P P (pe), (continued 10)

PICKERING Pick"er*ing, n. Etym: [Probably a corruption of Pickerel.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The sauger of the St.Lawrence River.

PICKERY Pick"er*y, n. Etym: [From Pick to steal; or perhaps from Pickeer.]

Defn: Petty theft. [Scot.] Holinshed.

PICKET Pick"et, n. Etym: [F. piquet, properly dim. of pique spear, pike. See Pike, and cf. Piquet.]

1. A stake sharpened or pointed, especially one used in fortification and encampments, to mark bounds and angles; or one used for tethering horses.

2. A pointed pale, used in marking fences.

3. Etym: [Probably so called from the picketing of the horses.] (Mil.)

Defn: A detached body of troops serving to guard an army from surprise, and to oppose reconnoitering parties of the enemy; — called also outlying picket.

4. By extension, men appointed by a trades union, or other labor organization, to intercept outsiders, and prevent them from working for employers with whom the organization is at variance. [Cant]

5. A military punishment, formerly resorted to, in which the offender was forced to stand with one foot on a pointed stake.

6. A game at cards. See Piquet. Inlying picket (Mil.), a detachment of troops held in camp or quarters, detailed to march if called upon. — Picket fence, a fence made of pickets. See def. 2, above. — Picket guard (Mil.), a guard of horse and foot, always in readiness in case of alarm. — Picket line. (Mil.) (a) A position held and guarded by small bodies of men placed at intervals. (b) A rope to which horses are secured when groomed. — Picketpin, an iron pin for picketing horses.

PICKET Pick"et, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Picketed; p. pr. & vb. n. Picketing.]

1. To fortify with pointed stakes.

2. To inclose or fence with pickets or pales.

3. To tether to, or as to, a picket; as, to picket a horse.

4. To guard, as a camp or road, by an outlying picket.

5. To torture by compelling to stand with one foot on a pointed stake. [Obs.]

PICKETEE Pick`e*tee", n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Picotee.

PICK-FAULT Pick"-fault`, n.

Defn: One who seeks out faults.

PICKING Pick"ing, n.

1. The act of digging or breaking up, as with a pick.

2. The act of choosing, plucking, or gathering.

3. That which is, or may be, picked or gleaned.

4. Pilfering; also, that which is pilfered.

5. pl.

Defn: The pulverized shells of oysters used in making walks. [Eng.] Simmonds.

6. (Mining)

Defn: Rough sorting of ore.

7. Overburned bricks. Simmonds.

PICKING Pick"ing, a.

1. Done or made as with a pointed tool; as, a picking sound.

2. Nice; careful. [Obs.] was too warm on picking work to dwell. Dryden. Picking peg. (Weaving) See Picker, n., 3.

PICKLE Pic"kle, n. [Obs.]

Defn: See Picle.

PICKLE Pic"kle, n. Etym: [Cf. D. pekel. Probably a dim. fr. Pick, v. t., alluding to the cleaning of the fish.]

1. (a) A solution of salt and water, in which fish, meat, etc., may be preserved or corned; brine. (b) Vinegar, plain or spiced, used for preserving vegetables, fish, eggs, oysters, etc.

2. Any article of food which has been preserved in brine or in vinegar.

3. (Founding)

Defn: A bath of dilute sulphuric or nitric acid, etc., to remove burnt sand, scale rust, etc., from the surface of castings, or other articles of metal, or to brighten them or improve their color.

4. A troublesome child; as, a little pickle. [Colloq.] To be in a pickle, to be in disagreeable position; to be in a condition of embarrassment, difficulty, or disorder. "How cam'st thou in this pickle" Shak. — To put a rod in pickle, to prepare a particular reproof, punishment, or penalty for future application.

PICKLE Pic"kle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pickled; p. pr. & vb. n. Pickling.]

1. To preserve or season in pickle; to treat with some kind of pickle; as, to pickle herrings or cucumbers.

2. To give an antique appearance to; — said of copies or imitations of paintings by the old masters.

PICKLED Pic"kled, a.

Defn: Preserved in a pickle.

PICKLE-HERRING Pic"kle-her"ring, n.

1. A herring preserved in brine; a pickled herring. [Obs.] Shak.

2. A merry-andrew; a buffoon. [Obs.] Addison.

PICKLER Pic"kler, n.

Defn: One who makes pickles.

PICKLOCK Pick"lock`, n.

1. An instrument for picking locks. Shak.

2. One who picks locks; a thief. "A picklock of secrets." Jer. Taylor.

PICK-ME-UP Pick"-me-up`, n.

Defn: A stimulant, restorative, or tonic; a bracer. [Colloq.]

PICKMIRE Pick"mire`, n. Etym: [So called from its picking its food from the mire.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The pewit, or black-headed gull. [Prov. Eng.]

PICKNICK Pick"nick, n.

Defn: See Picnic.

PICKPACK Pick"pack`, adv.

Defn: Pickaback.

PICKPENNY Pick"pen`ny, n.; pl. Pickpennies (.

Defn: A miser; also, a sharper. Dr. H. More.

PICKPOCKET Pick"pock`et, n.

Defn: One who steals purses or other articles from pockets. Bentley.

PICKPURSE Pick"purse`, n.

Defn: One who steals purses, or money from purses. Latimer. Shak.

PICKSY Pick"sy, n.

Defn: See Pixy.

PICKTHANK Pick"thank`, n.

Defn: One who strives to put another under obligation; an officious person; hence, a flatterer. Used also adjectively. Smiling pickthanks, and base newsmongers. Shak.

PICKTOOTH Pick"tooth`, n.

Defn: A toothpick. [Obs.] Swift.

PICK-UP; PICKUP Pick"-up, or Pick"up`, n. [Colloq., Cant. or Slang]

1. Act of picking up, as, in various games, the fielding or hitting of a ball just after it strikes the ground.

2. That which picks up; specif.: (Elec.)

Defn: = Brush b.

3. One that is picked up, as a meal hastily got up for the occasion, a chance acquaintance, an informal game, etc.

PICLE; PICKLE Pi"cle, n. Etym: [Prob. fr. pightel or pingle.]

Defn: A small piece of land inclosed with a hedge; a close. [Obs.] [Written also pickle.]

PI CLOTH Pi"ña cloth`.

Defn: A fine material for ladies' shawls, scarfs, handkerchiefs, etc., made from the fiber of the pineapple leaf, and perhaps from other fibrous tropical leaves. It is delicate, soft, and transparent, with a slight tinge of pale yellow.

PI CLOTH Pi`ña cloth. [See Piña.]

Defn: A fine fabric for scarfs, handkerchiefs, embroidery, etc., woven from the fiber obtained from the leaf of the sterile pineapple plant. It is delicate, soft, and transparent, with a tinge of pale yellow.

PICNIC Pic"nic, n. Etym: [Cf. F. piquenique. See Pick, v., and cf. Knickknack.]

Defn: Formerly, an entertainment at which each person contributed some dish to a common table; now, an excursion or pleasure party in which the members partake of a collation or repast (usually in the open air, and from food carried by themselves).

PICNIC Pic"nic, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Picnicked; p. pr. & vb. n. Picnicking.]

Defn: To go on a picnic, or pleasure excursion; to eat in public fashion.

PICNICKER Pic"nick*er, n.

Defn: One who takes part in a picnic.

PICOID Pi"coid, a. Etym: [Picus + -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like or pertaining to the Pici.

PICOLINE Pic"o*line, n. Etym: [L. pix, picis, pitch + oleum oil + -ine.] (Chem.)

Defn: Any one of three isometric bases (C6H7N) related to pyridine, and obtained from bone oil, acrolein ammonia, and coal-tar naphtha, as colorless mobile liquids of strong odor; — called also methyl pyridine.

PICOT Pi`cot", n. [F.]

Defn: One of many small loops, as of thread, forming an ornamental border, as on a ribbon.

PICOTEE; PICOTINE Pic`o*tee", Pic`o*tine", n. Etym: [F. picoté dotted, picked.] (Bot.)

Defn: A variety of carnation having petals of a light color variously dotted and spotted at the edges.

PICQUET Pic"quet, n.

Defn: See Piquet.

PICRA Pi"cra, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: The powder of aloes with canella, formerly officinal, employed as a cathartic.

PICRATE Pi"crate, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A salt of picric acid.

PICRIC Pi"cric, a. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or designating, a strong organic acid (called picric acid), intensely bitter.

Note: Picric acid is obtained by treating phenol with strong nitric acid, as a brilliant yellow crystalline substance, C6H2(NO2)3.OH. It is used in dyeing silk and wool, and also in the manufacture of explosives, as it is very unstable when heated. Called also trinitrophenol, and formerly carbazotic acid.

PICRITE Pic"rite, n. Etym: [From Gr. (Min.)

Defn: A dark green igneous rock, consisting largely of chrysolite, with hornblende, augite, biotite, etc.

PICROLITE Pic"ro*lite, n. Etym: [Gr. -lite.: cf. F. picrolithe.] (Min.)

Defn: A fibrous variety of serpentine.

PICROMEL Pic"ro*mel, n. Etym: [Gr. picromel.] (Old Chem.)

Defn: A colorless viscous substance having a bitter-sweet taste.

Note: It was formerly supposed to be the essential principle of the bile, but is now known to be a mixture, principally of salts of glycocholic and taurocholic acids.

PICROTOXIN Pic`ro*tox"in, n. Etym: [Gr. toxic + -in.] (Chem.)

Defn: A bitter white crystalline substance found in the cocculus indicus. It is a peculiar poisonous neurotic and intoxicant, and consists of a mixture of several neutral substances.

PICRYL Pi"cryl, n. Etym: [Picric + -yl.] (Chem.)

Defn: The hypothetical radical of picric acid, analogous to phenyl.

PICTISH Pict"ish, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Picts; resembling the Picts. "The Pictish peer." Byron.

PICTOGRAPH Pic"to*graph, n. Etym: [See Picture, and -graph.]

Defn: A picture or hieroglyph representing and expressing an idea. — Pic`to*graph"ic, a.

PICTORIAL Pic*to"ri*al, a. Etym: [L. pictorius, fr. pictor a painter, fr. pingere to paint. See Paint.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to pictures; illustrated by pictures; forming pictures; representing with the clearness of a picture; as, a pictorial dictionary; a pictorial imagination. "Pictorial rhetoric." Ruskin. — Pic*to"ri*al*ly, adv.

PICTORIC; PICTORICAL Pic*tor"ic, Pic*tor"ic*al, a.

Defn: Pictorial. [Obs.]

PICTS Picts, n. pl.; sing. Pict (. Etym: [L. Picti; cf. AS. Peohtas.] (Ethnol.)

Defn: A race of people of uncertain origin, who inhabited Scotland in early times.

PICTURA Pic*tu"ra, n. Etym: [L., a painting.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Pattern of coloration.

PICTURABLE Pic"tur*a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being pictured, or represented by a picture.

PICTURAL Pic"tur*al, a.

Defn: Pictorial. [R.] Sir W. Scott.

PICTURAL Pic"tur*al, n.

Defn: A picture. [Obs.] Spenser.

PICTURE Pic"ture, n. Etym: [L. pictura, fr. pingere, pictum, to paint: cf. F. peinture. See Paint.]

1. The art of painting; representation by painting. [Obs.] Any well-expressed image . . . either in picture or sculpture. Sir H. Wotton.

2. A representation of anything (as a person, a landscape, a building) upon canvas, paper, or other surface, produced by means of painting, drawing, engraving, photography, etc.; a representation in colors. By extension, a figure; a model. Pictures and shapes are but secondary objects. Bacon. The young king's picture . . . in virgin wax. Howell.

3. An image or resemblance; a representation, either to the eye or to the mind; that which, by its likeness, brings vividly to mind some other thing; as, a child is the picture of his father; the man is the picture of grief. My eyes make pictures when they are shut. Coleridge.

Note: Picture is often used adjectively, or in forming self- explaining compounds; as, picture book or picture-book, picture frame or picture-frame, picture seller or picture-seller, etc. Picture gallery, a gallery, or large apartment, devoted to the exhibition of pictures. — Picture red, a rod of metal tube fixed to the walls of a room, from which pictures are hung. — Picture writing. (a) The art of recording events, or of expressing messages, by means of pictures representing the actions or circumstances in question. Tylor. (b) The record or message so represented; as, the picture writing of the American Indians.

Syn. — Picture, Painting. Every kind of representation by drawing or painting is a picture, whether made with oil colors, water colors, pencil, crayons, or India ink; strictly, a painting is a picture made by means of colored paints, usually applied moist with a brush.

PICTURE Pic"ture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pictured; p. pr. & vb. n. Picturing.]

Defn: To draw or paint a resemblance of; to delineate; to represent; to form or present an ideal likeness of; to bring before the mind. "I . . . do picture it in my mind." Spenser. I have not seen him so pictured. Shak.

