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preen (verb):

1 of a bird : to groom with the bill especially by rearranging the barbs and barbules of the feathers and by distributing oil from the uropygial gland
2: to dress or smooth (oneself) up : primp
3: to pride or congratulate (oneself) on an achievement

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : 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.”

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