P P (pe), (continued 13)

PLIGHT Plight, n.

Defn: A network; a plait; a fold; rarely a garment. [Obs.] "Many a folded plight." Spenser.

PLIGHT Plight, n. Etym: [OE. pliht danger, engagement, AS. pliht danger, fr. pleón to risk; akin to D. plicht duty, G. pflicht, Dan. pligt. sq. root28. Cf. Play.]

1. That which is exposed to risk; that which is plighted or pledged; security; a gage; a pledge. "That lord whose hand must take my plight." Shak.

2. Etym: [Perh. the same word as plight a pledge, but at least influenced by OF. plite, pliste, ploit, ploi, a condition, state; cf. E. plight to fold, and F. pli a fold, habit, plier to fold, E. ply.]

Defn: Condition; state; — risk, or exposure to danger, often being implied; as, a luckless plight. "Your plight is pitied." Shak. To bring our craft all in another plight Chaucer.

PLIGHT Plight, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Plighting.] Etym: [AS. plihtan to expose to danger, pliht danger;cf. D. verplichten to oblige, engage, impose a duty, G. verpflichten, Sw. förplikta, Dan. forpligte. See Plight, n.]

1. To pledge; to give as a pledge for the performance of some act; as, to plight faith, honor, word; — never applied to property or goods. " To do them plighte their troth." Piers Plowman. He plighted his right hand Unto another love, and to another land. Spenser. Here my inviolable faith I plight. Dryden.

2. To promise; to engage; to betroth. Before its setting hour, divide The bridegroom from the plighted bride. Sir W. Scott.

PLIGHTER Plight"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, plights.

PLIM Plim, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Plump.]

Defn: To swell, as grain or wood with water. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.

PLIMSOLL'S MARK Plim"soll's mark`. (Naut.)

Defn: A mark conspicuously painted on the port side of all British sea-going merchant vessels, to indicate the limit of submergence allowed by law; — so called from Samuel Plimsoll, by whose efforts the act of Parliament to prevent overloading was procured.

PLINTH Plinth, n. Etym: [L. plinthus, Gr. flint: cf. F. plinthe.]

Defn: (Arch.) In classical architecture, a vertically faced member immediately below the circular base of a column; also, the lowest member of a pedestal; hence, in general, the lowest member of a base; a sub-base; a block upon which the moldings of an architrave or trim are stopped at the bottom. See Illust. of Column.

PLIOCENE Pli"o*cene, a. [Written also pleiocene.] Etym: [Gr. (Geol.)

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or characterizing, the most recent division of the Tertiary age.

PLIOCENE Pli"o*cene, n. (Geol.)

Defn: The Pliocene period or deposits.

PLIOHIPPUS Pli`o*hip"pus, n. Etym: [NL., fr. E. pliocene + Gr. (Paleon.)

Defn: An extinct genus of horses from the Pliocene deposits. Each foot had a single toe (or hoof), as in the common horse.

PLIOSAURUS Pli`o*sau"rus, n. Etym: [NL., from Gr. (Paleon.)

Defn: An extinct genus of marine reptiles allied to Plesiosaurus, but having a much shorter neck.

PLITT Plitt, n. Etym: [Russ. plete.]

Defn: An instrument of punishment or torture resembling the knout, used in Russia.

PLOC Ploc, n. Etym: [F.] (Naut.)

Defn: A mixture of hair and tar for covering the bottom of a ship.

PLOCE Plo"ce, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Rhet.)

Defn: A figure in which a word is separated or repeated by way of emphasis, so as not only to signify the individual thing denoted by it, but also its peculiar attribute or quality; as, "His wife's a wife indeed." Bailey.

PLOD Plod, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Plodded; p. pr. & vb. n. Plodding.] Etym: [Gf. Gael. plod a clod, a pool; also, to strike or pelt with a clod or clods.]

1. To travel slowly but steadily; to trudge. Shak.

2. To toil; to drudge; especially, to study laboriously and patiently. "Plodding schoolmen." Drayton.

PLOD Plod, v. t.

Defn: To walk on slowly or heavily. The ploughman homeward plods his weary way. Gray.

PLODDER Plod"der, n.

Defn: One who plods; a drudge.

PLODDING Plod"ding, a.

Defn: Progressing in a slow, toilsome manner; characterized by laborious diligence; as, a plodding peddler; a plodding student; a man of plodding habits. —Plod"ding*ly, adv.

PLONGE Plonge, v. t. Etym: [See Plunge.]

Defn: To cleanse, as open drains which are entered by the tide, by stirring up the sediment when the tide ebbs.

PLONGEE Plon`gée", n. Etym: [F. See Plunge.] (Mil.)

Defn: A slope or sloping toward the front; as, the plongée of a parapet; the plongée of a shell in its course. [Sometimes written plonge.]

PLOP Plop, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Plopped; p. pr. & vb. n. Plopping.] [Imitative.]

Defn: To fall, drop, or move in any way, with a sudden splash or slap, as on the surface of water.

The body plopped up, turning on its side. Kipling.

PLOP Plop, n.

Defn: Act of plopping; the sound made in plopping.

PLOT Plot, n. Etym: [AS. plot; cf. Goth. plats a patch. Cf. Plat a piece of ground.]

1. A small extent of ground; a plat; as, a garden plot. Shak.

2. A plantation laid out. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney.

3. (Surv.)

Defn: A plan or draught of a field, farm, estate, etc., drawn to a scale.

PLOT Plot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plotted; p. pr. & vb. n. Plotting.]

Defn: To make a plot, map, pr plan, of; to mark the position of on a plan; to delineate. This treatise plotteth down Cornwall as it now standeth. Carew.

PLOT Plot, n. Etym: [Abbrev. from complot.]

1. Any scheme, stratagem, secret design, or plan, of a complicated nature, adapted to the accomplishment of some purpose, usually a treacherous and mischievous one; a conspiracy; an intrigue; as, the Rye-house Plot. I have overheard a plot of death. Shak. O, think what anxious moments pass between The birth of plots and their last fatal periods! Addison.

2. A share in such a plot or scheme; a participation in any stratagem or conspiracy. [Obs.] And when Christ saith. Who marries the divorced commits adultery, it is to be understood, if he had any plot in the divorce. Milton.

3. Contrivance; deep reach thought; ability to plot or intrigue. [Obs.] "A man of much plot." Denham.

4. A plan; a purpose. "No other plot in their religion but serve Got and save their souls." Jer. Taylor.

5. In fiction, the story of a play, novel, romance, or poem, comprising a complication of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means. If the plot or intrigue must be natural, and such as springs from the subject, then the winding up of the plot must be a probable consequence of all that went before. Pope.

Syn. — Intrigue; stratagem; conspiracy; cabal; combination; contrivance.

PLOT Plot, v. i.

1. To form a scheme of mischief against another, especially against a government or those who administer it; to conspire. Shak. The wicked plotteth against the just. Ps. xxxvii. 12.

2. To contrive a plan or stratagem; to scheme. The prince did plot to be secretly gone. Sir H. Wotton.

PLOT Plot, v. t.

Defn: To plan; to scheme; to devise; to contrive secretly. "Plotting an unprofitable crime." Dryden. "Plotting now the fall of others." Milton

PLOTFUL Plot"ful, a.

Defn: Abounding with plots.

PLOTINIAN Plo*tin"i*an, a.

Defn: Of pertaining to the Plotinists or their doctrines.

PLOTINIST Plo*ti"nist, n. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: A disciple of Plotinus, a celebrated Platonic philosopher of the third century, who taught that the human soul emanates from the divine Being, to whom it reunited at death.

PLOT-PROOF Plot"-proof`, a.

Defn: Secure against harm by plots. Shak.

PLOTTER Plot"ter, n.

Defn: One who plots or schemes; a contriver; a conspirator; a schemer. Dryden.

PLOUGH Plough, n. & v.

Defn: See Plow.

PLOUTER Plout"er, v. i. [Also plowter, plotter.] [Perh. imitative.]

Defn: To wade or move about with splashing; to dabble; also, to potter; trifle; idle. [Scot. & Dial. Eng.]

I did not want to plowter about any more. Kipling.

PLOUTER Plout"er, n. [Also plowter.]

Defn: Act of ploutering; floundering; act or sound of splashing. [Scot. & Dial.Eng.]

PLOVER Plov"er, n. Etym: [OF. plovier, F. pluvier, prop., the rain bird, fr. LL. (assumed) pluviarius, fr. L. pluvia rain, from pluere to rain; akin to E. float, G. fliessen to flow. See Float.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of limicoline birds belonging to the family Charadridæ, and especially those belonging to the subfamily Charadrinsæ. They are prized as game birds.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any grallatorial bird allied to, or resembling, the true plovers, as the crab plover (Dromas ardeola); the American upland, plover (Bartramia longicauda); and other species of sandpipers.

