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plume

/ˈplum/noun, verb

plume is spelled P-L-U-M-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, plume means “A token of honour or prowess; that on which one prides oneself; a prize or reward” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of plume is plumes.

How many letters and syllables are in plume?

Letters5: P-L-U-M-E
Syllables1
In writing1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is plume?

Plume appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce plume?

  • UK /ˈpluːm/
  • UK /ˈpljuːm/
  • US /ˈplum/

Plume has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-plume.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with plume?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as plume from its last stressed vowel (/um/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of plume

  • plumes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • pluming participle, present
  • plumed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does plume mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    archaicA feather of a bird, especially a large or showy one used as a decoration.

    Near-synonym: aigrette

  2. 2

    archaicA cluster of feathers worn as an ornament, especially on a helmet; a hackle.

    Near-synonym: aigrette

  3. 3

    A token of honour or prowess; that on which one prides oneself; a prize or reward.

  4. 4

    The vane (“flattened, web-like part”) of a feather, especially when on a quill pen or the fletching of an arrow.

  5. 5

    Ellipsis of plume moth (“a small, slender moth of the family Pterophoridae”).

  6. 6

    Things resembling a feather.

  7. 7

    A cloud formed by a dispersed substance fanning out or spreading.

    After the explosion, a plume of smoke could be seen in the sky for miles around.

  8. 8

    An upward spray of mist or water.

verb

  1. 1

    To adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or plumes, or as if with feathers or plumes.

  2. 2

    Chiefly of a bird: to arrange and preen the feathers of, specifically in preparation for flight; hence (figurative), to prepare for (something).

  3. 3

    To congratulate (oneself) proudly, especially concerning something unimportant or when taking credit for another person's effort; to self-congratulate; to preen.

    He plumes himself on his skill.

  4. 4

    archaicTo strip (a bird) of feathers; to pluck.

  5. 5

    archaicTo peel, to strip completely; to pillage; also, to deprive of power.

  6. 6

    archaicobsoleteOf a hawk: to pluck the feathers from prey.

  7. 7

    Of a dispersed substance such as dust or smoke: to fan out or spread in a cloud.

    Smoke plumed from his pipe, then slowly settled towards the floor.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Plume in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchplume (feather of a bird, especially a large or showy…), panache, plumet (cluster of feathers worn as an ornament), nuage (cloud formed by a dispersed substance fanning…)
GermanFeder (feather of a bird, especially a large or showy…), Federbusch, Federschmuck, Hutfeder (cluster of feathers worn as an ornament), Abluftfahne (cloud formed by a dispersed substance fanning…), Auszeichnung (token of honour or prowess; that on which one…)
Portuguesepluma (feather of a bird, especially a large or showy…), emplumar (to adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or…), emplumar-se (to congratulate (oneself) proudly – see also…)
Spanishpenacho, copete (feather of a bird, especially a large or showy…), plumero (cluster of feathers worn as an ornament), columna, nubarrón (cloud formed by a dispersed substance fanning…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does plume come from?

From Late Middle English plum, plume (“feather; plumage”), from Anglo-Norman plum, plume, from Old French plume, plome (“feather, plumage”), from Latin plūma (“feather, plumage”) (compare Late Latin plūma (“pen, quill”)), from Proto-Italic *plouksmā, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (“to fly”). Doublet of pluma.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after plume