PICTURED Pic"tured, a.

Defn: Furnished with pictures; represented by a picture or pictures; as, a pictured scene.

PICTURER Pic"tur*er, n.

Defn: One who makes pictures; a painter. [R.] Fuller.

PICTURESQUE Pic`tur*esque", a. Etym: [It. pittoresco: cf. F. pittoresque. See Pictorial.]

Defn: Forming, or fitted to form, a good or pleasing picture; representing with the clearness or ideal beauty appropriate to a picture; expressing that peculiar kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture, natural or artificial; graphic; vivid; as, a picturesque scene or attitude; picturesque language. What is picturesque as placed in relation to the beautiful and the sublime It is . . . the characteristic pushed into a sensible excess. De Quincey. — Pic`tur*esque"ly, adv. — Pic`tur*esque"ness, n.

PICTURESQUISH Pic`tur*esqu"ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat picturesque. [R.]

PICTURIZE Pic"tur*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Picturized; p. pr. & vb. n. Picturizing.] [R.]

1. To picture.

2. To adorn with pictures.

PICUL Pic"ul, n. Etym: [Jav. & Malay pikul, fr. pikul to carry on the back, to carry a burden; n., a man's burden.]

Defn: A commercial weight varying in different countries and for different commodities. In Borneo it is 135tan. [Written also pecul, and pecal.]

PICULET Pic"u*let, n. Etym: [Dim. of Picus.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any species of very small woodpeckers of the genus Picumnus and allied genera. Their tail feathers are not stiff and sharp at the tips, as in ordinary woodpeckers.

PICUS Pi"cus, n.; pl. Pici. Etym: [L., a woodpecker.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of woodpeckers, including some of the common American and European species.

PIDDLE Pid"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Piddled; p. pr. & vb. n. Piddling.] Etym: [Cf. dial. Sw. pittla to keep picking at, Sw. peta to pick.]

1. To deal in trifles; to concern one's self with trivial matters rather than with those that are important. Ascham.

2. To be squeamishly nice about one's food. Swift.

3. To urinate; — child's word.

PIDDLER Pid"dler, n.

Defn: One who piddles.

PIDDLING Pid"dling, a.

Defn: Trifling; trivial; frivolous; paltry; — applied to persons and things. The ignoble hucksterage of piddling tithes. Milton.

PIDDOCK Pid"dock, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any species of Pholas; a pholad. See Pholas.

PIE Pie, n. Etym: [OE. pie, pye; cf. Ir. & Gael. pighe pie, also Gael. pige an earthen jar or pot. Cf. Piggin.]

1. An article of food consisting of paste baked with something in it or under it; as, chicken pie; venison pie; mince pie; apple pie; pumpkin pie.

2. See Camp, n., 5. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell. Pie crust, the paste of a pie.

PIE Pie, n. Etym: [F. pie, L. pica; cf. picus woodpecker, pingere to paint; the bird being perhaps named from its colors. Cf. Pi, Paint, Speight.]

1. (Zoöl.) (a) A magpie. (b) Any other species of the genus Pica, and of several allied genera. [Written also pye.]

2. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: The service book.

3. (Pritn.)

Defn: Type confusedly mixed. See Pi. By cock and pie, an adjuration equivalent to "by God and the service book." Shak. — Tree pie (Zoöl.), any Asiatic bird of the genus Dendrocitta, allied to the magpie. — Wood pie. (Zoöl.) See French pie, under French.

PIE Pie, v. t.

Defn: See Pi.

PIEBALD Pie"bald`, a. Etym: [Pie the party-colored bird + bald.]

1. Having spots and patches of black and white, or other colors; mottled; pied. "A piebald steed of Thracian strain." Dryden.

2. Fig.: Mixed. "Piebald languages." Hudibras.

PIECE Piece, n. Etym: [OE. pece, F. pièce, LL. pecia, petia, petium, probably of Celtic origin; cf. W. peth a thing, a part, portion, a little, Armor. pez, Gael. & Ir. cuid part, share. Cf. Petty.]

1. A fragment or part of anything separated from the whole, in any manner, as by cutting, splitting, breaking, or tearing; a part; a portion; as, a piece of sugar; to break in pieces. Bring it out piece by piece. Ezek. xxiv. 6.

2. A definite portion or quantity, as of goods or work; as, a piece of broadcloth; a piece of wall paper.

3. Any one thing conceived of as apart from other things of the same kind; an individual article; a distinct single effort of a series; a definite performance; especially: (a) A literary or artistic composition; as, a piece of poetry, music, or statuary. (b) A musket, gun, or cannon; as, a battery of six pieces; a following piece. (c) A coin; as, a sixpenny piece; — formerly applied specifically to an English gold coin worth 22 shillings. (d) A fact; an item; as, a piece of news; a piece of knowledge.

4. An individual; — applied to a person as being of a certain nature or quality; often, but not always, used slightingly or in contempt. "If I had not been a piece of a logician before I came to him." Sir P. Sidney. Thy mother was a piece of virtue. Shak. His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the world. Coleridge. a piece of cake, a task easily accomplished. a piece of work, a disparaging term for a person considered to have an excess of some undesirable quality; esp. difficult or eccentric person. Piece of ass vulgar term for a woman, considered as a partner in sexual intercourse

5. (Chess)

Defn: One of the superior men, distinguished from a pawn.

6. A castle; a fortified building. [Obs.] Spenser. Of a piece, of the same sort, as if taken from the same whole; like; — sometimes followed by with. Dryden. — Piece of eight, the Spanish piaster, formerly divided into eight reals. — To give a piece of one's mind to, to speak plainly, bluntly, or severely to (another). Tackeray. — Piece broker, one who buys shreds and remnants of cloth to sell again. — Piece goods, goods usually sold by pieces or fixed portions, as shirtings, calicoes, sheetings, and the like.

PIECE Piece, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pieced; p. pr. & vb. n. Piecing.]

1. To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; as, to piece a garment; — often with out. Shak.

2. To unite; to join; to combine. Fuller. His adversaries . . . pieced themselves together in a joint opposition against him. Fuller.

PIECE Piece, v. i.

Defn: To unite by a coalescence of parts; to fit together; to join. "It pieced better." Bacon.

PIECELESS Piece"less, a.

Defn: Not made of pieces; whole; entire.

PIECELY Piece"ly, adv.

Defn: In pieces; piecemeal. [Obs.]

PIECEMEAL Piece"meal`, adv. Etym: [OE. pecemele; pece a piece + AS. m, dat. pl. of m part. See Meal a portion.]

1. In pieces; in parts or fragments. "On which it piecemeal brake." Chapman. The beasts will tear thee piecemeal. Tennyson.

2. Piece by piece; by little and little in succession. Piecemeal they win, this acre first, than that. Pope.

PIECEMEAL Piece"meal`, a.

Defn: Made up of parts or pieces; single; separate. "These piecemeal guilts." Gov. of Tongue.

PIECEMEAL Piece"meal`, n.

Defn: A fragment; a scrap. R. Vaughan.

PIECEMEALED Piece"mealed`, a.

Defn: Divided into pieces.

PIECENER Piece"ner, n.

1. One who supplies rolls of wool to the slubbing machine in woolen mills.

2. Same as Piecer, 2.

PIECER Pie"cer, n.

1. One who pieces; a patcher.

2. A child employed in spinning mill to tie together broken threads.

PIECEWORK Piece"work`, n.

Defn: Work done by the piece or job; work paid for at a rate based on the amount of work done, rather than on the time employed. The reaping was piecework, at so much per acre. R. Jefferies.

PIED Pied,

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Pi, or Pie, v.

PIED Pied, a. Etym: [From Pie the party-colored bird.]

Defn: Variegated with spots of different colors; party-colored; spotted; piebald. "Pied coats." Burton. "Meadows trim with daisies pied." Milton. Pied antelope (Zoöl.), the bontebok. — Pied-billed grebe (Zoöl.), the dabchick. — Pied blackbird (Zoöl.), any Asiatic thrush of the genus Turdulus. — Pied finch (Zoöl.) (a) The chaffinch. (b) The snow bunting. [Prov. Eng.] — Pied flycatcher (Zoöl.), a common European flycatcher (Ficedula atricapilla). The male is black and white.

PIEDMONT Pied"mont, a. Etym: [F. pied foot + mont mountain.] (Geol.)

Defn: Noting the region of foothills near the base of a mountain chain.

PIEDMONTITE Pied"mont*ite, n. (Min.)

Defn: A manganesian kind of epidote, from Piedmont. See Epidote.

PIEDNESS Pied"ness, n.

Defn: The state of being pied. Shak.

PIEDOUCHE Pié`douche", n. Etym: [F., fr. It. peduccio console, corbel.]

Defn: A pedestal of small size, used to support small objects, as busts, vases, and the like.

PIEDSTALL Pied"stall, n.

Defn: See Pedestal. [Obs.]

PIEMAN Pie"man, n.; pl. Piemen (.

Defn: A man who makes or sells pies.

PIEND Piend, n. Etym: [Cf. Dan. pind a peg.]

Defn: See Peen.

PIENO Pi*e"no, a. Etym: [It., fr. L. plenus full.] (Mus.)

Defn: Full; having all the instruments.

PIEPLANT Pie"plant`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant (Rheum Rhaponticum) the leafstalks of which are acid, and are used in making pies; the garden rhubarb.

PIEPOUDRE; PIEPOWDER Pie"pou`dre, Pie"pow`der, n. Etym: [Lit., dustyfoot, i.e., dusty- footed dealers, fr. F. pied foot + poudreux dusty.] (O. Eng. Law)

Defn: An ancient court of record in England, formerly incident to every fair and market, of which the steward of him who owned or had the toll was the judge. Blackstone.

PIER Pier, n. Etym: [OE. pere, OF. piere a stone, F. pierre, fr. L. petra, Gr. Petrify.]

1. (Arch.) (a) Any detached mass of masonry, whether insulated or supporting one side of an arch or lintel, as of a bridge; the piece of wall between two openings. (b) Any additional or auxiliary mass of masonry used to stiffen a wall. See Buttress.

2. A projecting wharf or landing place. Abutment pier, the pier of a bridge next the shore; a pier which by its strength and stability resists the thrust of an arch. — Pier glass, a mirror, of high and narrow shape, to be put up between windows. — Pier table, a table made to stand between windows.

PIERAGE Pier"age, n.

Defn: Same as Wharfage. Smart.

PIERCE Pierce, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pierced; p. pr. & vb. n. Piercing.] Etym: [OE. percen, F. percer, OF. percier, perchier, parchier; perh. fr. (assumed) LL. pertusiare for pertusare, fr. L. pertundere, pertusum, to beat, push, bore through; per through + tundere to beat: cf. OF. pertuisier to pierce, F. pertuis a hole. Cf. Contuse, Parch, Pertuse.]

1. To thrust into, penetrate, or transfix, with a pointed instrument. "I pierce . . . her tender side." Dryden.

2. To penetrate; to enter; to force a way into or through; to pass into or through; as, to pierce the enemy's line; a shot pierced the ship.

3. Fig.: To penetrate; to affect deeply; as, to pierce a mystery. "Pierced with grief." Pope. Can no prayers pierce thee Shak.

PIERCE Pierce, v. i.

Defn: To enter; to penetrate; to make a way into or through something, as a pointed instrument does; — used literally and figuratively. And pierced to the skin, but bit no more. Spenser. She would not pierce further into his meaning. Sir P. Sidney.

PIERCEABLE Pierce"a*ble, a.

Defn: That may be pierced.

PIERCED Pierced, a.

Defn: Penetrated; entered; perforated.

PIERCEL Pier"cel, n. Etym: [Cf. F. perce.]

Defn: A kind of gimlet for making vents in casks; — called also piercer.

PIERCER Pier"cer, n.

1. One who, or that which, pierces or perforates; specifically: (a) An instrument used in forming eyelets; a stiletto. (b) A piercel.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) The ovipositor, or sting, of an insect. (b) An insect provided with an ovipositor.

PIERCING Pier"cing, a.

Defn: Forcibly entering, or adapted to enter, at or by a point; perforating; penetrating; keen; — used also figuratively; as, a piercing instrument, or thrust. "Piercing eloquence." Shak. — Pier"cing*ly, adv. — Pier"cing*ness, n.

PIERIAN Pi*e"ri*an, a. Etym: [L. Pierius, from Mount Pierus, in Thessaly, sacred to the Muses.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to Pierides or Muses. Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. Pope.

PIERID Pi"er*id, n. Etym: [See Peirides.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any butterfly of the genus Pieris and related genera. See Cabbage butterfly, under Cabbage.

PIERIDES Pi*er"i*des, n. pl. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Pierian.] (Class. Myth.)

Defn: The Muses.