Note: Among the more important species are the blackbellied, or blackbreasted, plover (Charadrius squatarola) of America and Europe; — called also gray plover, bull-head plover, Swiss plover, sea plover, and oxeye; the golden plover (see under Golden); the ring or ringed plover (Ægialitis hiaticula). See Ringneck. The piping plover (Ægialitis meloda); Wilson's plover (Æ. Wilsonia); the mountain plover (Æ. montana); and the semipalmated plover (Æ. semipalmata), are all small American species. Bastard plover (Zoöl.), the lapwing. — Long-legged, or yellow-legged, plover. See Tattler. — Plover's page, the dunlin. [Prov. Eng.] — Rock plover, or Stone plover, the black-bellied plover. [Prov. Eng.] — Whistling plover. (a) The golden plover. (b) The black-bellied plover.

PLOW; PLOUGH Plow, Plough (plou), n. Etym: [OE. plouh, plou, AS. ploh; akin to D. ploeg, G. pflug, OHG. pfluog, pfluoh, Icel. plogr, Sw. plog, Dan. ploug, plov, Russ. plug', Lith. plugas.]

1. A well-known implement, drawn by horses, mules, oxen, or other power, for turning up the soil to prepare it for bearing crops; also used to furrow or break up the soil for other purposes; as, the subsoil plow; the draining plow. Where fern succeeds ungrateful to the plow. Dryden.

2. Fig.: Agriculture; husbandry. Johnson.

3. A carucate of land; a plowland. [Obs.] [Eng.] Johan, mine eldest son, shall have plowes five. Tale of Gamelyn.

4. A joiner's plane for making grooves; a grooving plane.

5. (Bookbinding)

Defn: An implement for trimming or shaving off the edges of books.

6. (Astron.)

Defn: Same as Charles's Wain. Ice plow, a plow used for cutting ice on rivers, ponds, etc., into cakes suitable for storing. [U. S.] — Mackerel plow. See under Mackerel. — Plow alms, a penny formerly paid by every plowland to the church. Cowell. — Plow beam, that part of the frame of a plow to which the draught is applied. See Beam, n., 9. — Plow Monday, the Monday after Twelth Day, or the end of Christmas holidays. — Plow staff. (a) A kind of long-handled spade or paddle for cleaning the plowshare; a paddle staff. (b) A plow handle. — Snow plow, a structure, usually

PLOW; PLOUGH Plow, Plough, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plowed (ploud) or Ploughed; p. pr. & vb. n. Plowing or Ploughing.]

1. To turn up, break up, or trench, with a plow; to till with, or as with, a plow; as, to plow the ground; to plow a field.

2. To furrow; to make furrows, grooves, or ridges in; to run through, as in sailing. Let patient Octavia plow thy visage up With her prepared nails. Shak. With speed we plow the watery way. Pope.

3. (Bookbinding)

Defn: To trim, or shave off the edges of, as a book or paper, with a plow. See Plow, n., 5.

4. (Joinery)

Defn: To cut a groove in, as in a plank, or the edge of a board; especially, a rectangular groove to receive the end of a shelf or tread, the edge of a panel, a tongue, etc. To plow in, to cover by plowing; as, to plow in wheat. — To plow up, to turn out of the ground by plowing.plow ahead, to continue in spite of obstacles or resistence by others.

Note: Often used in a bad sense, meaning to continue obstinately in spite of the contrary advice of others. plow through, to execute a difficult or laborious task steadily, esp. one containing many parts; as, he plowed through the stack of correspondence until all had been answered.

PLOW; PLOUGH Plow, Plough (plou), v. i.

Defn: To labor with, or as with, a plow; to till or turn up the soil with a plow; to till or turn up the soil with a plow; to prepare the soil or bed for anything. Shak. Doth the plowman plow all day to sow Isa. xxviii. 24.

PLOWABLE; PLOUGHABLE Plow"a*ble, Plough"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being plowed; arable.

PLOWBOTE; PLOUGHBOTE Plow"bote`, Plough"bote`, n. (Eng. Law)

Defn: Wood or timber allowed to a tenant for the repair of instruments of husbandry. See Bote.

PLOWBOY; PLOUGHBOY Plow"boy`, Plough"boy`, n.

Defn: A boy that drives or guides a team in plowing; a young rustic.

PLOWER; PLOUGHER Plow"er, Plough"er, n.

Defn: One who plows; a plowman; a cultivator.

PLOWFOOT; PLOUGHFOOT Plow"foot`, Plough"foot`, n.

Defn: An adjustable staff formerly attached to the plow beam to determine the depth of the furrow. Piers Plowman.

PLOWGANG; PLOUGHGANG Plow"gang`, Plough"gang`, n.

Defn: Same as Plowgate.

PLOWGATE; PLOUGHGATE Plow"gate`, Plough"gate`, n.

Defn: The Scotch equivalent of the English word plowland. Not having one plowgate of land. Sir W. Scott.

PLOWHEAD; PLOUGHHEAD Plow"head`, Plough"head`, n.

Defn: The clevis or draught iron of a plow.

PLOWLAND; PLOUGLAND Plow"land`, Ploug"land`, n.

1. Land that is plowed, or suitable for tillage.

2. (O. Eng. Law)

Defn: the quantity of land allotted for the work of one plow; a hide.

PLOWMAN; PLOUGHMAN Plow"man, Plough"man, n.; pl. -men (.

1. One who plows, or who holds and guides a plow; hence, a husbandman. Chaucer. Macaulay.

2. A rustic; a countryman; a field laborer. Plowman's spikenard (Bot.), a European composite weed (Conyza squarrosa), having fragrant roots. Dr. Prior.

PLOWPOINT; PLOUGHPOINT Plow"point`, Plough"point`, n.

Defn: A detachable share at the extreme front end of the plow body.

PLOWSHARE; PLOUGHSHARE Plow"share`, Plough"share", n.

Defn: The share of a plow, or that part which cuts the slice of earth or sod at the bottom of the furrow. Plowshare bone (Anat.), the pygostyle.

PLOWTAIL; PLOUGHTAIL Plow"tail`, Plough"tail`, n.

Defn: The hind part or handle of a plow.

PLOWWRIGHT; PLOUGHWRIGHT Plow"wright`, Plough"wright`, n.

Defn: One who makes or repairs plows.

PLOY Ploy, n.

Defn: Sport; frolic. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

PLOY Ploy, v. i. Etym: [Prob. abbrev. fr. deploy.] (Mil.)

Defn: To form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision; — the opposite of deploy. Wilhelm.

PLOYMENT Ploy"ment, n. (Mil.)

Defn: The act or movement of forming a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision; — the opposite of deployment.

PLUCK Pluck, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plucked; p. pr. & vb. n. Plucking.] Etym: [AS. pluccian; akin to LG. & D. plukken, G. pflücken, Icel. plokka, plukka, Dan. plukke, Sw. plocka.

1. To pull; to draw. Its own nature . . . plucks on its own dissolution. Je

2. Especially, to pull with sudden force or effort, or to pull off or out from something, with a twitch; to twitch; also, to gather, to pick; as, to pluck feathers from a fowl; to pluck hair or wool from a skin; to pluck grapes. I come to pluck your berries harsh and crude. Milton. E'en children followed, with endearing wile, And plucked his gown to share the good man's smile. Goldsmith.

3. To strip of, or as of, feathers; as, to pluck a fowl. They which pass by the way do pluck her. Ps. lxxx.

4. (Eng. Universities)

Defn: To reject at an examination for degrees. C. Bronté. To pluck away, to pull away, or to separate by pulling; to tear away. — To pluck down, to pull down; to demolish; to reduce to a lower state. — to pluck off, to pull or tear off; as, to pluck off the skin. — to pluck up. (a) To tear up by the roots or from the foundation; to eradicate; to exterminate; to destroy; as, to pluck up a plant; to pluk up a nation. Jer. xii. 17. (b) To gather up; to summon; as, to pluck up courage.

PLUCK Pluck, v. i.

Defn: To make a motion of pulling or twitching; — usually with at; as, to pluck at one's gown.

PLUCK Pluck, n.

1. The act of plucking; a pull; a twitch.

2. Etym: [Prob. so called as being plucked out after the animal is killed; or cf. Gael. & Ir. pluc a lump, a knot, a bunch.]

Defn: The heart, liver, and lights of an animal.

3. Spirit; courage; indomitable resolution; fortitude. Decay of English spirit, decay of manly pluck. Thackeray.

4. The act of plucking, or the state of being plucked, at college. See Pluck, v. t., 4.

5. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The lyrie. [Prov. Eng.]

PLUCKED Plucked, a.

Defn: Having courage and spirit. [R.]

PLUCKER Pluck"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, plucks. Thou setter up and plucker down of kings. Shak.

2. A machine for straightening and cleaning wool.

PLUCKER TUBE Plück"er tube. [So named after Julius Plücker, a German physicist.] (Physics) (a) A vacuum tube, used in spectrum analysis, in which the part through which the discharge takes place is a capillary tube, thus producing intense incandescence of the contained gases. (b) Crookes tube.

PLUCKILY Pluck"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a plucky manner.

PLUCKINESS Pluck"i*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being plucky.

PLUCKLESS Pluck"less, a.

Defn: Without pluck; timid; faint-hearted.

