Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PINION
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PINION:
Say it "PIN yun."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Is there some meaningful link between the words pinion and opinion?
Turns out, nope. Their similar sound and spelling are a coincidence. Opinion, and its verb form, opine, come from the Latin optare, meaning "to want, to choose, to pray for," and so they're related to words like opt and option.
But pinion comes from the Latin pinna or penna, meaning "a plume, a feather, a wing, or a fin."
So, pinion is related to words like pin, pen, pinnacle, and pan____, literally "a plume of feathers," but figuratively "a style that's grand and bold." In the words of Jimmy Buffett: "Smoothing off the rougher edges of the culture clash, we've got a style, we've got a look, we've got that old pan____."
Getting back to today's word, when you pinion something, you cut or remove its wings, so to speak: you trap it, preventing it from flying free. Much like when you peel an orange, you remove its peel, and when you core an apple, you remove its core. And when you h______ng something, you cut its h______ngs, so to speak: you cripple it, preventing it from being active or effective.
The difference between pinioning and h______nging is the metaphor: are you stopping something from flying, or just walking?
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definition:
A pinion is a wing or feather on a bird or insect. This "pinion" comes from the Latin word for "wing or feather."
(A pinion is also the smaller of the two wheels or cogs in a pair of them--but, interestingly, that kind of "pinion" traces back to the Latin word for "comb," not "wing or feather.")
If you pinion a bird, that means you cut off or tie down one or more of its pinions, so that it can't fly.
And, more generally, if you pinion things or people, that means you take away their freedom to move or their freedom to do what they want, as if you're cutting off or tying down their "wings."
grammatical bits:
Part of speech: often a verb, the transitive kind: "she pinioned it to the ground."
Other forms: pinions, pinioned, pinioning.
how to use it:
If you're like me, you picked up the word "pinion" from context, assuming it only means "to pin down" before realizing it also means "to clip the wings, literally or figuratively." And you can absolutely use "pinion" to mean "pin [down]," and you can interpret it that way, too. Here's a line from the Decemberists: "her ankles clasped, her arms so rudely pinioned." See? It makes sense whether you interpret "pinion" as "pin" or "tie down the 'wings.'"
But once you notice how "pinion" does suggest this whole metaphor of birds, insects, wings, feathers, flight, and captivity, you can use the word more richly. Here's L. A. Graf: "Sulu stood pinioned by her gaze, suspended between fascination and terror like an insect transfixed by a stalking reptile." Is Sulu simply pinned down here, or is he prevented from taking flight? Both, I'd say.
As these examples show, we often use "pinion" in the passive voice, talking about the things, people, and body parts that are pinioned, often pinioned by something else, pinioned down, pinioned to something, etc.
examples:
"When I saw the flamingo wasn't pinioned, I knew it wasn't from a zoo."
— Chuck Border, a zookeeper, as quoted by Joe Sills, National Geographic, 9 March 2018
"He feared the prisoners, although they were securely pinioned; still more he feared the wild beasts of the forest."
— Herbert Strang, With Drake on the Spanish Main, 1908
"But the most unforgettable performance comes from Cecilia Noble...there is something moving about the way Noble periodically launches into a shimmying display of spiritual zeal, with her left hand pinioned to her back and her right endorsing her hallelujahs."
— Michael Billington, The Guardian, 12 June 2013
has this page helped you understand "pinion"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "pinion" without saying "bind" or "shackle."
try it out:
In the Washington Post, Melissa Holbrook Pierson pointed out how some authors seem to write novels about the current president without actually using his name. She said:
"Perhaps it is the novelist's aspiration to universality, the fear that specificity pinions art's wings."
Talk about what she means. How could too much specificity pinion the wings of a creative work, such as a novel, a song, or a painting? Do you think the opposite could also be true: that too much generality pinions the wings of creative works? Why or why not?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
This month, our game is called "Fix the Grand Spell which was Cast by Short Words."
(Or, in monstrously inflated terms, the game is called "Rewrite the Extraordinary Incantation which was Executed by Monosyllabic Vocables.")
In each issue, I'll offer a familiar quote that I've heartlessly hypertrophied with polysyllabic transplants. You'll restore the quote to its original version, with each word just one syllable long.
That is to say, I'll share a fat, fake draft of a famed quote; you'll say the trim real one.
For example, if I say "Exploit an opportunity while the situation allows," then you say, "Make hay while the sun shines." If I say, "Durations remedy every laceration," then you say, "Time heals all wounds."
From the previous issue:
"The more circumstances vary, the more they remain consistent." --> "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
Try this today: "People who associate with the despicable will contract despicability."
Say that, but in words of one beat each.
Clues:
Where it's from: a play, but it's since morphed into a familiar saying.
The year we first heard it: 1612.
review this word:
A. UNFURL (stretch out).
B. UNFETTER (set free).
C. ADJURE (urge seriously).
2. In The Glass Menagerie, Tom _____ feels pinioned by poverty, and by the obligation to support his family. These frustrated feelings reach a crescendo as his _____ is literally pinioned by _____.
A. Ladder .. leg .. a dresser
B. Wingfield .. arm .. an overcoat
C. Winterbourne .. apartment .. the electric company
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Is there some meaningful link between the words pinion and opinion? A pinion is a wing or feather on a bird or insect. This "pinion" comes from the Latin word for "wing or feather."
Part of speech: often a verb, the transitive kind: "she pinioned it to the ground."
If you're like me, you picked up the word "pinion" from context, assuming it only means "to pin down" before realizing it also means "to clip the wings, literally or figuratively." And you can absolutely use "pinion" to mean "pin [down]," and you can interpret it that way, too. Here's a line from the Decemberists: "her ankles clasped, her arms so rudely pinioned." See? It makes sense whether you interpret "pinion" as "pin" or "tie down the 'wings.'"
"When I saw the flamingo wasn't pinioned, I knew it wasn't from a zoo."
Explain the meaning of "pinion" without saying "bind" or "shackle."
In the Washington Post, Melissa Holbrook Pierson pointed out how some authors seem to write novels about the current president without actually using his name. She said:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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