PIERRE-PERDU Pierre`-per`du", n. [F. pierre perdue lost stone.]

Defn: Blocks of stone or concrete heaped loosely in the water to make a foundation (as for a sea wall), a mole, etc.

PIET Pi"et, n. Etym: [Dim. of Pie a magpie: cf. F. piette a smew.] (Zoöl.) (a) The dipper, or watter ouzel. [Scot.] (b) The magpie. [Prov.Eng.] Jay piet (Zoöl.), the European jay. [Prov.Eng.] — Sea piet (Zoöl.), the oyster catcher. [Prov.Eng.]

PIETA Pi*e*tà", n. Etym: [It.] (Fine Arts)

Defn: A representation of the dead Christ, attended by the Virgin Mary or by holy women and angels. Mollett.

PIETISM Pi"e*tism, n. Etym: [Cf. G. pietismus, F. piétisme.]

1. The principle or practice of the Pietists.

2. Strict devotion; also, affectation of devotion. The Schöne Seele, that ideal of gentle pietism, in "Wilhelm Meister." W. Pater.

PIETIST Pi"e*tist, n. Etym: [Cf. G. pietist, F. piétiste. See Piety.] (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: One of a class of religious reformers in Germany in the 17th century who sought to revive declining piety in the Protestant churches; — often applied as a term of reproach to those who make a display of religious feeling. Also used adjectively.

PIETISTIC; PIETISTICAL Pi`e*tis"tic, Pi`e*tis"tic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Pietists; hence, in contempt, affectedly or demonstratively religious. Addison.

PIETRA DURA Pi*e"tra du"ra. Etym: [It., hard stone.] (Fine Arts)

Defn: Hard and fine stones in general, such as are used for inlay and the like, as distinguished from the softer stones used in building; thus, a Florentine mosaic is a familiar instance of work in pietra dura, though the ground may be soft marble.

PIETY Pi"e*ty, n. Etym: [F. piété; cf. It. pietà; both fr. L. pietas piety, fr. pius pious. See Pious, and cf. Pity.]

1. Veneration or reverence of the Supreme Being, and love of his character; loving obedience to the will of God, and earnest devotion to his service. Piety is the only proper and adequate relief of decaying man. Rambler.

2. Duty; dutifulness; filial reverence and devotion; affectionate reverence and service shown toward parents, relatives, benefactors, country, etc. Conferred upon me for the piety Which to my country I was judged to have shown. Milton.

Syn. — Religion; sanctity; devotion; godliness; holiness. See Religion.

PIEWIPE Pie"wipe`, n. Etym: [So called from its note.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The lapwing, or pewit. [Prov. Eng.]

PIEZOMETER Pi`e*zom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. -meter: cf. F. piézomètre.]

1. (Physics)

Defn: An instrument for measuring the compressibility of liquids.

2. (Physics)

Defn: A gauge connected with a water main to show the pressure at that point.

PIFFERO; PIFFARA Pif"fe*ro, Pif"fa*ra, n. Etym: [It. piffero.] (Mus.)

Defn: A fife; also, a rude kind of oboe or a bagpipe with an inflated skin for reservoir.

PIFFLE Pif"fle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Piffled; p. pr. & vb. n. Piffling.]

Defn: To be sequeamish or delicate; hence, to act or talk triflingly or ineffectively; to twaddle; piddle. [Dial. or Slang]

PIFFLE Pif"fle, n.

Defn: Act of piffling; trifling talk or action; piddling; twaddle. [Dial. or Slang] "Futile piffle." Kipling.

PIG Pig, n.

Defn: A piggin. [Written also pigg.]

PIG Pig, n. Etym: [Cf. D. big, bigge, LG. bigge, also Dan. pige girl, Sw. piga, Icel. pika.]

1. The young of swine, male or female; also, any swine; a hog. "Two pigges in a poke." Chaucer.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any wild species of the genus Sus and related genera.

3. Etym: [Cf. Sow a channel for melted iron.]

Defn: An oblong mass of cast iron, lead, or other metal. See Mine pig, under Mine.

4. One who is hoggish; a greedy person. [Low] Masked pig. (Zoöl.) See under Masked. — Pig bed (Founding), the bed of sand in which the iron from a smelting furnace is cast into pigs. — Pig iron, cast iron in pigs, or oblong blocks or bars, as it comes from the smelting furnace. See Pig, 4. — Pig yoke (Naut.), a nickname for a quadrant or sextant. — A pig in a poke (that is, bag), a blind bargain; something bought or bargained for, without the quality or the value being known. [Colloq.]

PIG Pig, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Pigged; p. pr. & vb. n. Pigging.]

1. To bring forth (pigs); to bring forth in the manner of pigs; to farrow.

2. To huddle or lie together like pigs, in one bed.

PIGEON Pi"geon, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. pipio a young pipping or chirping bird, fr. pipire to peep, chirp. Cf. Peep to chirp.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any bird of the order Columbæ, of which numerous species occur in nearly all parts of the world.

Note: The common domestic pigeon, or dove, was derived from the Old World rock pigeon (Columba livia). It has given rise to numerous very remarkable varieties, such as the carrier, fantail, nun, pouter, tumbler, etc. The common wild pigeons of the Eastern United States are the passenger pigeon, and the Carolina dove. See under Passenger, and Dove. See, also, Fruit pigeon, Ground pigeon, Queen pigeon, Stock pigeon, under Fruit, Ground, etc.

2. An unsuspected victim of sharpers; a gull. [Slang] Blue pigeon (Zoöl.), an Australian passerine bird (Graucalus melanops); — called also black-faced crow. — Green pigeon (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of Old World pigeons belonging to the family Treronidæ. — Imperial pigeon (Zoöl.), any one of the large Asiatic fruit pigeons of the genus Carpophada. — Pigeon berry (Bot.), the purplish black fruit of the pokeweed; also, the plant itself. See Pokeweed. — Pigeon English Etym: [perhaps a corruption of business English], an extraordinary and grotesque dialect, employed in the commercial cities of China, as the medium of communication between foreign merchants and the Chinese. Its base is English, with a mixture of Portuguese and Hindoostanee. Johnson's Cyc. — Pigeon grass (Bot.), a kind of foxtail grass (Setaria glauca), of some value as fodder. The seeds are eagerly eaten by pigeons and other birds. — Pigeon hawk. (Zoöl.) (a) A small American falcon (Falco columbarius). The adult male is dark slate-blue above, streaked with black on the back; beneath, whitish or buff, streaked with brown. The tail is banded. (b) The American sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter velox, or fuscus). — Pigeon hole. (a) A hole for pigeons to enter a pigeon house. (b) See Pigeonhole. (c) pl. An old English game, in which balls were rolled through little arches. Halliwell. — Pigeon house, a dovecote. — Pigeon pea (Bot.), the seed of Cajanus Indicus; a kind of pulse used for food in the East and West Indies; also, the plant itself. — Pigeon plum (Bot.), the edible drupes of two West African species of Chrysobalanus (C. ellipticus and C. luteus). — Pigeon tremex. (Zoöl.) See under Tremex. — Pigeon wood (Bot.), a name in the West Indies for the wood of several very different kinds of trees, species of Dipholis, Diospyros, and Coccoloba. — Pigeon woodpecker (Zoöl.), the flicker. — Prairie pigeon. (Zoöl.) (a) The upland plover. (b) The golden plover. [Local, U.S.]

PIGEON Pi"geon, v. t.

Defn: To pluck; to fleece; to swindle by tricks in gambling. [Slang] Smart. He's pigeoned and undone. Observer.

PIGEON-BREASTED Pi"geon-breast`ed, a.

Defn: Having a breast like a pigeon, — the sternum being so prominent as to constitute a deformity; chicken-breasted.

PIGEONFOOT Pi"geon*foot`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The dove's-foot geranium (Geranium molle).

PIGEON-HEARTED Pi"geon-heart`ed, a.

Defn: Timid; easily frightened; chicken-hearted. Beau. & Fl.

PIGEONHOLE Pi"geon*hole`, n.

Defn: A small compartment in a desk or case for the keeping of letters, documents, etc.; — so called from the resemblance of a row of them to the compartments in a dovecote. Burke.

PIGEONHOLE Pi"geon*hole`, v. t.

Defn: To place in the pigeonhole of a case or cabinet; hence, to put away; to lay aside indefinitely; as, to pigeonhole a letter or a report.

PIGEON-LIVERED Pi"geon-liv`ered, a.

Defn: Pigeon-hearted.

PIGEONRY Pi"geon*ry, n.

Defn: A place for pigeons; a dovecote.

PIGEONTOED Pi"geon*toed`, a.

Defn: Having the toes turned in.

PIGEONWING Pi"geon*wing`, n.

1. A wing of a pigeon, or a wing like it.

2. An old mode of dressing men's side hair in a form likened to a pigeon's wings; also, a wig similarly shaped.

3. (Dancing) A fancy step executed by jumping and striking the legs together; as, to cut a pigeonwing.

4. A certain fancy figure in skating.

5. (Tempering) A color, brown shaded with purple, coming between dark brown and light blue in the table of colors in drawing the temper of hardened steel.

PIG-EYED Pig"-eyed`, a.

Defn: Having small, deep-set eyes.

PIGFISH Pig"fish`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of several species of salt-water grunts; — called also hogfish. (b) A sculpin. The name is also applied locally to several other fishes.

PIGFOOT Pig"foot`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A marine fish (Scorpæna porcus), native of Europe. It is reddish brown, mottled with dark brown and black.

PIGG Pigg, n.

Defn: A piggin. See 1st Pig. Sir W. Scott.

PIGGERY Pig"ger*y, n.; pl. Piggeries (.

Defn: A place where swine are kept.

PIGGIN Pig"gin, n. Etym: [Scot.; cf. Gael. pigean, dim. of pigeadh, pige, an earthen jar, pitcher, or pot, Ir. pigin, pighead, W. piccyn.]

Defn: A small wooden pail or tub with an upright stave for a handle, — often used as a dipper.

PIGGISH Pig"gish, a.

Defn: Relating to, or like, a pig; greedy.

PIG-HEADED Pig"-head`ed, a.

Defn: Having a head like a pig; hence, figuratively: stupidity obstinate; perverse; stubborn. B. Jonson. — Pig"-head`ed*ness, n.

PIGHT Pight, imp. & p. p. of Pitch, to throw; — used also adjectively.

Defn: Pitched; fixed; determined. [Obs.] [His horse] pight him on the pommel of his head. Chaucer. I found him pight to do it. Shak.

PIGHTEL Pigh"tel, n. Etym: [Cf. Pight, Picle.]

Defn: A small inclosure. [Written also pightle.] [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

PIG-JAWED Pig"-jawed`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the upper jaw projecting beyond the lower, with the upper incisors in advance of the lower; — said of dogs.

PIGMEAN Pig*me"an, a.

Defn: See Pygmean.

PIGMENT Pig"ment, n. Etym: [L. pigmentum, fr. the root of pingere to paint: cf. F. pigment. See Paint, and cf. Pimento, Orpiment.]

1. Any material from which a dye, a paint, or the like, may be prepared; particularly, the refined and purified coloring matter ready for mixing with an appropriate vehicle.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: Any one of the colored substances found in animal and vegetable tissues and fluids, as bilirubin, urobilin, chlorophyll, etc.

3. Wine flavored with species and honey. Sir W. Scott. Pigment cell (Physiol.), a small cell containing coloring matter, as the pigmented epithelial cells of the choroid and iris, or the pigmented connective tissue cells in the skin of fishes, reptiles, etc.

PIGMENTAL; PIGMENTARY Pig*men"tal, Pig"men*ta*ry, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to pigments; furnished with pigments. Dunglison. Pigmentary degeneration (Med.), a morbid condition in which an undue amount of pigment is deposited in the tissues.

PIGMENTATION Pig`men*ta"tion, n. (Physiol.)

Defn: A deposition, esp. an excessive deposition, of coloring matter; as, pigmentation of the liver.

PIGMENTED Pig"ment*ed, a.

Defn: Colored; specifically (Biol.), filled or imbued with pigment; as, pigmented epithelial cells; pigmented granules.

PIGMENTOUS Pig*men"tous, a.

Defn: Pigmental.

PIGMY Pig"my, n.

Defn: See Pygmy. Pigmy falcon. (Zoöl.) Same as Falconet, 2 (a).

PIGNERATE Pig"ner*ate, v. t. Etym: [L. pigneratus, p.p. of pignerate to pledge.]

1. To pledge or pawn. [Obs.]

2. to receive in pawn, as a pawnbroker does. [Obs.]

PIGNORATION Pig`no*ra"tion, n. Etym: [LL. pignoratio, L. pigneratio, fr. pignerate to pledge, fr. pignus, gen. -ous and -eris, a pledge, a pawn: cf. F. pignoration.]

