英文词源
- pen
- pen: English has three words pen. The oldest, ‘enclosure’ [OE], is something of a mystery term. It has no known relatives in the other European languages, and even in English it is not unequivocally found in its current sense until the 14th century. Pent [16], as in ‘pent up’, originated in the past participle of the verb pen. The earliest writing implements known as ‘pens’ were of course made from feathers, and so it is not surprising that the word pen [13] comes from a word that meant ‘feather’.
This was Latin penna, source also of English pennon [14] and a distant relative of English feather. It entered English via Old French penne. Pen ‘female swan’ [16] is of unknown origin.
=> pent; feather, pennon - pen (n.3)
- slang, "prison," 1884, shortening of penitentiary; earlier use (1845) probably is a figurative extension of pen (n.2).
- pen (n.1)
- "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" (see 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. - pen (v.2)
- "to enclose in a pen," c. 1200, from Old English *pennian, from the source of pen (n.2). Related: Penned; penning.
- pen (n.2)
- "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."
- pen (v.1)
- late 15c., from pen (n.). Related: Penned; penning.
中文词源
pen（笔）：古人用翎管做成的笔
古代欧洲人曾使用芦苇杆制成的“笔”，写在纸莎草做成的纸上。约在公元七世纪出现“翎管笔”，即用天鹅或大雁的翎管做笔。 pen一词，在古英语中写作penn，来源于拉丁语的penna，意思是“羽毛、翎管”，即羽毛制成的笔。
现代普遍使用的钢笔诞生于19世纪初。它的发明是一个有趣的故事。据说，一名叫做华特曼的英国人在用传统的羽毛笔签字时，羽毛笔漏水，把合同弄脏了。他回去取新合同时，被竞争对手乘虚而入抢先签署了合同。他深受刺激，决心设计一种更加先进的笔。他利用植物体内的毛细管输送液体的原理，发明了钢笔。
pen： [pen] n.笔，钢笔
该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：pen 词源，pen 含义。
pen：笔
从公元6世纪起直至19世纪中叶，即在钢笔尖出现之前，欧洲人一直是用鸟类羽毛，如鹅毛等，来制笔的。因此，当我们知道意指“笔”的pen其词源是意为“羽毛”的拉丁词penna，我们就不会感到惊奇丁。该拉丁词是通过法语penne迸入英语的，英语形式最初亦作penne，原指“羽毛笔”(quill-pen)。英语里还有几个和羽毛有关的词，如pennant（小燕尾旗，三角旗），pinion（羽毛，翅膀），pennate（羽状的，有翼的）等，也均源于该拉丁词。
英语里还有一个pen意为“（家畜的）栏”、“圈”，是个盎格鲁撒克逊词，从古英语penn演变而来，原义为“木桩”，可能是因为古时的圈是用木桩围起来的缘故。
pen：钢笔
古代欧洲人曾使用芦苇杆制成的“笔”，写在纸莎草做成的“纸”上。约在公元七世纪出现“翎管管”，即用天鹅或大雁的翎管做笔。
Pen一词，在古英语中写作penn，来源于拉丁语的penna，意思是“羽毛、翎管”，即羽毛制成的笔。至今仍有“翎管笔”，名字却叫quill pen，“quill”也是“翎管”，可见是个“重叠机构”但约定俗成，又不能打破这个“重叠机构”。而pen现在却随着科学的发展演变为今天的金笔、铱金笔、钢笔等，完全脱去了“羽毛”的含义。
pen：钢笔，笔尖
来自拉丁语penna,羽毛，翎，来自PIE*petna,展开，翅膀，来自*pet,展开，词源同feather,compete.原指鸟翎制成的笔，后词义通用化。拼写比较pan,patella.
pen：围栏，畜栏
来自古英语penne,围栏，畜栏，来自pinn,插销，栓子，楔子，词源同pin.