Meaning & use
Penna
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In ornithology, a contour feather of a bird, consisting of a central shaft with a flat vane on either side.
See it in a sentence
Under the microscope, each penna showed the intricate hooked barbules that keep the vane smooth.
Researchers compared the structure of a penna from a hawk with that of a songbird.
A note on using this word
Penna is Latin for "feather," and its plural, "pennae," is the technical term ornithologists use for the large feathers that give a bird its outer body shape, as distinct from soft, fluffy down feathers.
Words with a similar meaning
contour feather
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