1. The act of pledging or pawning.

2. (Civil Law)

Defn: The taking of cattle doing damage, by way of pledge, till satisfaction is made. Burrill.

PIGNORATIVE Pig"no*ra*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. pignoratif.]

Defn: Pledging, pawning. [R.]

PIGNUS Pig"nus, n.; pl. Pignora. Etym: [L.] (Rom. Law)

Defn: A pledge or pawn.

PIGNUT Pig"nut, n. (Bot.) (a) See Groundnut (d). (b) The bitter-flavored nut of a species of hickory (Carya glabra, or porcina); also, the tree itself.

PIGPEN Pig"pen`, n.

Defn: A pen, or sty, for pigs.

PIGSKIN Pig"skin`, n.

Defn: The skin of a pig, — used chiefly for making saddles; hence, a colloquial or slang term for a saddle.

PIGSNEY Pigs"ney, n. Etym: [Perh. a dim. of Dan. pige a girl, or Sw. piga; or from E. pig's eye.]

Defn: A word of endearment for a girl or woman. [Obs.] [Written also pigsnie, pigsny, etc.] Chaucer.

PIG-STICKING Pig"-stick`ing, n.

Defn: Boar hunting; — so called by Anglo-Indians. [Colloq.] Tackeray.

PIGSTY Pig"sty`, n.; pl. Pigsties (.

Defn: A pigpen.

PIGTAIL Pig"tail`, n.

1. The tail of a pig.

2. (Hair Dressing)

Defn: A cue, or queue. J. & H. Smith.

3. A kind of twisted chewing tobacco. The tobacco he usually cheweth, called pigtail. Swift.

PIGTAILED Pig"tailed`, a.

Defn: Having a tail like a pig's; as, the pigtailed baboon.

PIGWEED Pig"weed`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A name of several annual weeds. See Goosefoot, and Lamb's- quarters.

PIGWIDGEON Pig"wid`geon, n. Etym: [Written also pigwidgin and pigwiggen.]

Defn: A cant word for anything petty or small. It is used by Drayton as the name of a fairy.

PIKA Pi"ka, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of several species of rodents of the genus Lagomys, resembling small tailless rabbits. They inhabit the high mountains of Asia and America. Called also calling hare, and crying hare. See Chief hare.

PIKE Pike, n. Etym: [F. pique; perhaps of Celtic origin; cf. W. pig a prick, a point, beak, Arm. pik pick. But cf. also L. picus woodpecker (see Pie magpie), and E. spike. Cf. Pick, n. & v., Peak, Pique.]

1. (Mil.)

Defn: A foot soldier's weapon, consisting of a long wooden shaft or staff, with a pointed steel head. It is now superseded by the bayonet.

2. A pointed head or spike; esp., one in the center of a shield or target. Beau. & Fl.

3. A hayfork. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Tusser.

4. A pick. [Prov. Eng.] Wright. Raymond.

5. A pointed or peaked hill. [R.]

6. A large haycock. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

7. A turnpike; a toll bar. Dickens.

8. (Zoöl.) sing. & pl.

Defn: A large fresh-water fish (Esox lucius), found in Europe and America, highly valued as a food fish; — called also pickerel, gedd, luce, and jack.

Note: Blue pike, grass pike, green pike, wall-eyed pike, and yellow pike, are names, not of true pike, but of the wall-eye. See Wall-eye. Gar pike. See under Gar. — Pike perch (Zoöl.), any fresh-water fish of the genus Stizostedion (formerly Lucioperca). See Wall-eye, and Sauger. — Pike pole, a long pole with a pike in one end, used in directing floating logs. — Pike whale (Zoöl.), a finback whale of the North Atlantic (Balænoptera rostrata), having an elongated snout; — called also piked whale. — Sand pike (Zoöl.), the lizard fish. — Sea pike (Zoöl.), the garfish (a).

PIKED Piked, a.

Defn: Furnished with a pike; ending in a point; peaked; pointed. "With their piked targets bearing them down." Milton.

PIKE-DEVANT Pike`-de*vant", n. Etym: [Pike point (fr. F. pique) + F. devant before.]

Defn: A pointed beard. [Obs.]

PIKELET; PIKELIN Pike"let, Pike"lin, n.

Defn: A light, thin cake or muffin. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

PIKEMAN Pike"man, n.; pl. Pikeman (.

1. A soldier armed with a pike. Knolles.

2. A miner who works with a pick. Beaconsfield.

3. A keeper of a turnpike gate. T. Hughes.

PIKESTAFF Pike"staff`, n.

1. The staff, or shaft, of a pike.

2. A staff with a spike in the lower end, to guard against slipping. Sir W. Scott.

PIKETAIL Pike"tail`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Pintail, 1.

PIKROLITE Pik"ro*lite, n. (Min.)

Defn: See Picrolite.

PILAGE Pi"lage, n.

Defn: See Pelage.

PILASTER Pi*las"ter, n. Etym: [F. pilastre, It. pilastro, LL. pilastrum, fr. L. pila a pillar. See Pillar.] (Arch.)

Defn: An upright architectural member right-angled in plan, constructionally a pier (See Pier, 1 (b)), but architecturally corresponding to a column, having capital, shaft, and base to agree with those of the columns of the same order. In most cases the projection from the wall is one third of its width, or less.

PILASTERED Pi*las"tered, a.

Defn: Furnished with pilasters.

PILAU Pi*lau", n.

Defn: See Pillau.

PILCH Pilch, n. Etym: [AS. pylce, pylece, LL. pellicia. See Pelisse, and Pelt skin.]

Defn: A gown or case of skin, or one trimmed or lined with fur. [Obs.]

PILCHARD Pil"chard, n. Etym: [Cf. It. pilseir, W. pilcod minnows.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European food fish (Clupea pilchardus) resembling the herring, but thicker and rounder. It is sometimes taken in great numbers on the coast of England. Fools are as like husbands as pilchards are to herrings. Shak.

PILCHER Pilch"er, n. Etym: [From Pilch.]

Defn: A scabbard, as of a sword. [Obs.] Shak.

PILCHER Pilch"er, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The pilchard.

PILCROW Pil"crow, n. Etym: [A corruption of Paragraph.] (Print.)

Defn: a paragraph mark, . [Obs.] Tusser.

PILE Pile, n. Etym: [L. pilus hair. Cf. Peruke.]

1. A hair; hence, the fiber of wool, cotton, and the like; also, the nap when thick or heavy, as of carpeting and velvet. Velvet soft, or plush with shaggy pile. Cowper.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A covering of hair or fur.

PILE Pile, n. Etym: [L. pilum javelin. See Pile a stake.]

Defn: The head of an arrow or spear. [Obs.] Chapman.

PILE Pile, n. Etym: [AS. pil arrow, stake, L. pilum javelin; but cf. also L. pila pillar.]

1. A large stake, or piece of timber, pointed and driven into the earth, as at the bottom of a river, or in a harbor where the ground is soft, for the support of a building, a pier, or other superstructure, or to form a cofferdam, etc.

Note: Tubular iron piles are now much used.

2. Etym: [Cf. F. pile.] (Her.)

Defn: One of the ordinaries or subordinaries having the form of a wedge, usually placed palewise, with the broadest end uppermost. Pile bridge, a bridge of which the roadway is supported on piles. — Pile cap, a beam resting upon and connecting the heads of piles. — Pile driver, or Pile engine, an apparatus for driving down piles, consisting usually of a high frame, with suitable appliances for raising to a height (by animal or steam power, the explosion of gunpowder, etc.) a heavy mass of iron, which falls upon the pile. — Pile dwelling. See Lake dwelling, under Lake. — Pile plank (Hydraul. Eng.), a thick plank used as a pile in sheet piling. See Sheet piling, under Piling. — Pneumatic pile. See under Pneumatic. — Screw pile, one with a screw at the lower end, and sunk by rotation aided by pressure.

PILE Pile, v. t.

Defn: To drive piles into; to fill with piles; to strengthen with piles. To sheet-pile, to make sheet piling in or around. See Sheet piling, under 2nd Piling.

PILE Pile, n. Etym: [F. pile, L. pila a pillar, a pier or mole of stone. Cf. Pillar.]

1. A mass of things heaped together; a heap; as, a pile of stones; a pile of wood.

2. A mass formed in layers; as, a pile of shot.

3. A funeral pile; a pyre. Dryden.

4. A large building, or mass of buildings. The pile o'erlooked the town and drew the fight. Dryden.

5. (Iron Manuf.)

Defn: Same as Fagot, n., 2.

6. (Elec.)

Defn: A vertical series of alternate disks of two dissimilar metals, as copper and zinc, laid up with disks of cloth or paper moistened with acid water between them, for producing a current of electricity; — commonly called Volta's pile, voltaic pile, or galvanic pile.

Note: The term is sometimes applied to other forms of apparatus designed to produce a current of electricity, or as synonymous with battery; as, for instance, to an apparatus for generating a current of electricity by the action of heat, usually called a thermopile.

7. Etym: [F. pile pile, an engraved die, L. pila a pillar.]

Defn: The reverse of a coin. See Reverse. Cross and pile. See under Cross. — Dry pile. See under Dry.

PILE Pile, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Piled; p. pr. & vb. n. Piling.]

1. To lay or throw into a pile or heap; to heap up; to collect into a mass; to accumulate; to amass; — often with up; as, to pile up wood. "Hills piled on hills." Dryden. "Life piled on life." Tennyson. The labor of an age in piled stones. Milton.

2. To cover with heaps; or in great abundance; to fill or overfill; to load. To pile arms or muskets (Mil.), to place three guns together so that they may stand upright, supporting each other; to stack arms.

PILEATE; PILEATED Pi"le*ate, Pi"le*a`ted, a. Etym: [L. pileatus, fr. pileus a felt cap or hat.]

1. Having the form of a cap for the head.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a crest covering the pileus, or whole top of the head. Pileated woodpecker (Zoöl.), a large American woodpecker (Ceophloeus pileatus). It is black, with a bright red pointed crest. Called also logcock, and woodcock.

PILED Piled, a. Etym: [From 2d Pile.]

Defn: Having a pile or point; pointed. [Obs.] "Magus threw a spear well piled." Chapman.

PILED Piled, a. Etym: [From 1d Pile.]

Defn: Having a pile or nap. "Three-piled velvet." L. Barry (1611).

PILED Piled, a. Etym: [From 6d Pile.] (Iron Manuf.)

Defn: Formed from a pile or fagot; as, piled iron.

PILEIFORM Pi*le"i*form, a. Etym: [Pileus + -form.]

Defn: Having the form of a pileus or cap; pileate.

PILEMENT Pile"ment, n. Etym: [From Pile to lay into a heap.]

Defn: An accumulation; a heap. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

PILENTUM Pi*len"tum, n.; pl. Pilenta. Etym: [L.] (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: An easy chariot or carriage, used by Roman ladies, and in which the vessels, etc., for sacred rites were carried.

PILEORHIZA Pi`le*o*rhi"za, n.; pl. Pilorhizæ. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A cap of cells which covers the growing extremity of a root; a rootcap.

PILEOUS Pi"le*ous, a. Etym: [See Pilous.]

Defn: Consisting of, or covered with, hair; hairy; pilose.

PILER Pil"er, n.

Defn: One who places things in a pile.

PILES Piles, n. pl. Etym: [L. pila a ball. Cf. Pill a medicine.] (Med.)

Defn: The small, troublesome tumors or swellings about the anus and lower part of the rectum which are technically called hemorrhoids. See Hemorrhoids.

Note: [The singular pile is sometimes used.] Blind piles, hemorrhoids which do not bleed.

PILEUS Pi"le*us, n.; pl. Pilei. Etym: [L., a felt cap.]

1. (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: A kind of skull cap of felt.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: The expanded upper portion of many of the fungi. See Mushroom.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The top of the head of a bird, from the bill to the nape.

PILEWORM Pile"worm`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The teredo.

PILE-WORN Pile"-worn`, a.

Defn: Having the pile worn off; threadbare.

PILEWORT Pile"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant (Ranunculus Ficaria of Linnæus) whose tuberous roots have been used in poultices as a specific for the piles. Forsyth.

PILFER Pil"fer, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pilfered; p. pr. & vb. n. Pilfering.] Etym: [OF. pelfrer. See Pelf.]

Defn: To steal in small quantities, or articles of small value; to practice petty theft.

PILFER Pil"fer, v. t.

Defn: To take by petty theft; to filch; to steal little by little. And not a year but pilfers as he goes Some youthful grace that age would gladly keep. Cowper.

PILFERER Pil"fer*er, n.

Defn: One who pilfers; a petty thief.

PILFERING Pil"fer*ing, a.

Defn: Thieving in a small way. Shak. — n.

Defn: Petty theft. — Pil"fer*ing*ly, adv.

