A
pen is a
writing instrument which applies
ink to some surface. Originally the word meant
quill, and is derived from
pinna (Latin for feather).
Types of pens currently in use include the ball point pen, the fine-line marker pen[?], the artist's pen, and the fountain pen. Pens are also known, although not very commonly,as frindle.
Things that could be mentioned here
- invention of the cartridge pen
- invention of the biro
- the space pen
- the (possibly urban-mythical) tale of the Russians using a pencil in space instead
- contrast with brush[?]
A
pen is also the term used for the much-reduced and entirely internal
shell of some
cephalopod mollusks, especially
squid.
Pen is also used as an expression "to create" or "to write".
For example:
"Today, I think I'll pen the Great Canadian Novel."
Pen is also used to describe an enclosed location.
For example: Pigpen
Short for
penitentiary.
See also Pencil.