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Preen hatched in 14th-century Middle English, and early on it displayed various spelling forms, including prenen, prayne, prene, and preyne. The word traces to the Anglo-French puroindre, or proindre, linking pur-, meaning "thoroughly," with uindre, oindre, meaning "to anoint or rub." One of the first writers known to apply preen to the human act of primping was Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales: "He preens himself and prunes and combs his curls / To take the fancy of this queen of girls." Centuries later (sometime during the late 19th century), the prideful meaning of preen took flight, joining bird-related verbs plume, which was being used with the meaning "to pride or congratulate (oneself)," and peacock, a word still used today to mean "to show off."
Examples of preen in a Sentence
David Sims, The Atlantic, 30 July 2024
Midler plays Marilyn, an impulsive narcissist, constantly preening on TikTok and now deciding to get married again after losing her husband of 48 years.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 24 July 2024
Powell, irrepressibly but self-consciously charming, is a precise fit for the role of a preening showman endowed with untested depths of character.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 July 2024
Advertisement The supercilious elder sisters preened.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for preen 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Preen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preen. Accessed 18 Aug. 2024.
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