PILFERY Pil"fer*y, n.

Defn: Petty theft. [R.] Sir T. North.

PILGARLIC Pil*gar"lic, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]

Defn: One who has lost his hair by disease; a sneaking fellow, or one who is hardly used.

PILGRIM Pil"grim, n. Etym: [OE. pilgrim, pelgrim, pilegrim, pelegrim; cf. D. pelgrim, OHG. piligrim, G. pilger, F. pèlerin, It. pellegrino; all fr. L. peregrinus a foreigner, fr. pereger abroad; per through + ager land, field. See Per-, and Acre, and cf. Pelerine, Peregrine.]

1. A wayfarer; a wanderer; a traveler; a stranger. Strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb. xi. 13.

2. One who travels far, or in strange lands, to visit some holy place or shrine as a devotee; as, a pilgrim to Loretto; Canterbury pilgrims. See Palmer. P. Plowman.

PILGRIM Pil"grim, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a pilgrim, or pilgrims; making pilgrimages. "With pilgrim steps." Milton. Pilgrim fathers, a name popularly given to the one hundred and two English colonists who landed from the Mayflower and made the first settlement in New England at Plymouth in 1620. They were separatists from the Church of England, and most of them had sojourned in Holland.

PILGRIM Pil"grim, v. i.

Defn: To journey; to wander; to ramble. [R.] Grew. Carlyle.

PILGRIMAGE Pil"grim*age, n. Etym: [OE. pilgrimage, pelgrinage; cf. F. pèlerinage.]

1. The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life. Shak. The days of the years of my pilgrimage. Gen. xlvii. 9.

2. A tedious and wearisome time. In prison hast thou spent a pilgrimage. Shak.

Syn. — Journey; tour; excursion. See Journey.

PILGRIMIZE Pil"grim*ize, v. i.

Defn: To wander as a pilgrim; to go on a pilgrimage. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

PILIDIUM Pi*lid"i*um, n.; pl. Pildia. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The free-swimming, hat-shaped larva of certain nemertean worms. It has no resemblance to its parent, and the young worm develops in its interior.

PILIFERA Pi*lif"e*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Piliferous.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Mammalia.

PILIFEROUS Pi*lif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. pilus hair + -ferous: cf. F. pilifère.]

1. Bearing a single slender bristle, or hair.

2. Beset with hairs.

PILIFORM Pil"i*form, a. Etym: [L. pilus hair + -form.] (Bot.)

Defn: Resembling hairs or down.

PILIGEROUS Pi*lig"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. pilus hair + -gerous: cf. F. piligère.]

Defn: Bearing hair; covered with hair or down; piliferous.

PILING Pil"ing, n. Etym: [See Pile a heap.]

1. The act of heaping up.

2. (Iron Manuf.)

Defn: The process of building up, heating, and working, fagots, or piles, to form bars, etc.

PILING Pil"ing, n. Etym: [See Pile a stake.]

Defn: A series of piles; piles considered collectively; as, the piling of a bridge. Pug piling, sheet piles connected together at the edges by dovetailed tongues and grooves. — Sheet piling, a series of piles made of planks or half logs driven edge to edge, — used to form the walls of cofferdams, etc.

PILL Pill, n. Etym: [Cf. Peel skin, or Pillion.]

Defn: The peel or skin. [Obs.] "Some be covered over with crusts, or hard pills, as the locusts." Holland.

PILL Pill, v. i.

Defn: To be peeled; to peel off in flakes.

PILL Pill, v. t. Etym: [Cf. L. pilare to deprive of hair, and E. pill, n. (above).]

1. To deprive of hair; to make bald. [Obs.]

2. To peel; to make by removing the skin. [Jacob] pilled white streaks . . . in the rods. Gen. xxx. 37.

PILL Pill, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Pilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Pilling.] Etym: [F. piller, L. pilare; cf. It. pigliare to take. Cf. Peel to plunder.]

Defn: To rob; to plunder; to pillage; to peel. See Peel, to plunder. [Obs.] Spenser. Pillers and robbers were come in to the field to pill and to rob. Sir T. Malroy.

PILL Pill, n. Etym: [F. pilute, L. pilula a pill, little ball, dim. of L. pila a ball. Cf. Piles.]

1. A medicine in the form of a little ball, or small round mass, to be swallowed whole.

2. Figuratively, something offensive or nauseous which must be accepted or endured. Udall. Pill beetle (Zoöl.), any small beetle of the genus Byrrhus, having a rounded body, with the head concealed beneath the thorax. — Pill bug (Zoöl.), any terrestrial isopod of the genus Armadillo, having the habit of rolling itself into a ball when disturbed. Called also pill wood louse.

PILLAGE Pil"lage, n. Etym: [F., fr. piller to plunder. See Pill to plunder.]

1. The act of pillaging; robbery. Shak.

2. That which is taken from another or others by open force, particularly and chiefly from enemies in war; plunder; spoil; booty. Which pillage they with merry march bring home. Shak.

Syn. — Plunder; rapine; spoil; depredation. — Pillage, Plunder. Pillage refers particularly to the act of stripping the sufferers of their goods, while plunder refers to the removal of the things thus taken; but the words are freely interchanged.

PILLAGE Pil"lage, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pillaged; p. pr. & vb. n. Pillaging.]

Defn: To strip of money or goods by open violence; to plunder; to spoil; to lay waste; as, to pillage the camp of an enemy. Mummius . . . took, pillaged, and burnt their city. Arbuthnot.

PILLAGE Pil"lage, v. i.

Defn: To take spoil; to plunder; to ravage. They were suffered to pillage wherever they went. Macaulay.

PILLAGER Pil"la*ger, n.

Defn: One who pillages. Pope.

PILLAR Pil"lar, n. Etym: [OE. pilerF. pilier, LL. pilare, pilarium, pilarius, fr. L. pila a pillar. See Pile a heap.]

1. The general and popular term for a firm, upright, insulated support for a superstructure; a pier, column, or post; also, a column or shaft not supporting a superstructure, as one erected for a monument or an ornament. Jacob set a pillar upon her grave. Gen. xxxv. 20. The place . . . vast and proud, Supported by a hundred pillars stood. Dryden.

2. Figuratively, that which resembles such a pillar in appearance, character, or office; a supporter or mainstay; as, the Pillars of Hercules; a pillar of the state. "You are a well-deserving pillar." Shak. By day a cloud, by night a pillar of fire. Milton.

3. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: A portable ornamental column, formerly carried before a cardinal, as emblematic of his support to the church. [Obs.] Skelton.

4. (Man.)

Defn: The center of the volta, ring, or manege ground, around which a horse turns. From pillar to post, hither and thither; to and fro; from one place or predicament to another; backward and forward. [Colloq.] — Pillar saint. See Stylite. — Pillars of the fauces. See Fauces, 1.

PILLAR Pil"lar, a. (Mach.)

Defn: Having a support in the form of a pillar, instead of legs; as, a pillar drill.

PILLAR-BLOCK Pil"lar-block`, n.

Defn: See under Pillow.

PILLARED Pil"lared, a.

Defn: Supported or ornamented by pillars; resembling a pillar, or pillars. "The pillared arches." Sir W. Scott. "Pillared flame." Thomson.

PILLARET Pil"lar*et, n.

Defn: A little pillar. [R.] Fuller.

PILLARIST Pil"lar*ist, n. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: See Stylite.

PILLAU Pil*lau", n. Etym: [Per. & Turk. pilau.]

Defn: An Oriental dish consisting of rice boiled with mutton, fat, or butter. [Written also pilau.]

PILLED Pilled, a. Etym: [See 3rd Pill.]

Defn: Stripped of hair; scant of hair; bald. [Obs.] "Pilled beard." Chaucer.

PILLED-GARLIC Pilled"-gar"lic, n.

Defn: See Pilgarlic.

PILLER Pill"er, n.

Defn: One who pills or plunders. [Obs.]

PILLERY Pill"er*y, n.; pl. Pilleries (.

Defn: Plunder; pillage. [Obs.] Daniel.

PILLION Pil"lion, n. Etym: [Ir. pillin, pilliun (akin to Gael. pillean, pillin), fr. Ir. & Gael. pill, peall, a skin or hide, prob. fr. L. pellis. See Pell, n., Fell skin.]

Defn: A panel or cushion saddle; the under pad or cushion of saddle; esp., a pad or cushion put on behind a man's saddle, on which a woman may ride. His [a soldier's] shank pillion without stirrups. Spenser.

PILLORIZE Pil"lo*rize, v. t.

Defn: To set in, or punish with, the pillory; to pillory. [R.]

PILLORY Pil"lo*ry, n.; pl. Pillories. Etym: [F. pilori; cf. Pr. espitlori, LL. piloricum, pilloricum, pellericum, pellorium, pilorium, spilorium; perhaps from a derivative of L. speculari to look around, observe. Cf. Speculate.]

Defn: A frame of adjustable boards erected on a post, and having holes through which the head and hands of an offender were thrust so as to be exposed in front of it. Shak.

PILLORY Pil"lo*ry, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pilloried; p. pr. & vb. n. Pillorying.] Etym: [Cf. F. pilorier.]

1. To set in, or punish with, the pillory. "Hungering for Puritans to pillory." Macaulay.

2. Figuratively, to expose to public scorn. Gladstone.

PILLOW Pil"low, n. Etym: [OE. pilwe, AS. pyle, fr. L. pilvinus.]

1. Anything used to support the head of a person when reposing; especially, a sack or case filled with feathers, down, hair, or other soft material. [Resty sloth] finds the down pillow hard. Shak.

2. (Mach.)

Defn: A piece of metal or wood, forming a support to equalize pressure; a brass; a pillow block. [R.]

3. (Naut.)

Defn: A block under the inner end of a bowsprit.

4. A kind of plain, coarse fustian. Lace pillow, a cushion used in making hand-wrought lace. — Pillow bier Etym: [OE. pilwebere; cf. LG. büre a pillowcase], a pillowcase; pillow slip. [Obs.] Chaucer. — Pillow block (Mach.), a block, or standard, for supporting a journal, as of a shaft. It is usually bolted to the frame or foundation of a machine, and is often furnished with journal boxes, and a movable cover, or cap, for tightening the bearings by means of bolts; — called also pillar block, or plumber block. — Pillow lace, handmade lace wrought with bobbins upon a lace pillow. — Pillow of a plow, a crosspiece of wood which serves to raise or lower the beam. — Pillow sham, an ornamental covering laid over a pillow when not in use. — Pillow slip, a pillowcase.

PILLOW Pil"low, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pillowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pillowing.]

Defn: To rest or lay upon, or as upon, a pillow; to support; as, to pillow the head. Pillows his chin upon an orient wave. Milton.

PILLOWCASE Pil"low*case`, n.

Defn: A removable case or covering for a pillow, usually of white linen or cotton cloth.

PILLOWED Pil"lowed, a.

Defn: Provided with a pillow or pillows; having the head resting on, or as on, a pillow. Pillowedon buckler cold and hard. Sir W. Scott.

PILLOW LACE Pil"low lace.

Defn: Lace made by hand with bobbins on a pillow.

PILLOWY Pil"low*y, a.

Defn: Like a pillow. Keats.

PILL-WILLET Pill"-wil`let, n. Etym: [So named from its note.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The willet.

PILLWORM Pill"worm`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any myriapod of the genus Iulus and allied genera which rolls up spirally; a galleyworm. See Illust. under Myriapod.

PILLWORT Pill"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Any plant of the genus Pilularia; minute aquatic cryptograms, with small pill-shaped fruit; — sometimes called peppergrass.

PILOCARPINE Pi`lo*car"pine, n. Etym: [From NL. Pilocarpus pennatifolius jaborandi; L. pilus hair + Gr. pilocarpine.] (Chem.)

Defn: An alkaloid extracted from jaborandi (Pilocarpus pennatifolius) as a white amorphous or crystalline substance which has a peculiar effect on the vasomotor system.

PILON Pi*lon", n. [Sp., sugar loaf.] [Sp. Amer.]

1. A conical loaf of sugar.

2. A gratuity given by tradesmen to customers settling their accounts. [Southern U. S.]

PILONCE Pi*lon"ce, n. [Amer. Sp. See Piloncillo.]

Defn: Same as Pilon. [Texas]

PILONCILLO Pi`lon*cil"lo, n. [Amer. Sp., dim. of pilon.]

Defn: Same as Pilon. [Texas]

PILOSE Pi*lose", a. Etym: [L. pilosus, fr. pilus hair. See Pile.]

1. Hairy; full of, or made of, hair. The heat-retaining property of the pilose covering. Owen.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Clothed thickly with pile or soft down.

3. (Bot.)

Defn: Covered with long, slender hairs; resembling long hairs; hairy; as, pilose pubescence.

PILOSITY Pi*los"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. pilosité.]

