Plume
/pluːm/noun
A feather, especially a large or ornamental one; also a tuft or a rising cloud of smoke.
Did you know?English plume comes through Old French from Latin plūma, meaning “feather,” and the same ancient root also gave us the humble but powerful word plumage.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pleu-
“to flow, float, or move lightly”
Latin
Latin
plūma
“feather; down”
Old French
Old French
plume
“feather; pen made from a feather”
Middle English
English
plume
“feather; feather ornament; to decorate with feathers”
Modern English
English
plume
“a large feather or tuft; a decorative feather; a column of smoke or vapor rising upward”