deplumation

A farmer performs deplumation on a chicken before cooking.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act or process of plucking feathers: "deplumation" refers to the action of removing feathers from a bird, whether intentionally (as in preparing a bird for cooking or taxidermy) or as a result of natural processes.
   • The natural shedding of feathers (molt): In zoology, "deplumation" can also describe the periodic loss and replacement of feathers in birds, a process known as molting.

Usage Examples

• (The act of plucking feathers from the bird.)
• (The natural shedding of feathers during molting.)

Advanced Usage

• "deplumation in ornithology": The term is used formally to describe molting patterns in birds.

  • Researchers studied the deplumation cycle of the sparrow to understand its breeding habits. (The scientific observation of feather shedding.)

• "pathological deplumation": Abnormal feather loss due to disease or stress.

  • The parrot's deplumation was caused by a nutritional deficiency. (Unnatural feather loss due to health issues.)

Variants and Related Words

• Deplume (verb): to pluck or remove feathers from.

  • The farmer deplumed the duck for the market. (He removed the feathers.)

• Deplumous (adj): having no feathers; featherless.

  • The deplumous chick was vulnerable to the cold. (Without feathers.)

Synonyms

• Plucking: the act of pulling out feathers.
• Molting: the natural process of shedding and regrowing feathers (more common in zoology).
• Feather loss: a general term for losing feathers.

Related Idioms

• "To deplume someone" (rare, figurative): to strip someone of honor or status, as if removing feathers.
  • The scandal deplumed the politician's reputation. (It stripped him of his dignity.)