Defn: The quality or state of being pilose; hairiness. Bacon.

PILOT Pi"lot, n. Etym: [F. pilote, prob. from D. peillood plummet, sounding lead; peilen, pegelen, to sound, measure (fr. D. & G. peil, pegel, a sort of measure, water mark) + lood lead, akin to E. lead. The pilot, then, is the lead man, i.e., he who throws the lead. See Pail, and Lead a metal.]

1. (Naut.)

Defn: One employed to steer a vessel; a helmsman; a steersman. Dryden.

2. Specifically, a person duly qualified, and licensed by authority, to conduct vessels into and out of a port, or in certain waters, for a fixed rate of fees.

3. Figuratively: A guide; a director of another through a difficult or unknown course.

4. An instrument for detecting the compass error.

5. The cowcatcher of a locomotive. [U.S.] Pilot balloon, a small balloon sent up in advance of a large one, to show the direction and force of the wind. — Pilot bird. (Zoöl.) (a) A bird found near the Caribbee Islands; - - so called because its presence indicates to mariners their approach to these islands. Crabb. (b) The black-bellied plover. [Local, U.S.] — Pilot boat, a strong, fast-sailing boat used to carry and receive pilots as they board and leave vessels. — Pilot bread, ship biscuit. — Pilot cloth, a coarse, stout kind of cloth for overcoats. — Pilot engine, a locomotive going in advance of a train to make sure that the way is clear. — Pilot fish. (Zoöl) (a) A pelagic carangoid fish (Naucrates ductor); — so named because it is often seen in company with a shark, swimming near a ship, on account of which sailors imagine that it acts as a pilot to the shark. (b) The rudder fish (Seriola zonata). — Pilot jack, a flag or signal hoisted by a vessel for a pilot. — Pilot jacket, a pea jacket. — Pilot nut (Bridge Building), a conical nut applied temporarily to the threaded end of a pin, to protect the thread and guide the pin when it is driven into a hole. Waddell. — Pilot snake (Zoöl.) (a) A large North American snake (Coluber obsoleus). It is lustrous black, with white edges to some of the scales. Called also mountain black snake. (b) The pine snake. — Pilot whale. (Zoöl.) Same as Blackfish, 1.

PILOT Pi"lot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Piloted; p. pr. & vb. n. Piloting.] Etym: [Cf. F. piloter.]

1. To direct the course of, as of a ship, where navigation is dangerous.

2. Figuratively: To guide, as through dangers or difficulties. "The art of piloting a state." Berkeley.

PILOTAGE Pi"lot*age, n. Etym: [Cf. F. pilotage.]

1. The pilot's skill or knowledge, as of coasts, rocks, bars, and channels. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.

2. The compensation made or allowed to a pilot.

3. Guidance, as by a pilot. Sir W. Scott.

PILOT BALLOON Pilot balloon.

Defn: A small, unmanned balloon sent up to indicate the direction of air currents.

PILOT FLAG Pilot flag.

Defn: The flag hoisted at the fore by a vessel desiring a pilot, in the United States the union jack, in Great Britain the British union jack with a white border.

PILOTISM; PILOTRY Pi"lot*ism, Pi"lot*ry, n.

Defn: Pilotage; skill in the duties of a pilot. [R.]

PILOT LAMP; PILOT LIGHT Pilot lamp or light . (Elec.)

Defn: A small incandescent telltale lamp on a dynamo or battery circuit to show approximately by its brightness the voltage of the current.

PILOT VALVE Pilot valve. (Hydraulics)

Defn: A small hand-operated valve to admit liquid to operate a valve difficult to turn by hand.

PILOT WHEEL Pilot wheel. (Mach.)

Defn: A wheel, usually with radial handles projecting from the rim, for traversing the saddle of a machine tool, esp. an automatic machine tool, by hand.

PILOUR Pil"our, n.

Defn: A piller; a plunderer. [Obs.]

PILOUS Pil"ous, a.

Defn: See Pilose.

PILPUL Pil"pul, n. [Aramaic pilpul; cf. Heb. pilpel to spice, to season, dispute violently.]

Defn: Among the Jews, penetrating investigation, disputation, and drawing of conclusions, esp. in Talmudic study. — Pil"pul*ist (#), n. —Pil`pul*is"tic (#), a.

PILSER Pil"ser, n.

Defn: An insect that flies into a flame.

PILULAR Pil"u*lar, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to pills; resembling a pill or pills; as, a pilular mass.

PILULOUS Pil"u*lous, a. Etym: [L. pilula a pill. See Pill.]

Defn: Like a pill; small; insignificant. [R.] G. Eliot.

PILWE Pil"we, n.

Defn: A pillow. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PILY Pi"ly, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like pile or wool.

PIMARIC Pi*mar"ic, a. Etym: [NL. pinum maritima, an old name for P. Pinaster, a pine which yields galipot.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or designating, an acid found in galipot, and isomeric with abietic acid.

PIMELIC Pi*mel"ic, a. Etym: [Gr. (Chem.) (a) Pertaining to, or designating, a substance obtained from certain fatty substances, and subsequently shown to be a mixture of suberic and adipic acids. (b) Designating the acid proper (C5H10(CO2/H)2) which is obtained from camphoric acid.

PIMELITE Pim"e*lite, n. Etym: [Gr. (Min.)

Defn: An apple-green mineral having a greasy feel. It is a hydrous silicate of nickel, magnesia, aluminia, and iron.

PIMENT Pi"ment, n. Etym: [F. See Pimento.]

Defn: Wine flavored with spice or honey. See Pigment, 3. [Obs.]

PIMENTA Pi*men"ta, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Pimento.

PIMENTO Pi*men"to, n. Etym: [Sp. pimiento, pimienta; cf. Pg. pimenta, F. piment; all fr. L. pigmentum a paint, pigment, the juice of plants; hence, something spicy and aromatic. See Pigment.] (Bot.)

Defn: Allspice; — applied both to the tree and its fruit. See Allspice.

PIMIENTO Pi*mien"to, n. [Sp.]

Defn: The Spanish sweet pepper, the fruit of which is used as a vegetable, to stuff olives, etc.

PIMLICO Pim"li*co, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The friar bird.

PIMOLA Pim*o"la, n.

Defn: An olive stuffed with a kind of sweet red pepper, or pimiento.

PIMP Pimp, n. Etym: [Cf. F. pimpant smart, sparkish; perh. akin to piper to pipe, formerly also, to excel. Cf. Pipe.]

Defn: One who provides gratification for the lust of others; a procurer; a pander. Swift.

PIMP Pimp, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pimped; p. pr. & vb. n. Pimping.]

Defn: To procure women for the gratification of others' lusts; to pander. Dryden.

PIMPERNEL Pim"per*nel, n. Etym: [F. pimprenelle; cf. Sp. pimpinela, It. pimpinella; perh. from LL. bipinnella, for bipinnula two-winged, equiv. to L. bipennis; bis twice + penna feather, wing. Cf. Pen a feather.] (Bot.)

Defn: A plant of the genus Anagallis, of which one species (A. arvensis) has small flowers, usually scarlet, but sometimes purple, blue, or white, which speedily close at the approach of bad weather. Water pimpernel. (Bot.) See Brookweed.

PIMPILLO Pim"pil*lo, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A West Indian name for the prickly pear (Opuntia); — called also pimploes.

PIMPINEL Pim"pi*nel, n. Etym: [See Pimpernel.] (Bot.)

Defn: The burnet saxifrage. See under Saxifrage.

PIMPING Pimp"ing, a. Etym: [Cf. G. pimpelig, pimpelnd, sickly, weak.]

1. Little; petty; pitiful. [Obs.] Crabbe.

2. Puny; sickly. [Local, U.S.]

PIMPLE Pim"ple, n. Etym: [AS. pipelian to blister; cf. L. papula pimple.]

1. (Med.)

Defn: Any small acuminated elevation of the cuticle, whether going on to suppuration or not. "All eyes can see a pimple on her nose." Pope.

2. Fig.: A swelling or protuberance like a pimple. "A pimple that portends a future sprout." Cowper.

PIMPLED Pim"pled, a.

Defn: Having pimples. Johnson.

PIMPLY Pim"ply, a.

Defn: Pimpled.

PIMPSHIP Pimp"ship, n.

Defn: The office, occupation, or persom of a pimp. [R.]

PIN Pin, v. t. (Metal Working)

Defn: To peen.

PIN Pin, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Pen to confine, or Pinfold.]

Defn: To inclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.

PIN Pin, n. Etym: [OE. pinne, AS. pinn a pin, peg; cf. D. pin, G. pinne, Icel. pinni, W. pin, Gael. & Ir. pinne; all fr. L. pinna a pinnacle, pin, feather, perhaps orig. a different word from pinna feather. Cf. Fin of a fish, Pen a feather.]

1. A piece of wood, metal, etc., generally cylindrical, used for fastening separate articles together, or as a support by which one article may be suspended from another; a peg; a bolt. With pins of adamant And chains they made all fast. Milton.

2. Especially, a small, pointed and headed piece of brass or other wire (commonly tinned), largely used for fastening clothes, attaching papers, etc.

3. Hence, a thing of small value; a trifle. He . . . did not care a pin for her. Spectator.

4. That which resembles a pin in its form or use; as: (a) A peg in musical instruments, for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings. (b) A linchpin. (c) A rolling-pin. (d) A clothespin. (e) (Mach.) A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal. See Illust. of Knuckle joint, under Knuckle. (f) (Joinery) The tenon of a dovetail joint.

5. One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each man should drink.

6. The bull's eye, or center, of a target; hence, the center. [Obs.] "The very pin of his heart cleft." Shak.

7. Mood; humor. [Obs.] "In merry pin." Cowper.

8. (Med.)

Defn: Caligo. See Caligo. Shak.

9. An ornament, as a brooch or badge, fastened to the clothing by a pin; as, a Masonic pin.

10. The leg; as, to knock one off his pins. [Slang] Banking pin (Horol.), a pin against which a lever strikes, to limit its motion. — Pin drill (Mech.), a drill with a central pin or projection to enter a hole, for enlarging the hole, or for sinking a recess for the head of a bolt, etc.; a counterbore. — Pin grass. (Bot.) See Alfilaria. — Pin hole, a small hole made by a pin; hence, any very small aperture or perforation. — Pin lock, a lock having a cylindrical bolt; a lock in which pins, arranged by the key, are used instead of tumblers. — Pin money, an allowance of money, as that made by a husband to his wife, for private and personal expenditure. — Pin rail (Naut.), a rail, usually within the bulwarks, to hold belaying pins. Sometimes applied to the fife rail. Called also pin rack. — Pin wheel. (a) A contrate wheel in which the cogs are cylindrical pins. (b) (Fireworks) A small coil which revolves on a common pin and makes a wheel of yellow or colored fire.

PIN Pin, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pinned; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinning.] Etym: [See Pin, n.]

Defn: To fasten with, or as with, a pin; to join; as, to pin a garment; to pin boards together. "Aa if she would pin her to her heart." Shak. To pin one's faith upon, to depend upon; to trust to.

PINACATE BUG Pin`a*ca"te bug. [Orig. uncert.]

Defn: Any of several clumsy, wingless beetles of the genus Eleodes, found in the Pacific States.

PINA CLOTH; PINYA CLOTH Pi"ña cloth`.

Defn: A fine material for ladies' shawls, scarfs, handkerchiefs, etc., made from the fiber of the pineapple leaf, and perhaps from other fibrous tropical leaves. It is delicate, soft, and transparent, with a slight tinge of pale yellow.

PINACOID Pin"a*coid, n. Etym: [Gr. -oid.] (Crystallog.)

Defn: A plane parallel to two of the crystalline axes.

PINACOLIN Pi*nac"o*lin, n. Etym: [Pinacone + L. oleum oil.] (Chem.)

Defn: A colorless oily liquid related to the ketones, and obtained by the decomposition of pinacone; hence, by extension, any one of the series of which pinacolin proper is the type. [Written also pinacoline.]

PINACONE Pin"a*cone, n. Etym: [From Gr. (Chem.)

Defn: A white crystalline substance related to the glycols, and made from acetone; hence, by extension, any one of a series of substances of which pinacone proper is the type. [Written also pinakone.]

PINACOTHECA Pin`a*co*the"ca, n. Etym: [L. pinacotheca, fr. Gr.

Defn: A picture gallery.

PINAFORE Pin"a*fore`, n. Etym: [Pin + afore.]

Defn: An apron for a child to protect the front part of dress; a tier.

PINAKOTHEK Pin"a*ko*thek`, n. Etym: [G.]

Defn: Pinacotheca.

PINASTER Pi*nas"ter, n. Etym: [L., fr. pinus a pine.] (Bot.)

Defn: A species of pine (Pinus Pinaster) growing in Southern Europe.