PLUCKY Pluck"y, a. [Compar. Pluckier; superl. Pluckiest.]

Defn: Having pluck or courage; characterized by pluck; displaying pluck; courageous; spirited; as, a plucky race. If you're plucky, and not over subject to fright. Barham.

PLUFF Pluff, v. t. Etym: [Prob. of imitative origin.]

Defn: To throw out, as smoke, dust, etc., in puffs. [Scot.]

PLUFF Pluff, n.

1. A puff, as of smoke from a pipe, or of dust from a puffball; a slight explosion, as of a small quantity of gunpowder. [Scot.]

2. A hairdresser's powder puff; also, the act of using it. [Scot.]

PLUG Plug, n. Etym: [Akin to D. plug, G. pflock, Dan. plök, plug, Sw. plugg; cf. W. ploc.]

1. Any piece of wood, metal, or other substance used to stop or fill a hole; a stopple.

2. A flat oblong cake of pressed tobacco. [U. S.]

3. A high, tapering silk hat. [Slang, U.S.]

4. A worthless horse. [Slang, U.S.]

5. (Building)

Defn: A block of wood let into a wall, to afford a hold for nails. Fire plug, a street hydrant to which hose may be attached. [U. S.] — Hawse plug (Naut.), a plug to stop a hawse hole. — Plug and feather. (Stone Working) See Feather, n., 7. — Plug centerbit, a centerbit ending in a small cylinder instead of a point, so as to follow and enlarge a hole previously made, or to form a counterbore around it. — Plug rod (Steam Eng.) , a rod attached to the beam for working the valves, as in the Cornish engine. — Plug valve (Mech.), a tapering valve, which turns in a case like the plug of a faucet.

PLUG Plug, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plugged; p. pr. & vb. n. Plugging.]

Defn: To stop with a plug; to make tight by stopping a hole.

PLUG BOARD Plug board. (Elec.)

Defn: A switchboard in which connections are made by means of plugs.

PLUGGER Plug"ger, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, plugs.

PLUGGING Plug"ging, n.

1. The act of stopping with a plug.

2. The material of which a plug or stopple is made.

PLUM Plum, n. Etym: [AS.plume, fr. L. prunum; akin to Gr. Prune a dried plum.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The edible drupaceous fruit of the Prunus domestica, and of several other species of Prunus; also, the tree itself, usually called plum tree. The bullace, the damson, and the numerous varieties of plum, of our gardens, although growing into thornless trees, are believed to be varieties of the blackthorn, produced by long cultivation. G. Bentham. are in bold format, like collocations.

Note: Two or three hundred varieties of plums derived from the Prunus domestica are described; among them the greengage, the Orleans, the purple gage, or Reine Claude Violette, and the German prune, are some of the best known.

Note: Among the true plums are; Beach plum, the Prunus maritima, and its crimson or purple globular drupes, — Bullace plum. See Bullace. — Chickasaw plum, the American Prunus Chicasa, and its round red drupes. — Orleans plum, a dark reddish purple plum of medium size, much grown in England for sale in the markets. — Wild plum of America, Prunus Americana, with red or yellow fruit, the original of the Iowa plum and several other varieties. Among plants called plum, but of other genera than Prunus, are; Australian plum, Cargillia arborea and C. australis, of the same family with the persimmon. — Blood plum, the West African Hæmatostaphes Barteri. — Cocoa plum, the Spanish nectarine. See under Nectarine. — Date plum. See under Date. — Gingerbread plum, the West African Parinarium macrophyllum. — Gopher plum, the Ogeechee lime. — Gray plum, Guinea plum. See under Guinea. — Indian plum, several species of Flacourtia.

2. A grape dried in the sun; a raisin.

3. A handsome fortune or property; formerly, in cant language, the sum of £100,000 sterling; also, the person possessing it. Plum bird, Plum budder (Zoöl.), the European bullfinch. — Plum gouger (Zoöl.), a weevil, or curculio (Coccotorus scutellaris), which destroys plums. It makes round holes in the pulp, for the reception of its eggs. The larva bores into the stone and eats the kernel. — Plum weevil (Zoöl.), an American weevil which is very destructive to plums, nectarines cherries, and many other stone fruits. It lays its eggs in crescent-shaped incisions made with its jaws. The larva lives upon the pulp around the stone. Called also turk, and plum curculio. See Illust. under Curculio.

PLUMA Plu"ma, n.; pl. Plumæ. Etym: [L.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A feather.

PLUMAGE Plum"age, n. Etym: [F., from plume a feather.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The entire clothing of a bird.

Note: It consist of the contour feathers, or the ordinary feathers covering the head, neck, and body; the tail feathers, with their upper and lower coverts; the wing feathers, including primaries, secondaries, and tertiaries, with their coverts; and the down which lies beneath the contour feathers. See Illust. under Bird.

PLUMASSARY Plu*mas"sa*ry, n. Etym: [Cf. F. plumasseau.]

Defn: A plume or collection of ornamental feathers.

PLUMASSIER Plu`mas`sier", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: One who prepares or deals in ornamental plumes or feathers.

PLUMB Plumb, n. Etym: [F. plomb, L. plumbum lead, a leaden ball or bullet; cf. Gr. Plummet, Plunge.]

Defn: A little mass or weight of lead, or the like, attached to a line, and used by builders, etc., to indicate a vertical direction; a plummet; a plumb bob. See Plumb line, below. Plumb bob. See Bob, 4. — Plumb joint, in sheet-metal work, a lap joint, fastened by solder. — Plumb level. See under Level. — Plumb line. (a) The cord by which a plumb bob is suspended; a plummet. (b) A line directed to the center of gravity of the earth. — Plumb rule, a narrow board with a plumb line, used by builders and carpenters.

PLUMB Plumb, a.

Defn: Perpendicular; vertical; conforming the direction of a line attached to a plumb; as, the wall is plumb.

PLUMB Plumb, adv.

Defn: In a plumb direction; perpendicularly. "Plumb down he falls." Milton.

PLUMB Plumb, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plumbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Plumbing.]

1. To adjust by a plumb line; to cause to be perpendicular; as, to plumb a building or a wall.

2. To sound with a plumb or plummet, as the depth of water; hence, to examine by test; to ascertain the depth, quality, dimension, etc.; to sound; to fathom; to test. He did not attempt to plumb his intellect. Ld. Lytton.

3. To seal with lead; as, to plumb a drainpipe.

4. To supply, as a building, with a system of plumbing.

PLUMBAGE Plumb"age, n.

Defn: Leadwork [R.]

PLUMBAGIN Plum*ba"gin, n. Etym: [L. plumbago leadwort, fr. plumbum lead; cf. F. plombagin.] (Chem.)

Defn: A crystalline substance said to be found in the root of a certain plant of the Leadwort (Plumbago) family.

PLUMBAGINEOUS Plum`ba*gin"e*ous, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Pertaining to natural order (Plumbagineæ) of gamopetalous herbs, of which plumbago is the type. The order includes also the marsh rosemary, the thrift, and a few other genera.

PLUMBAGINOUS Plum*bag"i*nous, a.

Defn: Resembling plumbago; consisting of, or containing, plumbago; as, a plumbaginous slate.

PLUMBAGO Plum*ba"go, n. Etym: [L., from plumbum lead.]

1. (Min.)

Defn: Same as Graphite.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of herbaceous plants with pretty salver-shaped corollas, usually blue or violet; leadwort.

PLUMBEAN; PLUMBEOUS Plum"be*an, Plum"be*ous, a. Etym: [L. plumbeus, from plumbum the metal lead.]

1. Consisting of, or resembling, lead. J. Ellis.

2. Dull; heavy; stupid. [R.] J. P. Smith.

PLUMBER Plumb"er, n. Etym: [F. plombier. See Plumb.]

Defn: One who works in lead; esp., one who furnishes, fits, and repairs lead, iron, or glass pipes, and other apparatus for the conveyance of water, gas, or drainage in buildings.

PLUMBER BLOCK Plumb"er block`.

Defn: A pillow block.

PLUMBERY Plumb"er*y, n. Etym: [F. plomberie.]

1. The business of a plumber. [Obs.]

2. A place where plumbing is carried on; lead works.

PLUMBIC Plum"bic, a. Etym: [From Plumbum.] (Chem.)

Defn: Of, pertaining to, resembling, or containing, lead; — used specifically to designate those compounds in which it has a higher valence as contrasted with plumbous compounds; as, plumbic oxide.

PLUMBIFEROUS Plum*bif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Plumbum + -ferous.]

Defn: Producing or containing lead. Kirwan.

PLUMBING Plumb"ing, n.

1. The art of casting and working in lead, and applying it to building purposes; especially, the business of furnishing, fitting, and repairing pipes for conducting water, sewage, etc. Gwilt.

2. The lead or iron pipes, and other apparatus, used in conveying water, sewage, etc., in a building.

PLUMBISM Plum"bism, n. Etym: [From Plumbum.] (Med.)

Defn: A diseased condition, produced by the absorption of lead, common among workers in this metal or in its compounds, as among painters, typesetters, etc. It is characterized by various symptoms, as lead colic, lead line, and wrist drop. See under Colic, Lead, and Wrist.

