Pen

A pen (Latin penna, feather) is a device used to apply ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Historically, reed pens, quill pens, and dip pens were used, with a nib dipped in the ink. Ruling pens allow precise adjustment of line width, and still find a few specialized uses, but technical pens such as the Rapidograph are more commonly used. Modern types also include ballpoint, rollerball, fountain, and felt or ceramic tip pens.

Famous quotes containing the word pen:

“It was a fatal day when the public discovered that the pen is mightier than the paving-stone, and can be made as offensive as the brickbat. They at once sought for the journalist, found him, developed him, and made him their industrious and well-paid servant. It is greatly to be regretted, for both their sakes.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

“Its whether will ye be a rank robber’s wife,
Or will ye die by my wee pen knife?

Its I’ll not be a rank robber’s wife,
But I’ll rather die by your wee pen knife.

He ‘s killed this may and he ‘s laid her by,
For to bear the red rose company.”
—Unknown. Babylon; or, The Bonnie Banks o’ Fordie (l. 9–14)

“Here is a pen and here is a pencil,
Here’s a typewriter, here’s a stencil,
Here is a list of today’s appointments,
And all the flies in all the ointments,
The daily woes that a man endures—
Take them, George, they’re yours!”
—Ogden Nash (1902–1971)