen:
to pen a sketch.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English penne < Old French penne pen, feather < Late Latin penna, Latin: feather
Related forms
penlike, adjective
penner, noun

pen2

[pen] /pɛn/
noun
1.
a small enclosure for domestic animals.
2.
animals so enclosed:
We have a pen of twenty sheep.
3.
an enclosure used for confinement or safekeeping:
We have built several pens to hold our harvest of corn.
4.
playpen.
5.
bull pen.
6.
a dock having a protective concrete structure overhead, used to service and repair submarines.
verb (used with object), penned or pent, penning.
7.
to confine in or as in a pen.
Origin
before 1000; (noun) Middle English penne, Old English penn (in compounds); perhaps akin to pin; (v.) Middle English pennen, derivative of the noun
Examples from the web for pent
  • We had some tough evenings during those first few weeks because he would release all that pent-up frustration from his day.
  • But the process of filtering through the pent-up supply of potential is overwhelming.
  • However, if you do manage to break through the ice, there is much pent-up and sincere warmth to enjoy.
  • The difficulty of acquiring this material may have hinted at a great, and therefore pent-up, demand.
  • pent-up demand for urban living is evident in housing prices.
  • The recession and slow recovery also seem to have created a lot of pent up demand.
  • And it would unleash pent up investment to grow the economy.
  • There had to be pent-up demand out there for something better.
  • Maybe it's the appeal of the pent-up intellectual and entrepreneurial energy lurking in those countries.
  • Along the way, they pummel each other verbally with their constant squabbling and dredge up several decades of pent-up grudges.
British Dictionary definitions for pent

pent

/pɛnt/
verb
1.
a past tense and past participle of pen2

pen1

/pɛn/
noun
1.
an implement for writing or drawing using ink, formerly consisting of a sharpened and split quill, and now of a metal nib attached to a holder See also ballpoint, fountain pen
2.
the writing end of such an implement; nib
3.
style of writing
4.
the pen
  1. writing as an occupation
  2. the written word: the pen is mightier than the sword
5.
the long horny internal shell of a squid
verb pens, penning, penned
6.
(transitive) to write or compose
Word Origin
Old English pinne, from Late Latin penna (quill) pen, from Latin: feather

pen2

/pɛn/
noun
1.
an enclosure in which domestic animals are kept: sheep pen
2.
any place of confinement
3.
a dock for servicing submarines, esp one having a bombproof roof
verb pens, penning, penned, pent
4.
(transitive) to enclose or keep in a pen
Word Origin
Old English penn, perhaps related to pin

pen3

/pɛn/
noun
1.
(US & Canadian, informal) short for penitentiary (sense 1)

pen4

/pɛn/
noun
1.
a female swan
Word Origin
C16: of unknown origin

PEN

/pɛn/
noun acronym
1.
International Association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists
Word Origin and History for pent
adj.

"kept in, confined," 1540s, variant of penned, past participle of pen (v.2). Pent-up (also pent up) is from 1580s.

pen

n.

"writing implement," late 13c., from Old French pene "quill pen; feather" (12c.) and directly from Latin penna "a feather, plume," in plural "a wing," in Late Latin, "a pen for writing," from Old Latin petna, pesna, from PIE *pet-na-, suffixed form of root *pet- "to rush; to fly" (see petition (n.)).

Latin penna and pinna "a feather, plume;" in plural "a wing;" also "a pinnacle; battlement" (see pin (n.)) are treated as identical in Watkins, etc., but regarded as separate (but confused) Latin words by Tucker and others, who derive pinna from PIE *spei- "sharp point" (cf. spike (n.1)) and see the "feather/wing" sense as secondary.

In later French, this word means only "long feather of a bird," while the equivalent of English plume is used for "writing implement," the senses of the two words thus are reversed from the situation in English. Pen-and-ink (adj.) is attested from 1670s. Pen name is recorded from mid-19c.

"enclosure for animals," Old English penn, penne, "enclosure, pen, fold," of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Old English pinn "pin, peg" (see pin (n.)) on notion of a bolted gate or else "structure made of pointed stakes."

slang, "prison," 1884, shortening of penitentiary; earlier use (1845) probably is a figurative extension of pen (n.2).

v.

late 15c., from pen (n.). Related: Penned; penning.

"to enclose in a pen," c.1200, from Old English *pennian, from the source of pen (n.2). Related: Penned; penning.

Slang definitions & phrases for pent

pen

noun

A prison of any sort, esp a penitentiary (1845+)

Related Terms

bullpen, hen-pen, pigpen, poison-pen letter, push a pen


Related Abbreviations for pent

pen

penitentiary

PEN

  1. International Association of Poets, Editors, Essayists, and Novelists
  2. Peru-nuevo sol (currency)
Idioms and Phrases with pent

pen

see: slip of the lip (pen)