PINAX Pi"nax, n.; pl. Pinaces. Etym: [L., fr. Gr.

Defn: A tablet; a register; hence, a list or scheme inscribed on a tablet. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

PINCE-NEZ Pince`-nez", n. Etym: [F. pincer to pinch + nez nose.]

Defn: Eyeglasses kept on the nose by a spring.

PINCERS Pin"cers, n. pl. Etym: [Cf. F. pince pinchers, fr. pincer to pinch. See Pinch, Pinchers.]

Defn: See Pinchers.

PINCH Pinch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pinched; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinching.] Etym: [F. pincer, probably fr. OD. pitsen to pinch; akin to G. pfetzen to cut, pinch; perhaps of Celtic origin. Cf. Piece.]

1. To press hard or squeeze between the ends of the fingers, between teeth or claws, or between the jaws of an instrument; to squeeze or compress, as between any two hard bodies.

2. o seize; to grip; to bite; — said of animals. [Obs.] He [the hound] pinched and pulled her down. Chapman.

3. To plait. [Obs.] Full seemly her wimple ipinched was. Chaucer.

4. Figuratively: To cramp; to straiten; to oppress; to starve; to distress; as, to be pinched for money. Want of room . . . pinching a whole nation. Sir W. Raleigh.

5. To move, as a railroad car, by prying the wheels with a pinch. See Pinch, n., 4.

PINCH Pinch, v. i.

1. To act with pressing force; to compress; to squeeze; as, the shoe pinches."

2. (Hunt.)

Defn: To take hold; to grip, as a dog does. [Obs.]

3. To spare; to be niggardly; to be covetous. Gower. The wretch whom avarice bids to pinch and spare. Franklin. To pinch at, to find fault with; to take exception to. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PINCH Pinch, n.

1. A close compression, as with the ends of the fingers, or with an instrument; a nip.

2. As much as may be taken between the finger and thumb; any very small quantity; as, a pinch of snuff.

3. Pian; pang. "Necessary's sharp pinch." Shak.

4. A lever having a projection at one end, acting as a fulcrum, — used chiefly to roll heavy wheels, etc. Called also pinch bar. At a pinch, On a pinch, in an emergency; as, he could on a pinch read a little Latin.

PINCHBECK Pinch"beck, n. Etym: [Said to be from the name of the inventor; cf. It. prencisbecco.]

Defn: An alloy of copper and zinc, resembling gold; a yellow metal, composed of about three ounces of zinc to a pound of copper. It is much used as an imitation of gold in the manufacture of cheap jewelry.

PINCHBECK Pinch"beck, a.

Defn: Made of pinchbeck; sham; cheap; spurious; unreal. "A pinchbeck throne." J. A. Symonds.

PINCHCOCK Pinch"cock`, n.

Defn: A clamp on a flexible pipe to regulate the flow of a fluid through the pipe.

PINCHEM Pin"chem, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European blue titmouse. [Prov. Eng.]

PINCHER Pinch"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, pinches.

PINCHERS Pinch"ers, n. pl. Etym: [From Pinch.]

Defn: An instrument having two handles and two grasping jaws working on a pivot; — used for griping things to be held fast, drawing nails, etc.

Note: This spelling is preferable to pincers, both on account of its derivation from the English pinch, and because it represents the common pronunciation.

PINCHFIST Pinch"fist`, n.

Defn: A closefisted person; a miser.

PINCHING Pinch"ing, a.

Defn: Compressing; nipping; griping; niggardly; as, pinching cold; a pinching parsimony. Pinching bar, a pinch bar. See Pinch, n., 4. — Pinching nut, a check nut. See under Check, n.

PINCHINGLY Pinch"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a pinching way.

PINCHPENNY Pinch"pen`ny, n.

Defn: A miserly person.

PINCOFFIN Pin"coff*in, n. Etym: [From Pincoff, an English manufacturer.]

Defn: A commercial preparation of garancin, yielding fine violet tints.

PINCPINC Pinc"pinc`, n. Etym: [Named from its note.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An African wren warbler. (Drymoica textrix).

PINCUSHION Pin"cush`ion, n.

Defn: A small cushion, in which pins may be stuck for use.

PINDAL; PINDAR Pin"dal, Pin"dar, n. Etym: [D. piendel.] (Bot.)

Defn: The peanut (Arachis hypogæa); — so called in the West Indies.

PINDARIC Pin*dar"ic, a. Etym: [L. Pindaricus, Gr. Pindarus) Pindar: cf. F. pindarique.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to Pindar, the Greek lyric poet; after the style and manner of Pindar; as, Pindaric odes. — n.

Defn: A Pindaric ode.

PINDARICAL Pin*dar"ic*al, a.

Defn: Pindaric. Too extravagant and Pindarical for prose. Cowley.

PINDARISM Pin"dar*ism, n.

Defn: Imitation of Pindar.

PINDARIST Pin"dar*ist, n.

Defn: One who imitates Pindar.

PINDER Pin"der, n. Etym: [AS. pyndan to pen up, fr. pund a pound.]

Defn: One who impounds; a poundkeeper. [Obs.]

PINE Pine, n. Etym: [AS. pin, L. poena penalty. See Pain.]

Defn: Woe; torment; pain. [Obs.] "Pyne of hell." Chaucer.

PINE Pine, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pined; p. pr. & vb. n. Pining.] Etym: [AS. pinan to torment, fr. pin torment. See 1st Pine, Pain, n. & v.]

1. To inflict pain upon; to torment; to torture; to afflict. [Obs.] Chaucer. Shak. That people that pyned him to death. Piers Plowman. One is pined in prison, another tortured on the rack. Bp. Hall.

2. To grieve or mourn for. [R.] Milton.

PINE Pine, v. i.

1. To suffer; to be afflicted. [Obs.]

2. To languish; to lose flesh or wear away, under any distress or anexiety of mind; to droop; — often used with away. "The roses wither and the lilies pine." Tickell.

3. To languish with desire; to waste away with longing for something; — usually followed by for. For whom, and not for Tybalt, Juliet pined. Shak.

Syn. — To languish; droop; flag; wither; decay.

PINE Pine, n. Etym: [AS. pin, L. pinus.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: Any tree of the coniferous genus Pinus. See Pinus.

Note: There are about twenty-eight species in the United States, of which the white pine (P. Strobus), the Georgia pine (P. australis), the red pine (P. resinosa), and the great West Coast sugar pine (P. Lambertiana) are among the most valuable. The Scotch pine or fir, also called Norway or Riga pine (Pinus sylvestris), is the only British species. The nut pine is any pine tree, or species of pine, which bears large edible seeds. See Pinon. The spruces, firs, larches, and true cedars, though formerly considered pines, are now commonly assigned to other genera.

2. The wood of the pine tree.

3. A pineapple. Ground pine. (Bot.) See under Ground. — Norfolk Island pine (Bot.), a beautiful coniferous tree, the Araucaria excelsa. — Pine barren, a tract of infertile land which is covered with pines. [Southern U.S.] — Pine borer (Zoöl.), any beetle whose larvæ bore into pine trees. — Pine finch. (Zoöl.) See Pinefinch, in the Vocabulary. — Pine grosbeak (Zoöl.), a large grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator), which inhabits the northern parts of both hemispheres. The adult male is more or less tinged with red. — Pine lizard (Zoöl.), a small, very active, mottled gray lizard (Sceloporus undulatus), native of the Middle States; — called also swift, brown scorpion, and alligator. — Pine marten. (Zoöl.) (a) A European weasel (Mustela martes), called also sweet marten, and yellow-breasted marten. (b) The American sable. See Sable. — Pine moth (Zoöl.), any one of several species of small tortricid moths of the genus Retinia, whose larvæ burrow in the ends of the branchlets of pine trees, often doing great damage. — Pine mouse (Zoöl.), an American wild mouse (Arvicola pinetorum), native of the Middle States. It lives in pine forests. — Pine needle (Bot.), one of the slender needle-shaped leaves of a pine tree. See Pinus. — Pine-needle wool. See Pine wool (below). — Pine oil, an oil resembling turpentine, obtained from fir and pine trees, and used in making varnishes and colors. — Pine snake (Zoöl.), a large harmless North American snake (Pituophis melanoleucus). It is whitish, covered with brown blotches having black margins. Called also bull snake. The Western pine snake (P. Sayi) is chestnut-brown, mottled with black and orange. — Pine tree (Bot.), a tree of the genus Pinus; pine. — Pine-tree money, money coined in Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, and so called from its bearing a figure of a pine tree. — Pine weevil (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of weevils whose larvæ bore in the wood of pine trees. Several species are known in both Europe and America, belonging to the genera Pissodes, Hylobius, etc. — Pine wool, a fiber obtained from pine needles by steaming them. It is prepared on a large scale in some of the Southern United States, and has many uses in the economic arts; — called also pine- needle wool, and pine-wood wool.

PINEAL Pi"ne*al, a. Etym: [L. pinea the cone of a pine, from pineus of the pine, from pinus a pine: cf. F. pinéale.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a pine cone; resembling a pine cone. Pineal gland (Anat.), a glandlike body in the roof of the third ventricle of the vertebrate brain; — called also pineal body, epiphysis, conarium. In some animals it is connected with a rudimentary eye, the so-called pineal eye, and in other animals it is supposed to be the remnant of a dorsal median eye.

PINEAPPLE Pine"ap`ple, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A tropical plant (Ananassa sativa); also, its fruit; — so called from the resemblance of the latter, in shape and external appearance, to the cone of the pine tree. Its origin is unknown, though conjectured to be American.

PINEASTER Pine`as"ter, n.

Defn: See Pinaster.

PINE-CLAD; PINE-CROWNED Pine"-clad`, Pine"-crowned`, a.

Defn: Clad or crowned with pine trees; as, pine-clad hills.

PINEDROPS Pine"drops`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A reddish herb (Pterospora andromedea) of the United States, found parasitic on the roots of pine trees.

PINEFINCH Pine"finch`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) A small American bird (Spinus, or Chrysomitris, spinus); — called also pine siskin, and American siskin. (b) The pine grosbeak.

PINENCHYMA Pi*nen"chy*ma, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. -enchyma, as in parenchyma.] (Bot.)

Defn: Tabular parenchyma, a form of cellular tissue in which the cells are broad and flat, as in some kinds of epidermis.

PINERY Pin"er*y, n.; pl. Pineries (.

1. A pine forest; a grove of pines.

2. A hothouse in which pineapples are grown.

PINESAP Pine"sap`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A reddish fleshy herb of the genus Monotropa (M. hypopitys), formerly thought to be parasitic on the roots of pine trees, but more probably saprophytic.

PINE-TREE STATE Pine-tree State.

Defn: Maine; — a nickname alluding to the pine tree in its coat of arms.

PINETUM Pi*ne"tum, n. Etym: [L., a pine grove.]

Defn: A plantation of pine trees; esp., a collection of living pine trees made for ornamental or scientific purposes.

PINEWEED Pine"weed`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A low, bushy, nearly leafless herb (Hypericum Sarothra), common in sandy soil in the Eastern United States.

PINEY Pin"ey, a.

Defn: See Piny.

PINEY Pin"ey, a. Etym: [Of East Indian origin.]

Defn: A term used in designating an East Indian tree (the Vateria Indica or piney tree, of the order Dipterocarpeæ, which grows in Malabar, etc.) or its products. Piney dammar, Piney resin, Piney varnish, a pellucid, fragrant, acrid, bitter resin, which exudes from the piney tree (Vateria Indica) when wounded. It is used as a varnish, in making candles, and as a substitute for incense and for amber. Called also liquid copal, and white dammar. — Piney tallow, a solid fatty substance, resembling tallow, obtained from the roasted seeds of the Vateria Indica; called also dupada oil. — Piney thistle (Bot.), a plant (Atractylis gummifera), from the bark of which, when wounded, a gummy substance exudes.

PIN-EYED Pin"-eyed`, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having the stigma visible at the throad of a gamopetalous corolla, while the stamens are concealed in the tube; — said of dimorphous flowers. The opposite of Ant: thrum-eyed.

PINFEATHER Pin"feath`er, n.

Defn: A feather not fully developed; esp., a rudimentary feather just emerging through the skin.

PINFEATHERED Pin"feath`ered, a.

Defn: Having part, or all, of the feathers imperfectly developed.

PIN-FIRE Pin"-fire`, a. (Mil.)

Defn: Having a firing pin to explode the cartridge; as, a pin-fire rifle.

PINFISH Pin"fish`, n. Etym: [So called from their sharp dorsal spines.] (Zoöl.) (a) The sailor's choice (Diplodus, or Lagodon, rhomboides). (b) The salt-water bream (Diplodus Holbrooki).

Note: Both are excellent food fishes, common on the coast of the United States south of Cape Hatteras. The name is also applied to other allied species.