PLUMBOUS Plum"bous, a. Etym: [From Plumbum.] (Chem.)

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or containing, lead; — used specifically to designate those compounds in which it has a lower valence as contrasted with plumbic compounds.

PLUMBUM Plum"bum, n. Etym: [L.] (Chem.)

Defn: The technical name of lead. See Lead.

PLUMCOT Plum"cot, n. [Plum + apricot.] (Hort.)

Defn: A cross between the plum and apricot.

PLUME Plume, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. pluma. Cf. Fly, v.]

1. A feather; esp., a soft, downy feather, or a long, conspicuous, or handsome feather. Wings . . . of many a colored plume. Milton.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An ornamental tuft of feathers.

3. A feather, or group of feathers, worn as an ornament; a waving ornament of hair, or other material resembling feathers. His high plume, that nodded o'er his head. Dryden.

4. A token of honor or prowess; that on which one prides himself; a prize or reward. "Ambitious to win from me some plume." Milton.

5. (Bot.)

Defn: A large and flexible panicle of inflorescence resembling a feather, such as is seen in certain large ornamental grasses. Plume bird (Zoöl.), any bird that yields ornamental plumes, especially the species of Epimarchus from New Guinea, and some of the herons and egrets, as the white heron of Florida (Ardea candidissima). — Plume grass. (Bot) (a) A kind of grass (Erianthus saccharoides) with the spikelets arranged in great silky plumes, growing in swamps in the Southern United States. (b) The still finer E. Ravennæ from the Mediterranean region. The name is sometimes extended to the whole genus. — Plume moth (Zoöl.), any one of numerous small, slender moths, belonging to the family Pterophoridæ. Most of them have the wings deeply divided into two or more plumelike lobes. Some species are injurious to the grapevine. — Plume nutmeg (Bot.), an aromatic Australian tree (Atherosperma moschata), whose numerous carpels are tipped with long plumose persistent styles.

PLUME Plume, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plumed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pluming.] Etym: [Cf. F. plumer to pluck, to strip, L. plumare to cover with feathers.]

1. To pick and adjust the plumes or feathers of; to dress or prink. Pluming her wings among the breezy bowers. W. Irving.

2. To strip of feathers; to pluck; to strip; to pillage; also, to peel. [Obs.] Bacon. Dryden.

3. To adorn with feathers or plumes. "Farewell the plumed troop." Shak.

4. To pride; to vaunt; to boast; — used reflexively; as, he plumes himself on his skill. South. Plumed adder (Zoöl.), an African viper (Vipera, or Clotho, cornuta), having a plumelike structure over each eye. It is venomous, and is related to the African puff adder. Called also horned viper and hornsman. — Plumed partridge (Zoöl.), the California mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus). See Mountain quail, under Mountain.

PLUMELESS Plume"less, a.

Defn: Without plumes.

PLUMELET Plume"let, n. Etym: [Plume + -let.]

Defn: A small plume. When rosy plumelets tuft the larch. Tennyson.

PLUMERY Plum"er*y, n.

Defn: Plumes, collectively or in general; plumage. [R.] Southey.

PLUMICORN Plu"mi*corn, n. Etym: [L. pluma feather + cornu horn.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An ear tuft of feathers, as in the horned owls.

PLUMIGEROUS Plu*mig"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. plumiger; pluma a feather + gerere to bear.]

Defn: Feathered; having feathers. Bailey

PLUMILIFORM Plu*mil"i*form, a. Etym: [L. plumula, or plumella a little feather (dim. of pluma feather) + -form.]

Defn: Having the of a plume or feather. [R.]

PLUMIPED Plu"mi*ped, a. Etym: [L. plumipes, -edis; pluma a feather + pes: cf. F. plumipède.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having feet covered with feathers. — n.

Defn: A plumiped bird.

PLUMMET Plum"met, n. Etym: [OE. plommet, OF. plommet, fr. plom, plum, lead, F. plomb. See Plumb.]

1. A piece of lead attached to a line, used in sounding the depth of water. I'll sink him deeper than e'er plummet sounded. Shak.

2. A plumb bob or a plumb line. See under Plumb, n.

3. Hence, any weight.

4. A piece of lead formerly used by school children to rule paper for writing. Plummet line, a line with a plummet; a sounding line.

PLUMMING Plum"ming, n. Etym: [See Plumb.] (Min.)

Defn: The operation of finding, by means of a mine dial, the place where to sink an air shaft, or to bring an adit to the work, or to find which way the lode inclines.

PLUMMY Plum"my, a. Etym: [From Plum.]

Defn: Of the nature of a plum; desirable; profitable; advantageous. [Colloq.] "For the sake of getting something plummy." G. Eliot.

PLUMOSE; PLUMOUS Plu*mose", Plu"mous, a. Etym: [L. plumosus, fr. pluma feather: cf. F. plumeux.]

1. Having feathers or plumes.

2. Having hairs, or other párts, arranged along an axis like a feather; feathery; plumelike; as, a plumose leaf; plumose tentacles.

PLUMOSITE Plu"mo*site, n. (Min.)

Defn: Same as Jamesonite.

PLUMOSITY Plu*mos"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being plumose.

PLUMP Plump, a. [Compar. Plumper; superl. Plumpest.] Etym: [OE. plomp rude, clumsy; akin to D. plomp, G., Dan., & Sw. plump; probably of imitative origin. Cf. Plump, adv.]

Defn: Well rounded or filled out; full; fleshy; fat; as, a plump baby; plump cheeks. Shak. The god of wine did his plump clusters bring. T. Carew.

PLUMP Plump, n.

Defn: A knot; a cluster; a group; a crowd; a flock; as, a plump of trees, fowls, or spears. [Obs.] To visit islands and the plumps of men. Chapman.

PLUMP Plump, v. i. Etym: [Cf. D. plompen, G. plumpen, Sw. plumpa, Dan. plumpe. See Plump, a.]

1. To grow plump; to swell out; as, her cheeks have plumped.

2. To drop or fall suddenly or heavily, all at once."Dulcissa plumps into a chair." Spectator.

3. To give a plumper. See Plumper, 2.

PLUMP Plump, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plumped; p. pr. & vb. n. Plumping.]

1. To make plump; to fill (out) or support; — often with up.plump up the pillows To plump up the hollowness of their history with improbable miracles. Fuller.

2. To cast or let drop all at once, suddenly and heavily; as, to plump a stone into water.

3. To give (a vote), as a plumper. See Plumper, 2.

PLUMP Plump, adv. Etym: [Cf. D. plomp, interj., G. plump, plumps. Cf. Plump, a. &v.]

Defn: Directly; suddenly; perpendicularly. "Fall plump." Beau. & Fl.

PLUMPER Plump"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, plumps or swells out something else; hence, something carried in the mouth to distend the cheeks.

2. (English Elections)

Defn: A vote given to one candidate only, when two or more are to be elected, thus giving him the advantage over the others. A person who gives his vote thus is said to plump, or to plump his vote.

3. A voter who plumps his vote. [Eng.]

4. A downright, unqualified lie. [Colloq. or Low]

PLUMPLY Plump"ly, adv.

Defn: Fully; roundly; plainly; without reserve. [Colloq.]

PLUMPNESS Plump"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being plump.

PLUMPY Plump"y, a.

Defn: Plump; fat; sleek. "Plumpy Bacchus." Shak.

PLUMULA Plu"mu*la, n.; pl. L. Plumule, E.-las. Etym: [L. See Plumule.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A plumule.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A down feather.

PLUMULACEOUS Plu`mu*la"ceous, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Downy; bearing down.

PLUMULAR Plu"mu*lar, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Relating to a plumule.

PLUMULARIA Plu`mu*la"ri*a, n.; pl. L. Plumularlæ, E. Plumularias. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any hydroid belonging to Plumularia and other genera of the family Plumularidæ. They generally grow in plumelike forms.

PLUMULARIAN Plu`mu*la"ri*an, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any Plumularia. Also used adjectively.

PLUMULE Plu"mule, n. Etym: [L. plumula, dim. of pluma a feather; cf. F. plumule.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The first bud, or gemmule, of a young plant; the bud, or growing point, of the embryo, above the cotyledons. See Illust. of Radicle. Gray.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) A down feather. (b) The aftershaft of a feather. See Illust. under Feather. (c) One of the featherlike scales of certain male butterflies.

PLUMULOSE Plu"mu*lose", a.

Defn: Having hairs branching out laterally, like the parts of a feather.

PLUMY Plum"y, a.

Defn: Covered or adorned with plumes, or as with plumes; feathery. "His plumy crest." Addison. "The plumy trees." J. S. Blackie.

PLUNDER Plun"der, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plundered; p. pr. & vb. n. Plundering.] Etym: [G. plündern to plunder, plunder frippery, baggage.]

1. To take the goods of by force, or without right; to pillage; to spoil; to sack; to strip; to rob; as, to plunder travelers. Nebuchadnezzar plunders the temple of God. South.

