Pen vs Biro - What's the difference?

As nouns the difference between pen and biro

is that pen is an enclosed area used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle while biro is a BIRO brand ballpoint pen.

As a verb pen

is to enclose in a pen.

pen

English

(wikipedia pen)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) . More at pin. Sense “prison” originally figurative extension to enclosure for persons (1845), later influenced by

Noun

(en noun)

An enclosed area used to contain domesticated animals, especially sheep or cattle.

There are two steers in the third pen .

A place to confine a person; a prison cell.

They caught him with a stolen horse, and he wound up in the pen again.

(baseball) The bullpen.

Two righties are up in the pen .

Verb

To enclose in a pen.

* Milton

Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve.

Etymology 2

From (etyl) (m), from (etyl) (m), from (etyl) (Modern English (m)); note the /p/ ? /f/ Germanic sound change. See feather and for more.

Noun

(en noun)

A tool, originally made from a feather but now usually a small tubular instrument, containing ink used to write or make marks.

He took notes with a pen .

(figurative) A writer, or his style.

He has a sharp pen .

* Fuller

those learned pens

A light pen.

(zoology) The internal cartilage skeleton of a squid, shaped like a pen.

A feather, especially one of the flight feathers of a bird, angel etc.

* 1590 , Edmund Spendser, The Faerie Queene , I.xi:

And eke the pennes , that did his pineons bynd, / Were like mayne-yards, with flying canuas lynd, / With which whenas him list the ayre to beat

(poetic) A wing.

(Milton)

Derived terms

* ball pen * ball-point pen * border pen * bull pen * cartridge pen * felt-tip pen * fountain pen * goose pen * lettering pen * pen cancellation * pen feather * pen-mate * penmanship * pen name * pen pal * pen-pusher * poison pen * you don't dip your pen in company ink

Verb

(penn)

To write (an article, a book, etc.).

Etymology 3

Origin uncertain.

Noun

(en noun)

A female swan.

Etymology 4

Shortned form of penalty

Noun

(en noun)

penalty

References

Anagrams

* English three-letter words 1000 English basic words ----

biro

English

(wikipedia biro)

Noun

(biros)

A BIRO brand ballpoint pen.

* 1993 , , 2008, unnumbered page,

Frank's Biro taps delicately at the topmost of the little yellow notes.

(by extension, UK, AU, NZ) Any ballpoint pen.

* 2007 , , The Anatomy of Wings , page 250,

Massimo's finger was poised above red on his multi-coloured biro like a kangaroo frozen in headlights.

(by extension) Ink from a ballpoint pen.

* 2011 , Shannon Lush, Jennifer Fleming, Completely Spotless , unnumbered page,

‘My very creative 2-year-old son used my good friend?s white polyester Roman blinds as a canvas,’ says Jacqui. They?re now covered in blue biro'. And although my friend isn?t too bothered by the ' biro , I am! Can you help??

Anagrams

* English eponyms English terms derived from Hungarian ----