die Feder
Translation
feather, spring, quill, nib
Examples
Der Vogel hat eine bunte Feder.
The bird has a colourful feather.
Die Feder im Kugelschreiber ist kaputt.
The spring in the ballpoint pen is broken.
Früher schrieb man mit Feder und Tinte.
In the past, people wrote with a quill and ink.
Grammar Patterns
a feather/spring ((of sth.)) The feather of the bird is white.
to write ((sth.)) with a quill He wrote the letter with a quill.
Similar Words
Synonyms: Vogelfeder (bird feather), Sprungfeder (coil spring)
Etymology
From Old High German 'fedara', cognate with English 'feather'.
Memory Tips
Think of the dual meaning: light as a 'feather' and strong as a mechanical 'spring'. The word covers both.