2. To take by pillage; to appropriate forcibly; as, the enemy plundered all the goods they found.

Syn. — To pillage; despoil; sack; rifle; strip; rob.

PLUNDER Plun"der, n.

1. The act of plundering or pillaging; robbery. See Syn. of Pillage. Inroads and plunders of the Saracens. Sir T. North.

2. That which is taken by open force from an enemy; pillage; spoil; booty; also, that which is taken by theft or fraud. "He shared in the plunder." Cowper.

3. Personal property and effects; baggage or luggage. [Slang, Southwestern U.S.]

PLUNDERAGE Plun"der*age, n. (Mar. Law)

Defn: The embezzlement of goods on shipboard. Wharton.

PLUNDERER Plun"der*er, n.

Defn: One who plunders or pillages.

PLUNGE Plunge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plunged; p. pr. & vb. n. Plunging.] Etym: [OE. ploungen, OF. plongier, F. plonger, fr. (assumed) LL. plumbicare, fr. L. plumbum lead. See Plumb.]

1. To thrust into water, or into any substance that is penetrable; to immerse; to cause to penetrate or enter quickly and forcibly; to thrust; as, to plunge the body into water; to plunge a dagger into the breast. Also used figuratively; as, to plunge a nation into war. "To plunge the boy in pleasing sleep." Dryden. Bound and plunged him into a cell. Tennyson. We shall be plunged into perpetual errors. I. Watts.

2. To baptize by immersion.

3. To entangle; to embarrass; to overcome. [Obs.] Plunged and graveled with three lines of Seneca. Sir T. Browne.

PLUNGE Plunge, v. i.

1. To thrust or cast one's self into water or other fluid; to submerge one's self; to dive, or to rush in; as, he plunged into the river. Also used figuratively; as, to plunge into debt. Forced to plunge naked in the raging sea. Dryden. To plunge into guilt of a murther. Tillotson.

2. To pitch or throw one's self headlong or violently forward, as a horse does. Some wild colt, which . . . flings and plunges. Bp. Hall.

3. To bet heavily and with seeming recklessness on a race, or other contest; in an extended sense, to risk large sums in hazardous speculations. [Cant] Plunging fire (Gun.), firing directed upon an enemy from an elevated position.

PLUNGE Plunge, n.

1. The act of thrusting into or submerging; a dive, leap, rush, or pitch into, or as into, water; as, to take the water with a plunge.

2. Hence, a desperate hazard or act; a state of being submerged or overwhelmed with difficulties. [R.] She was brought to that plunge, to conceal her husband's murder or accuse her son. Sir P. Sidney. And with thou not reach out a friendly arm, To raise me from amidst this plunge of sorrows Addison.

3. The act of pitching or throwing one's self headlong or violently forward, like an unruly horse.

4. Heavy and reckless betting in horse racing; hazardous speculation. [Cant] Plunge bath, an immersion by plunging; also, a large bath in which the bather can wholly immerse himself. — Plunge, or plunging, battery (Elec.), a voltaic battery so arranged that the plates can be plunged into, or withdrawn from, the exciting liquid at pleasure.

PLUNGER Plun"ger, n.

1. One who, or that which, plunges; a diver.

2. A long solid cylinder, used, instead of a piston or bucket, as a forcer in pumps.

3. One who bets heavily and recklessly on a race; a reckless speculator. [Cant]

4. (Pottery)

Defn: A boiler in which clay is beaten by a wheel to a creamy consistence. Knight.

5. (Gun.)

Defn: The firing pin of a breechloader. Plunger bucket, a piston, without a valve, in a pump. — Plunger pole, the pump rod of a pumping engine. — Plunger pump, a pump, as for water, having a plunger, instead of a piston, to act upon the water. It may be single-acting or double- acting

PLUNK Plunk, v. t. [Imitative.] [Chiefly Colloq.]

1. To pluck and release quickly (a musical string); to twang.

2. To throw, push, drive heavily, plumply, or suddenly; as, to plunk down a dollar; also, to hit or strike.

3. To be a truant from (school). [Scot.]

PLUNK Plunk, n.

1. Act or sound of plunking. [Colloq.]

2. [Slang] (a) A large sum of money. [Obs.] (b) A dollar. [U. S.]

PLUNK Plunk, v. i. [Chiefly Colloq.]

1. To make a quick, hollow, metallic, or harsh sound, as by pulling hard on a taut string and quickly releasing it; of a raven, to croak.

2. To drop or sink down suddenly or heavily; to plump.

3. To play truant, or "hooky". [Scot.]

PLUNKET Plun"ket, n.

Defn: A kind of blue color; also, anciently, a kind of cloth, generally blue.

PLUPERFECT Plu"per`fect, a. Etym: [L. plus more + perfectus perfect; cf. F. plus-que-parfait, L. plusquamperfectum.]

Defn: More than perfect; past perfect; — said of the tense which denotes that an action or event was completed at or before the time of another past action or event. — n.

Defn: The pluperfect tense; also, a verb in the pluperfect tense.

PLURAL Plu"ral, a Etym: [L. pluralis, from plus, pluris, more; cf. F. pluriel, OF. plurel. See Plus.]

Defn: Relating to, or containing, more than one; designating two or more; as, a plural word. Plural faith, which is too much by one. Shak. Plural number (Gram.), the number which designates more than one. See Number, n., 8.

PLURAL Plu"ral, n. (Gram.)

Defn: The plural number; that form of a word which expresses or denotes more than one; a word in the plural form.

PLURALISM Plu"ral*ism, n.

1. The quality or state of being plural, or in the plural number.

2. (Eccl.)

Defn: The state of a pluralist; the holding of more than one ecclesiastical living at a time. [Eng.]

PLURALIST Plu"ral*ist, n. (Eccl.)

Defn: A clerk or clergyman who holds more than one ecclesiastical benefice. [Eng.] Of the parochial clergy, a large proportion were pluralists. Macaulay.

PLURALITY Plu*ral"i*ty, n.; pl. pluralities. Etym: [L. pluralitas: cf. F. pluralité.]

1. The state of being plural, or consisting of more than one; a number consisting of two or more of the same kind; as, a plurality of worlds; the plurality of a verb.

2. The greater number; a majority; also, the greatest of several numbers; in elections, the excess of the votes given for one candidate over those given for another, or for any other, candidate. When there are more than two candidates, the one who receives the plurality of votes may have less than a majority. See Majority. Take the plurality of the world, and they are neither wise nor good. L'Estrange.

3. (Eccl.)

Defn: See Plurality of benefices, below. Plurality of benefices (Eccl.), the possession by one clergyman of more than one benefice or living. Each benefice thus held is called a plurality. [Eng.]

PLURALIZATION Plu`ral*i*za"tion, n.

Defn: The act of pluralizing. H. Spencer.

PLURALIZE Plu"ral*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pluralized; p. pr. & vb. n. Pluralizing.]

1. To make plural by using the plural termination; to attribute plurality to; to express in the plural form.

2. To multiply; to make manifold. [R.]

PLURALIZE Plu"ral*ize, v. i.

1. To take a plural; to assume a plural form; as, a noun pluralizes. Earle.

2. (Eccl.)

Defn: To hold more than one benefice at the same time. [Eng.]

PLURALIZER Plu"ral*i`zer, n. (Eccl.)

Defn: A pluralist. [R.]

PLURALLY Plu"ral*ly, adv.

Defn: In a plural manner or sense.

PLURI- Plu"ri-. Etym: [See Plus.]

Defn: A combining form from L. plus, pluris, more, many; as pluriliteral.

PLURIES Plu"ri*es, n. Etym: [So called from L. pluries many times, often, which occurs in the first clause.] (Law)

Defn: A writ issued in the third place, after two former writs have been disregarded. Mozley & W.

PLURIFARIOUS Plu`ri*fa"ri*ous, a. Etym: [L. plurifarius, fr. L. plus, pluris, many. Cf. Bifarious.]

Defn: Of many kinds or fashions; multifarious.

PLURIFOLIOLATE Plu`ri*fo"li*o*late, a. Etym: [Pluri- + foliolate.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having several or many leaflets.

PLURILITERAL Plu`ri*lit"er*al, a. Etym: [Pluri- + literal.]

Defn: Consisting of more letters than three. — n.

Defn: A pluriliteral word.

PLURILOCULAR Plu`ri*loc"u*lar, a. Etym: [Pluri- + locular.]

Defn: Having several cells or loculi; specifically (Bot.),

Defn: having several divisions containing seeds; as, the lemon and the orange are plurilocular fruits. Plurilocular sporangia (Bot.), many-celled sporangia, each cell containing a single spore, as in many algæ.

PLURIPAROUS Plu*rip"a*rous, a. Etym: [Pluri- + L. parere to bring forth.]

Defn: Producing several young at a birth; as, a pluriparous animal.

PLURIPARTITE Plu`ri*par"tite, a. Etym: [Pluri- + partite.] (Bot.)

Defn: Deeply divided into several portions.

PLURIPRESENCE Plu`ri*pres"ence, n. Etym: [Pluri- + presence.]

Defn: Presence in more places than one. [R.] Johnson.