PINFOLD Pin"fold`, n. Etym: [For pindfold. See Pinder, Pound an inclosure, and Fold an inclosure.]

Defn: A place in which stray cattle or domestic animals are confined; a pound; a penfold. Shak. A parish pinfold begirt by its high hedge. Sir W. Scott.

PING Ping, n. Etym: [Probably of imitative origin.]

Defn: The sound made by a bullet in striking a solid object or in passing through the air.

PING Ping, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pinged; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinging.]

Defn: To make the sound called ping.

PINGLE Pin"gle, n. Etym: [Perhaps fr. pin to impound.]

Defn: A small piece of inclosed ground. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

PING-PONG Ping"-pong`, n. [Imitative.]

1. An indoor modification of lawn tennis played with small bats, or battledores, and a very light, hollow, celluloid ball, on a large table divided across the middle by a net.

2. A size of photograph a little larger than a postage stamp.

PING-PONG Ping"-pong`, v. i.

Defn: To play ping-pong.

PINGSTER Ping"ster, n.

Defn: See Pinkster.

PINGUEFACTION Pin`gue*fac"tion, n. [L. pinguefacere, pinguefactum, to fatten; pinguis fat + facere to make.] (Med.)

Defn: A making of, or turning into, fat.

PINGUICULA Pin*guic"u*la, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. pinguiculus somewhat fat, fattish.] (Bot.)

Defn: See Butterwort.

PINGUID Pin"guid, a. Etym: [L. pinguis fat.]

Defn: Fat; unctuous; greasy. [Obs.] "Some clays are more pinguid." Mortimer.

PINGUIDINOUS Pin*guid"i*nous, a. Etym: [L. pinguedo fatness, fr. pinguis fat.]

Defn: Containing fat; fatty. [Obs.]

PINGUITUDE Pin"gui*tude, n. Etym: [L. pinguitudo, from pinguis fat.]

Defn: Fatness; a growing fat; obesity. [R.]

PINHOLD Pin"hold`, n.

Defn: A place where a pin is fixed.

PINIC Pi"nic ( a. Etym: [L. pinus pine.] (Chem.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the pine; obtained from the pine; formerly, designating an acid which is the chief constituent of common resin, - - now called abietic, or sylvic, acid.

PINING Pin"ing, a.

1. Languishing; drooping; wasting away, as with longing.

2. Wasting; consuming. "The pining malady of France." Shak.

PININGLY Pin"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a pining manner; droopingly. Poe.

PINION Pin"ion, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A moth of the genus Lithophane, as L. antennata, whose larva bores large holes in young peaches and apples.

PINION Pin"ion, n. Etym: [OF. pignon a pen, F., gable, pinion (in sense 5); cf. Sp. piñon pinion; fr. L. pinna pinnacle, feather, wing. See Pin a peg, and cf. Pen a feather, Pennat, Pennon.]

1. A feather; a quill. Shak.

2. A wing, literal or figurative. Swift on his sooty pinions flits the gnome. Pope.

3. The joint of bird's wing most remote from the body. Johnson.

4. A fetter for the arm. Ainsworth.

5. (Mech.)

Defn: A cogwheel with a small number of teeth, or leaves, adapted to engage with a larger wheel, or rack (see Rack); esp., such a wheel having its leaves formed of the substance of the arbor or spindle which is its axis. Lantern pinion. See under Lantern. — Pinion wire, wire fluted longitudinally, for making the pinions of clocks and watches. It is formed by being drawn through holes of the shape required for the leaves or teeth of the pinions.

PINION Pin"ion, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pinioned; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinioning.]

1. To bind or confine the wings of; to confine by binding the wings. Bacon.

2. To disable by cutting off the pinion joint. Johnson.

3. To disable or restrain, as a person, by binding the arms, esp. by binding the arms to the body. Shak. Her elbows pinioned close upon her hips. Cowper.

4. Hence, generally, to confine; to bind; to tie up. "Pinioned up by formal rules of state." Norris.

PINIONED Pin"ioned, a.

Defn: Having wings or pinions.

PINIONIST Pin"ion*ist, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any winged creature.

PINITE Pin"ite, n. Etym: [So called from Pini, a mine in Saxony.] (Min.)

Defn: A compact granular cryptocrystalline mineral of a dull grayish or greenish white color. It is a hydrous alkaline silicate, and is derived from the alteration of other minerals, as iolite.

PINITE Pi"nite, n. Etym: [L. pinus the pine tree.]

1. (Paleon.) Any fossil wood which exhibits traces of having belonged to the Pine family.

2. (Chem.)

Defn: A sweet white crystalline substance extracted from the gum of a species of pine (Pinus Lambertina). It is isomeric with, and resembles, quercite.

PINK Pink, n. Etym: [D. pink.] (Naut.)

Defn: A vessel with a very narrow stern; — called also pinky. Sir W. Scott. Pink stern (Naut.), a narrow stern.

PINK Pink, v. i. Etym: [D. pinken, pinkoogen, to blink, twinkle with the eyes.]

Defn: To wink; to blink. [Obs.] L'Estrange.

PINK Pink, a.

Defn: Half-shut; winking. [Obs.] Shak.

PINK Pink, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pinked; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinking.] Etym: [OE. pinken to prick, probably a nasalized form of pick.]

1. To pierce with small holes; to cut the edge of, as cloth or paper, in small scallops or angles.

2. To stab; to pierce as with a sword. Addison.

3. To choose; to cull; to pick out. [Obs.] Herbert.

PINK Pink, n.

Defn: A stab. Grose.

PINK Pink, n. Etym: [Perh. akin to pick; as if the edges of the petals were picked out. Cf. Pink, v. t.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A name given to several plants of the caryophyllaceous genus Dianthus, and to their flowers, which are sometimes very fragrant and often double in cultivated varieties. The species are mostly perennial herbs, with opposite linear leaves, and handsome five- petaled flowers with a tubular calyx.

2. A color resulting from the combination of a pure vivid red with more or less white; — so called from the common color of the flower. Dryden.

3. Anything supremely excellent; the embodiment or perfection of something. "The very pink of courtesy." Shak.

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European minnow; — so called from the color of its abdomen in summer. [Prov. Eng.] Bunch pink is Dianthus barbatus. — China, or Indian, pink. See under China. — Clove pink is Dianthus Caryophyllus, the stock from which carnations are derived. — Garden pink. See Pheasant's eye. — Meadow pink is applied to Dianthus deltoides; also, to the ragged robin. — Maiden pink, Dianthus deltoides. — Moss pink. See under Moss. — Pink needle, the pin grass; — so called from the long, tapering points of the carpels. See Alfilaria. — Sea pink. See Thrift.

PINK Pink, a.

Defn: Resembling the garden pink in color; of the color called pink (see 6th Pink, 2); as, a pink dress; pink ribbons. Pink eye (Med.), a popular name for an epidemic variety of ophthalmia, associated with early and marked redness of the eyeball. — Pink salt (Chem. & Dyeing), the double chlorides of (stannic) tin and ammonium, formerly much used as a mordant for madder and cochineal. — Pink saucer, a small saucer, the inner surface of which is covered with a pink pigment.

PINKED Pinked, a.

Defn: Pierced with small holes; worked in eyelets; scalloped on the edge. Shak.

PINK-EYED Pink"-eyed`, a. Etym: [Pink half-shut + eye.]

Defn: Having small eyes. Holland.

PINKING Pink"ing, n.

1. The act of piercing or stabbing.

2. The act or method of decorating fabrics or garments with a pinking iron; also, the style of decoration; scallops made with a pinking iron. Pinking iron. (a) An instrument for scalloping the edges of ribbons, flounces, etc. (b) A sword. [Colloq.]

PINKISH Pink"ish, a.

Defn: Somewhat pink.

PINKNESS Pink"ness, n.

Defn: Quality or state of being pink.

PINKROOT Pink"root`, n.

1. (Med.)

Defn: The root of Spigelia Marilandica, used as a powerful vermifuge; also, that of S. Anthelmia. See definition 2 (below).

2. (Bot.) (a) A perennial North American herb (Spigelia Marilandica), sometimes cultivated for its showy red blossoms. Called also Carolina pink, Maryland pinkroot, and worm grass. (b) An annual South American and West Indian plant (Spigelia Anthelmia).

PINKSTER Pink"ster, n. Etym: [D. pinkster, pinksteren, fr. Gr. Pentecost.]

Defn: Whitsuntide. [Written also pingster and pinxter.] Pinkster flower (Bot.), the rosy flower of the Azalea nudiflora; also, the shrub itself; — called also Pinxter blomachee by the New York descendants of the Dutch settlers.

PINK STERN Pink" stern`. Etym: [See 1st Pink.] (Naut.)

Defn: See Chebacco, and 1st Pink.

PINK-STERNED Pink"-sterned`, a. Etym: [See 1st Pink.] (Naut.)

Defn: Having a very narrow stern; — said of a vessel.

PINKY Pink"y, n. (Naut.)

Defn: See 1st Pink.

PINNA Pin"na, n.; pl. Pinnæ, E. Pinnas. Etym: [L., a feather.]

1. (Bot.) (a) A leaflet of a pinnate leaf. See Illust. of Bipinnate leaf, under Bipinnate. (b) One of the primary divisions of a decompound leaf.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the divisions of a pinnate part or organ.

3. Etym: [L. pinna, akin to Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any species of Pinna, a genus of large bivalve mollusks found in all warm seas. The byssus consists of a large number of long, silky fibers, which have been used in manufacturing woven fabrics, as a curiosity.

4. (Anat.)

Defn: The auricle of the ear. See Ear.

PINNACE Pin"nace, n. Etym: [F. pinasse; cf. It. pinassa, pinazza, Sp. pinaza; all from L. pinus a pine tree, anything made of pine, e.g., a ship. Cf. Pine a tree.]

1. (Naut.) (a) A small vessel propelled by sails or oars, formerly employed as a tender, or for coast defence; — called originally, spynace or spyne. (b) A man-of-war's boat. Whilst our pinnace anchors in the Downs. Shak.

2. A procuress; a pimp. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

PINNACLE Pin"na*cle, n. Etym: [OE. pinacle, F. pinacle, L. pinnaculum, fr. pinna pinnacle, feather. See Pin a peg.]

1. (Arch.)

Defn: An architectural member, upright, and generally ending in a small spire, — used to finish a buttress, to constitute a part in a proportion, as where pinnacles flank a gable or spire, and the like. Pinnacles may be considered primarily as added weight, where it is necessary to resist the thrust of an arch, etc. Some renowned metropolis With glistering spires and pinnacles around. Milton.

2. Anything resembling a pinnacle; a lofty peak; a pointed summit. Three silent pinnacles of aged snow. Tennyson. The slippery tops of human state, The gilded pinnacles of fate. Cowley.

PINNACLE Pin"na*cle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pinnacled; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinnacling.]

Defn: To build or furnish with a pinnacle or pinnacles. T. Warton.

PINNAGE Pin"nage, n. Etym: [Cf. Pinfold.]

Defn: Poundage of cattle. See Pound. [Obs.]

PINNATE; PINNATED Pin"nate, Pin"na*ted, a. Etym: [L. pinnatus feathered, fr. pinna a feather. See Pin a peg, Pen feather.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: Consisting of several leaflets, or separate portions, arranged on each side of a common petiole, as the leaves of a rosebush, a hickory, or an ash. See Abruptly pinnate, and Illust., under Abruptly.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a winglike tuft of long feathers on each side of the neck. Pinnated grouse (Zoöl.), the prairie chicken.

PINNATELY Pin"nate*ly, adv.

Defn: In a pinnate manner.

PINNATIFID Pin*nat"i*fid, a. Etym: [L. pinnatus feathered + root of findere to split: cf. F. pinnatifide.] (Bot.)

Defn: Divided in a pinnate manner, with the divisions not reaching to the midrib.

PINNATILOBATE Pin*nat`i*lo"bate, a. Etym: [See Pinnate, and Lobate.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having lobes arranged in a pinnate manner.

PINNATIPED Pin*nat"i*ped, a. Etym: [L. pinnatus feathered + pes, pedis foot: cf. F. pinnatipède.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the toes bordered by membranes; fin-footed, as certain birds.

PINNATIPED Pin*nat"i*ped, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any bird which has the toes bordered by membranes.

PINNER Pin"ner, n.

1. One who, or that which, pins or fastens, as with pins.

2. (Costume) (a) A headdress like a cap, with long lappets. (b) An apron with a bib; a pinafore. (c) A cloth band for a gown. [Obs.] With kerchief starched, and pinners clean. Gay.

3. A pin maker.

PINNER Pin"ner, n. Etym: [See Pin to pound.]

Defn: One who pins or impounds cattle. See Pin, v. t. [Obs.]

PINNET Pin"net, n.

Defn: A pinnacle. [R.] Sir W. Scott.