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pen(6) (iou)



pen verb1 trans. , pent.
[Old English (in onpennad unpenned, opened), from PEN noun1. Cf. PEND verb1, PENT adjective.]
Enclose so as to prevent from escaping; shut in, confine. Freq. foll. by in, up. OE.
P. H. Johnson They had somehow penned me into a corner.
spec.
a. Confine (the water) in a river or canal by means of a pen; dam up. Now rare. L16.
b. Confine (cattle, poultry, etc.) in a pen; put into or keep in a pen. E17.
G. Crabbe Drive that stout pig and pen him in thy yard.