preen
/priːn/verb
no obj.
1- (of a bird) tidy and clean its feathers with its beak（鸟）用鸟喙整理羽毛：
reed buntings preened at the pool's edge
芦鹀在池塘边整理羽毛
with obj. the pigeon preened her feathers.鸽子整了整羽毛。
1.1
- (of a person) devote effort to making oneself look attractive and then admire one's appearance（人）精心打扮并自我欣赏：
adolescents preening in their bedroom mirrors.
在卧室梳妆镜前精心打扮的青少年。
1.2
preen oneself
congratulate or pride oneself得意; 庆幸：he's busy preening himself on acquiring such a pretty girlfriend.
他一直庆幸自己找到这么漂亮的女朋友。
派生词
preener
noun词源
late Middle English: apparently a variant of obsolete prune （based on Latin ungere 'anoint'）， in the same sense， associated with Scots and northern English dialect preen 'pierce， pin' （because of the 'pricking' action of the bird's beak）.