A feather, especially a large or showy one used for decoration. A column of smoke, steam, or other substance rising in the air.
From Old French plume, from Latin pluma meaning 'feather, down.' The extended meaning of 'column of rising substance' developed from the visual resemblance to an upright feather. Related to Latin plere 'to fill.'
Plumes were once the ultimate status symbol - knights wore them in helmets, and elaborate feathered hats indicated wealth and rank. The connection between feathers and rising columns (smoke plumes, volcanic plumes) shows how our language often draws from nature's shapes to describe phenomena!
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