Etymology
1. 1399, "a feather" (especially a large and conspicuous one), from O.Fr.
plume, from L.
pluma "feather, down," from PIE base
*pleus- "to pluck, a feather, fleece" (cf. O.E.
fleos "fleece"). Meaning "a long streamer of smoke, etc." is first attested 1878. The verb meaning "to dress the feathers" is from 1702.
2. Sense 1 (“to adorn, cover, or furnish with feathers or plumes”) is derived from Anglo-Norman plumer (“to cover with or provide with feathers”), or its etymon Latin plūmāre, the present active infinitive of plūmō (“to grow feathers, to fledge; to cover with feathers, to feather; to embroider with a feathery pattern”) (and compare Late Latin plūmō (“to attach feathers to arrows; of a hawk: to pluck the feathers from prey; (figurative) to celebrate, praise”)), from plūma (“feather; plumage; down”) (see etymology 1) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).
3. Senses 2–4 (“to arrange and preen the feathers of; to congratulate (oneself) proudly; to strip of feathers”) are from Late Middle English plumen (“to remove the feathers from a bird; of a hawk: to pluck the feathers or the head from prey”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman and Middle French plumer (“to remove the feathers from a bird; to pull out (hairs, especially from a moustache); to rob”), from plūma (see etymology 1).
4. Sense 5 (“to fan out or spread in a cloud”) is derived from plume (noun). See: Anglo-Norman '
plumer'.