Pen

A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing.^[1] Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity that had to be periodically recharged by dipping the tip of the pen into an inkwell.^[2]^[3] Today, such pens find only a small number of specialized uses, such as in illustration and calligraphy. Reed pens, quill pens and dip pens, which were used for writing, have been replaced by ballpoint pens, rollerball pens, fountain pens and felt or ceramic tip pens.^[4] Ruling pens, which were used for technical drawing and cartography, have been replaced by technical pens such as the Rapidograph.^[5] All of these modern pens contain internal ink reservoirs, such that they do not need to be dipped in ink while writing.^[6]

^ Pen Archived 2021-10-06 at the Wayback Machine. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
^ Johannessen, Christian Mosbæk; Leeuwen, Theo van (2017-09-18). The Materiality of Writing: A Trace Making Perspective. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-98646-0.
^ Greetham, David C. (2015-10-28). Textual Scholarship: An Introduction. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-75579-8.
^ "pen." Word Histories and Mysteries. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. Credo Reference. Web. 13 September 2007.
^ Emmons, Paul (2019-04-01). Drawing Imagining Building: Embodiment in Architectural Design Practices. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-17952-8.
^ Silva, Patricia; Pauli, Erika (2009). Modern Times. Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 978-0-7614-4322-3.