PLURISY Plu"ri*sy, n. Etym: [L. plus, pluris, more.]

Defn: Superabundance; excess; plethora. [Obs.] Shak.

PLUS Plus, a. Etym: [L., more; akin to Gr. full. See Full, a., and cf. Più, Pleonasm.]

1. (Math.)

Defn: More, required to be added; positive, as distinguished from negative; — opposed to Ant: minus.

2. Hence, in a literary sense, additional; real; actual. Success goes invariably with a certain plus or positive power. Emerson. Plus sign (Math.), the sign (+) which denotes addition, or a positive quantity.

PLUSH Plush, n. Etym: [F. pluche, peluche (cf. It. peluzzo), fr. L. pilus hair. See pile hair, and cf. Peruke.]

Defn: A textile fabric with a nap or shag on one side, longer and softer than the nap of velvet. Cowper.

PLUSHY Plush"y, a.

Defn: Like plush; soft and shaggy. H. Kingsley.

PLUTARCHY Plu"tar*chy, n. Etym: [Gr. -archy.]

Defn: Plutocracy; the rule of wealth. [R.]

PLUTEAL Plu"te*al, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a pluteus.

PLUTEUS Plu"te*us, n.; pl. L. Plutei, E. Pluteuses. Etym: [L., a shed.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The free-swimming larva of sea urchins and ophiurans, having several long stiff processes inclosing calcareous rods.

PLUTO Plu"to, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Class. Myth.)

Defn: The son of Saturn and Rhea, brother of Jupiter and Neptune; the dark and gloomy god of the Lower World. Pluto monkey (Zoöl.), a long- tailed African monkey (Cercopithecus pluto), having side whiskers. The general color is black, more or less grizzled; the frontal band is white.

PLUTOCRACY Plu*toc"ra*cy, n. Etym: [Gr. plutocratie.]

Defn: A form of government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of the wealthy classes; government by the rich; also, a controlling or influential class of rich men.

PLUTOCRAT Plu"to*crat, n.

Defn: One whose wealth gives him power or influence; one of the plutocracy.

PLUTOCRATIC Plu`to*crat"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to plutocracy; as, plutocratic ideas. Bagehot.

PLUTOLOGY Plu*tol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Gr. -logy.]

Defn: The science which treats of wealth.

PLUTONIAN Plu*to"ni*an, a. Etym: [L. Plutonius, Gr. plutonien.]

Defn: Plutonic. Poe.

PLUTONIAN Plu*to"ni*an, n. (Geol.)

Defn: A Plutonist.

PLUTONIC Plu*ton"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. plutonique. See Pluto.]

1. Of or pertaining to Pluto; Plutonian; hence, pertaining to the interior of the earth; subterranean.

2. Of, pertaining to, or designating, the system of the Plutonists; igneous; as, the Plutonic theory. Plutonic action (Geol.), the influence of volcanic heat and other subterranean forces under pressure. — Plutonic rocks (Geol.), granite, porphyry, and some other igneous rocks, supposed to have consolidated from a melted state at a great depth from the surface. Cf. Intrusive rocks, under Intrusive. — Plutonic theory. (Geol.) See Plutonism.

PLUTONISM Plu"to*nism, n. Etym: [Cf. F. plutonisme.]

Defn: The theory, early advanced in geology, that the successive rocks of the earth''s crust were formed by igneous fusion; — opposed to the Neptunian theory.

PLUTONIST Plu"to*nist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. plutoniste.]

Defn: One who adopts the geological theory of igneous fusion; a Plutonian. See Plutonism.

PLUTUS Plu"tus, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Class. Myth.)

Defn: The son of Jason and Ceres, and the god of wealth. He was represented as bearing a cornucopia, and as blind, because his gifts were bestowed without discrimination of merit.

PLUVIAL Plu"vi*al, a. Etym: [L. pluvialis, fr. pluvia rain: cf. F. pluvial. See Plover.]

1. Of or pertaining to rain; rainy. [R.]

2. (Geol.)

Defn: Produced by the action of rain.

PLUVIAL Plu"vi*al, n. Etym: [LL. pluviale a garment which keeps off the rain: cf. F. pluvial.]

Defn: A priest's cope.

PLUVIAMETER Plu`vi*am"e*ter, n.

Defn: See Pluviometer.

PLUVIAMETRICAL Plu`vi*a*met"ric*al, a.

Defn: See Pluviometrical.

PLUVIAN Plu"vi*an, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The crocodile bird.

PLUVIOGRAPH Plu"vi*o*graph, n. [L. pluvia rain + -graph.]

Defn: A self-registering rain gauge.

PLUVIOGRAPHY Plu`vi*og"ra*phy, n. [L. pluvia rain + -graphy.]

Defn: The branch of meteorology treating of the automatic registration of the precipitation of rain, snow, etc.; also, the graphic presentation of precipitation data.

PLUVIOMETER Plu`vi*om"e*ter, n. Etym: [L. pluvia rain + -meter: cf. F. pluviomètre.]

Defn: An instrument for ascertaining the amount of rainfall at any place in a given time; a rain gauge.

PLUVIOMETRICAL Plu`vi*o*met"ric*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. pluviométrique.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a pluviometer; determined by a pluviometer.

PLUVIOMETRY Plu`vi*om"e*try, n. [L. pluvia rain + -metry.]

Defn: That department of meteorology that treats of the measurement of the precipitation of rain, snow, etc.

PLUVIOSCOPE Plu"vi*o*scope, n. [L. pluvia rain + -scope.]

Defn: A rain gauge.

PLUVIOSE Plu`vi`ôse", n. Etym: [F. See Pluvious.]

Defn: The fifth month of the French republican calendar adopted in 1793. It began January 20, and ended February 18. See Vendémiaire.

PLUVIOUS Plu"vi*ous, a. Etym: [L. pluviosus, pluvius, fr. pluvia rain: cf. F. pluvieux. See Pluvial, a.]

Defn: Abounding in rain; rainy; pluvial. Sir T. Browne.

PLY Ply, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plied; p. pr. & vb. n. Plying.] Etym: [OE. plien, F. plier to fold, to bend, fr. L. plicare; akin to Gr. flechten. Cf. Apply, Complex, Display, Duplicity, Employ, Exploit, Implicate, Plait, Pliant, Flax.]

1. To bend. [Obs.] As men may warm wax with handes plie. Chaucer.

2. To lay on closely, or in folds; to work upon steadily, or with repeated acts; to press upon; to urge importunately; as, to ply one with questions, with solicitations, or with drink. And plies him with redoubled strokes Dryden. He plies the duke at morning and at night. Shak.

3. To employ diligently; to use steadily. Go ply thy needle; meddle not. Shak.

4. To practice or perform with diligence; to work at. Their bloody task, unwearied, still they ply. Waller.

PLY Ply, v. i.

1. To bend; to yield. [Obs.] It would rather burst atwo than plye. Chaucer. The willow plied, and gave way to the gust. L'Estrange.

2. To act, go, or work diligently and steadily; especially, to do something by repeated actions; to go back and forth; as, a steamer plies between certain ports. Ere half these authors be read (which will soon be with plying hard and daily). Milton. He was forced to ply in the streets as a porter. Addison. The heavy hammers and mallets plied. Longfellow.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: To work to windward; to beat.

PLY Ply, n. Etym: [Cf. F. pli, fr. plier. See Ply, v.]

1. A fold; a plait; a turn or twist, as of a cord. Arbuthnot.

2. Bent; turn; direction; bias. The late learners can not so well take the ply. Bacon. Boswell, and others of Goldsmith's contemporaries, . . . did not understand the secret plies of his character. W. Irving. The czar's mind had taken a strange ply, which it retained to the last. Macaulay.

Note: Ply is used in composition to designate folds, or the number of webs interwoven; as, a three-ply carpet.

PLYER Ply"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, plies; specifically: (a) pl.

Defn: A kind of balance used in raising and letting down a drawbridge. It consists of timbers joined in the form of a St. Andrew's cross. (b) pl.

Defn: See Pliers.

PLYGHT Plyght, v. & n.

Defn: See Plight. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PLYMOUTH BRETHREN Plym"outh Breth"ren.

Defn: The members of a religious sect which first appeared at Plymouth, England, about 1830. They protest against sectarianism, and reject all official ministry or clergy. Also called Brethren, Christian Brethren, Plymouthists, etc. The Darbyites are a division of the Brethren.

PNEOMETER Pne*om"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. -meter.] (Physiol.)

Defn: A spirometer.

PNEUMATIC; PNEUMATICAL Pneu*mat"ic, Pneu*mat"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. pneumaticus, Gr. fnehan: cf. F. pneumatique. Cf. Pneumonia.]

1. Consisting of, or resembling, air; having the properties of an elastic fluid; gaseous; opposed to dense or solid. The pneumatical substance being, in some bodies, the native spirit of the body. Bacon.

2. Of or pertaining to air, or to elastic fluids or their properties; pertaining to pneumatics; as, pneumatic experiments. "Pneumatical discoveries." Stewart.

3. Moved or worked by pressure or flow of air; as, a pneumatic instrument; a pneumatic engine.

4. (Biol.)

Defn: Fitted to contain air; Having cavities filled with air; as, pneumatic cells; pneumatic bones. Pneumatic action, or Pneumatic lever (Mus.), a contrivance for overcoming the resistance of the keys and other movable parts in an organ, by causing compressed air from the wind chest to move them. — Pneumatic dispatch, a system of tubes, leading to various points, through which letters, packages, etc., are sent, by the flow and pressure of air. — Pneumatic elevator, a hoisting machine worked by compressed air. — Pneumatic pile, a tubular pile or cylinder of large diameter sunk by atmospheric pressure. — Pneumatic pump, an air-exhausting or forcing pump. — Pneumatic railway. See Atmospheric railway, under Atmospheric. — Pneumatic syringe, a stout tube closed at one end, and provided with a piston, for showing that the heat produced by compressing a gas will ignite substances. — Pneumatic trough, a trough, generally made of wood or sheet metal, having a perforated shelf, and used, when filled with water or mercury, for collecting gases in chemical operations. — Pneumatic tube. See Pneumatic dispatch, above.

PNEUMATICITY Pneu`ma*tic"i*ty, n. (Biol.)

Defn: The state of being pneumatic, or of having a cavity or cavities filled with air; as, the pneumaticity of the bones of birds.

PNEUMATICS Pneu*mat"ics, n. Etym: [Cf. F. pneumatique.]

1. That branch of science which treats of the mechanical properties of air and other elastic fluids, as of their weight, pressure, elasticity, etc. See Mechanics.

2. (Philos. & Theol.)

Defn: The scientific study or knowledge of spiritual beings and their relations to God, angels, and men.

PNEUMATO- Pneu"ma*to-.

Defn: A combining form from Gr. wind, air, breath, respiration; as, pneumatograph, pneumatology.

PNEUMATOCELE Pneu*mat"o*cele, n. Etym: [Pneumato- + Gr. pneumatocèle.] (Med.)

Defn: A distention of the scrotum by air; also, hernia of the lungs.

PNEUMATOCYST Pneu*mat"o*cyst, n. Etym: [Pneumato- + cyst.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A cyst or sac of a siphonophore, containing air, and serving as a float, as in Physalia.

PNEUMATOGARM Pneu*mat"o*garm, n. Etym: [Pneumato- + -gram.] (Physiol.)

Defn: A tracing of the respiratory movements, obtained by a pneumatograph or stethograph.

PNEUMATOGRAPH Pneu*mat"o*graph, n. Etym: [Pneumato- + -graph.] (Physiol.)

Defn: An instrument for recording the movements of the thorax or chest wall during respiration; — also called stethograph.

PNEUMATOLOGICAL Pneu`ma*to*log"ic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. pneumatologique.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to pneumatology.

PNEUMATOLOGIST Pneu`ma*tol"o*gist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. pneumatologiste.]

Defn: One versed in pneumatology.

PNEUMATOLOGY Pneu`ma*tol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Pneumato- + -logy: cf. F. pneumatologie.]

1. The doctrine of, or a treatise on, air and other elastic fluids. See Pneumatics, 1.

2. (Philos. & Theol.)

Defn: The science of spiritual being or phenomena of any description.

PNEUMATOMETER Pneu`ma*tom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Pneumato- + -meter.] (Physiol.)

Defn: An instrument for measuring the amount of force exerted by the lungs in respiration.

PNEUMATOMETRY Pneu`ma*tom"e*try, n.

Defn: See Spirometry.

PNEUMATOPHORE Pneu*mat"o*phore, n. Etym: [Pneumato- + Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Pneumonophora.

PNEUMATOTHORAX Pneu`ma*to*tho"rax, n. Etym: [Pneumato- + thorax.] (Med.)

Defn: See Pneumothorax.

PNEUMO- Pneu"mo-.

Defn: A combining form from Gr. a lung; as, pneumogastric, pneumology.

PNEUMOCOCCUS Pneu`mo*coc"cus, n. Etym: [See Pneumo-, and Coccus.] (Biol.)

Defn: A form of micrococcus found in the sputum (and elsewhere) of persons suffering with pneumonia, and thought to be the cause of this disease.

PNEUMOGASTRIC Pneu`mo*gas"tric, a. Etym: [Pneumo- + gastric.] (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the lungs and the stomach. — n.

Defn: The pneumogastric nerve. Pneumogastric nerve (Anat.), one of the tenth pair of cranial nerves which are distributed to the pharynx, esophagus, larynx, lungs, heart, stomach, liver, and spleen, and, in fishes and many amphibia, to the branchial apparatus and also to the sides of the body.

PNEUMOGRAPH Pneu"mo*graph, n.

Defn: Same as Pneumatograph.

PNEUMOGRAPHY Pneu*mog"ra*phy, n Etym: [Pneumo- + -graphy.]

Defn: A description of the lungs. Dunglison.

PNEUMOLOGY Pneu*mol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Pneumo- + -logy.] (Anat.)

Defn: The science which treats of the lungs.

PNEUMOMETER Pneu*mom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Pneumo- + -meter.] (Physiol.)

Defn: A spirometer.

PNEUMOMETRY Pneu*mom"e*try, n.

Defn: Measurement of the capacity of the lungs for air. Dunglison.

PNEUMONIA Pneu*mo"ni*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. Pneumatio, Pulmonary.] (Med.)

Defn: Inflammation of the lungs.

Note: Catarrhal pneumonia, or Broncho-pneumonia, is inflammation of the lung tissue, associated with catarrh and with marked evidences of inflammation of bronchial membranes, often chronic; — also called lobular pneumonia, from its affecting single lobules at a time. — Croupous pneumonia, or ordinary pneumonia, is an acute affection characterized by sudden onset with a chill, high fever, rapid course, and sudden decline; — also called lobar pneumonia, from its affecting a whole lobe of the lung at once. See under Croupous. — Fibroid pneumonia is an inflammation of the interstitial connective tissue lying between the lobules of the lungs, and is very slow in its course, producing shrinking and atrophy of the lungs.

PNEUMONIC Pneu*mon"ic, a. Etym: [Gr. pneumonique.] (a) Of or pertaining to the lungs; pulmonic. (b) Of or pertaining to pneumonia; as, pneumonic symptoms.

PNEUMONIC Pneu*mon"ic, n. (Med.)

Defn: A medicine for affections of the lungs.

PNEUMONITIC Pneu`mo*nit"ic, a. (Med.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to pneumonitis.

PNEUMONITIS Pneu`mo*ni"tis, n. Etym: [NL. See Pneumo-, and -itis.] (Med.)

Defn: Inflammation of the lungs; pneumonia.

PNEUMONOMETER Pneu`mo*nom"e*ter, n. Etym: [See Pneumo-, and -meter.] (Physiol.)

Defn: A spirometer; a pneumometer.

PNEUMONOPHORA Pneu`mo*noph"o*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The division of Siphonophora which includes the Physalia and allied genera; — called also Pneumatophoræ.

PNEUMONY Pneu"mo*ny, n. Etym: [Cf. F. pneumonie.]

Defn: See Pneumonia.

PNEUMOOTOKA; PNEUMOOETOKA Pneu`mo*öt"o*ka, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Pneumo-, and Oöticoid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Sauropsida.

PNEUMOPHORA Pneu*moph"o*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Pneumonophora.] (Zoöl.) (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of holothurians having an internal gill, or respiratory tree.

PNEUMOSKELETON Pneu`mo*skel"e*ton, n. Etym: [Pneumo- + skeleton.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A chitinous structure which supports the gill in some invertebrates.

PNEUMOTHERAPY Pneu`mo*ther"a*py, n. Etym: [Gr. therapy.] (Med.)

Defn: The treatment of disease by inhalations of compressed or rarefied air.

PNEUMOTHORAX Pneu`mo*tho"rax, n. Etym: [Gr. thorax.] (Med.)

Defn: A condition in which air or other gas is present in the cavity of the chest; — called also pneumatothorax.

PNIGALION Pni*ga"li*on, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Nightmare.

PNYX Pnyx, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Gr. Antiq.)

Defn: The place at Athens where the meetings of the people were held for making decrees, etc.

POA Po"a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of grasses, including a great number of species, as the kinds called meadow grass, Kentucky blue grass, June grass, and spear grass (which see).

POACH Poach, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poached; p. pr. & vb. n. Poaching.] Etym: [F. pocher to place in a pocket, to poach eggs (the yolk of the egg being as it were pouched in the white), from poche pocket, pouch. See Pouch, v. &n.]

1. To cook, as eggs, by breaking them into boiling water; also, to cook with butter after breaking in a vessel. Bacon.

2. To rob of game; to pocket and convey away by stealth, as game; hence, to plunder. Garth.

POACH Poach, v. i.

Defn: To steal or pocket game, or to carry it away privately, as in a bag; to kill or destroy game contrary to law, especially by night; to hunt or fish unlawfully; as, to poach for rabbits or for salmon.

POACH Poach, v. t. Etym: [Cf. OF. pocher to thrust or dig out with the fingers, to bruise (the eyes), F. pouce thumb, L. pollex, and also E. poach to cook eggs, to plunder, and poke to thrust against.]

1. To stab; to pierce; to spear, \as fish. [Obs.] Carew.

2. To force, drive, or plunge into anything. [Obs.] His horse poching one of his legs into some hollow ground. Sir W. Temple.

3. To make soft or muddy by trampling Tennyson.

4. To begin and not complete. [Obs.] Bacon.

POACH Poach, v. i.

Defn: To become soft or muddy. Chalky and clay lands . . . chap in summer, and poach in winter. Mortimer.

POACHARD Poach"ard, n. Etym: [From Poach to stab.] [Written also pocard, pochard.] (Zoöl.) (a) A common European duck (Aythya ferina); — called also goldhead, poker, and fresh-water, or red-headed, widgeon. (b) The American redhead, which is closely allied to the European poachard. Red-crested poachard (Zoöl.), an Old World duck (Branta rufina). — Scaup poachard, the scaup duck. — Tufted poachard, a scaup duck (Aythya, or Fuligula cristata), native of Europe and Asia.

POACHER Poach"er, n.

1. One who poaches; one who kills or catches game or fish contrary to law.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The American widgeon. [Local, U.S.] Sea poacher (Zoöl.), the lyrie.

POACHINESS Poach"i*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being poachy; marshiness.

POACHY Poach"y, a. Etym: [See Poach to stab.]

Defn: Wet and soft; easily penetrated by the feet of cattle; — said of land

POAK; POAKE Poak, Poake, n.

Defn: Waste matter from the preparation of skins, consisting of hair, lime, oil, etc.

POCAN Po"can, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The poke (Phytolacca decandra); — called also pocan bush.

POCHARD Po"chard, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Poachard.

POCK Pock, n. Etym: [OE. pokke, AS. pocc, poc; akin to D. pok, G. pocke, and perh. to E. poke a pocket. Cf. Pox.] (Med.)

Defn: A pustule raised on the surface of the body in variolous and vaccine diseases. Of pokkes and of scab every sore. Chaucer.

POCKARRED Pock"arred, a.

Defn: See Pockmarked. [Obs.]

POCK-BROKEN Pock"-bro`ken, a.

Defn: Broken out, or marked, with smallpox; pock-fretten.

POCKET Pock"et, n. Etym: [OE. poket, Prov. F. & OF. poquette, F. pochette, dim. fr. poque, pouque, F. poche; probably of Teutonic origin. See Poke a pocket, and cf. Poach to cook eggs, to plunder, and Pouch.]

1. A bag or pouch; especially; a small bag inserted in a garment for carrying small articles, particularly money; hence, figuratively, money; wealth.

2. One of several bags attached to a billiard table, into which the balls are driven.

3. A large bag or sack used in packing various articles, as ginger, hops, cowries, etc.

Note: In the wool or hop trade, the pocket contains half sack, or about 168 Ibs.; but it is a variable quantity, the articles being sold by actual weight.

4. (Arch.)

Defn: A hole or space covered by a movable piece of board, as in a floor, boxing, partitions, or the like.

5. (Mining.) (a) A cavity in a rock containing a nugget of gold, or other mineral; a small body of ore contained in such a cavity. (b) A hole containing water.

6. (Nat.)

Defn: A strip of canvas, sewn upon a sail so that a batten or a light spar can placed in the interspace.

7. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Pouch.

Note: Pocket is often used adjectively, or in the formation of compound words usually of obvious signification; as, pocket comb, pocket compass, pocket edition, pocket handkerchief, pocket money, pocket picking, or pocket-picking, etc. Out of pocket. See under Out, prep. — Pocket borough, a borough "owned" by some person. See under Borough. [Eng.] — Pocket gopher (Zoöl.), any one of several species of American rodents of the genera Geomys, and Thomomys, family Geomydæ. They have large external cheek pouches, and are fossorial in their habits. they inhabit North America, from the Mississippi Valley west to the Pacific. Called also pouched gopher. — Pocket mouse (Zoöl.), any species of American mice of the family Saccomyidæ. They have external cheek pouches. Some of them are adapted for leaping (genus Dipadomys), and are called kangaroo mice. They are native of the Southwestern United States, Mexico, etc. — Pocket piece, a piece of money kept in the pocket and not spent. — Pocket pistol, a pistol to be carried in the pocket. — Pocket sheriff (Eng. Law), a sheriff appointed by the sole authority of the crown, without a nomination by the judges in the exchequer. Burrill. deep pocket, or deep pockets, wealth or substantial financial assets.

Note: Used esp. in legal actions, where plaintiffs desire to find a defendant with "deep pockets", so as to be able to actually obtain the sum of damages which may be judged due to him. This contrasts with a "judgment-proof" defendant, one who has neither assets nor insurance, and against whom a judgment for monetary damages would be worthless.

POCKET Pock"et, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pocketed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pocketing.]

1. To put, or conceal, in the pocket; as, to pocket the change. He would pocket the expense of the license. Sterne.

2. To take clandestinely or fraudulently. He pocketed pay in the names of men who had long been dead. Macaulay. To pocket a ball (Billiards), to drive a ball into a pocket of the table. — To pocket an insult, affront, etc., to receive an affront without open resentment, or without seeking redress. "I must pocket up these wrongs." Shak.

POCKETBOOK Pock"et*book`, n.

Defn: A small book or case for carrying papers, money, etc., in the pocket; also, a notebook for the pocket.

POCKETFUL Pock"et*ful, n.; pl. Pocketfuls (.

Defn: As much as a pocket will hold; enough to fill a pocket; as, pocketfuls of chestnuts.

POCKETKNIFE Pock"et*knife`, n.; pl. -knives (.

Defn: A knife with one or more blades, which fold into the handle so as to admit of being carried in the pocket.

POCKET VETO Pocket veto.

Defn: The retention by the President of the United States of a bill unsigned so that it does not become a law, in virtue of the following constitutional provision (Const. Art. I., sec. 7, cl. 2): "If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law." Also, an analogous retention of a bill by a State governor.

POCK-FRETTEN Pock"-fret`ten, a.

Defn: See Pockmarked.

POCKINESS Pock"i*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being pocky.

POCKMARK Pock"mark, n.

Defn: A mark or pit made by smallpox.

POCKMARKED Pock"marked`, a.

Defn: Marked by smallpox; pitted.

POCK-PITTED Pock"-pit`ted, a.

Defn: Pockmarked; pitted.

POCK-PUDDING Pock"-pud`ding, n.

Defn: A bag pudding; a name of reproach or ridicule formerly applied by the Scotch to the English.

POCKWOOD Pock"wood`, n. Etym: [So called because formerly used as a specific for the pock.] (Bot.)

Defn: Lignum-vitæ.

POCKY Pock"y, a. [Compar. Pockier; superl. Pockiest.]

Defn: Full of pocks; affected with smallpox or other eruptive disease. Bp. Hall.

POCO Po"co, adv. Etym: [It.] (Mus.)

Defn: A little; — used chiefly in phrases indicating the time or movement; as, poco più allegro, a little faster; poco largo, rather slow. Poco a poco Etym: [It.] (Mus.) Little by little; as, poco a poco crescendo, gradually increasing in loudness.

POCOCK Po"cock, n.

Defn: Peacock. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POCOCURANTE Po`co*cu*ran"te, n. Etym: [It. poco curante caring little.]

Defn: A careless person; a trifler. [R.]

POCOCURANTISM Po`co*cu*ran"tism. n.

Defn: Carelessness; apathy; indifference. [R.] Carlyle.

POCOSON Po*co"son, n.

Defn: Low, wooded grounds or swamps in Eastern Maryland and Virginia. [Written also poquoson.] Washington.

POCULENT Poc"u*lent, a. Etym: [L. poculentus, fr. poculum a cup.]

Defn: Fit for drink. [Obs.] "Some those herbs which are not esculent, are . . . poculent." Bacon.

POCULIFORM Poc"u*li*form, a. Etym: [L. poculum a cup + -form: cf. F. poculiforme.]

Defn: Having the shape of a goblet or drinking cup.

-POD -pod. Etym: [See Foot.]

Defn: A combining form or suffix from Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot; as, decapod, an animal having ten feet; phyllopod, an animal having leaflike feet; myriapod, hexapod.

POD Pod, n. Etym: [Probably akin to pudding, and perhaps the same word as pad a cushion; cf. also Dan. pude pillow, cushion, and also E. cod a husk, pod.]

1. A bag; a pouch. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Tusser.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A capsule of plant, especially a legume; a dry dehiscent fruit. See Illust. of Angiospermous.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A considerable number of animals closely clustered together; — said of seals. Pod auger, or pod bit, an auger or bit the channel of which is straight instead of twisted.

POD Pod, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Podded; p. pr. & vb. n. Podding.]

Defn: To swell; to fill; also, to produce pods.

-PODA -po*da.

Defn: A New Latin plural combining form or suffix from Gr. foot; as, hexapoda, myriapoda. See -pod.

PODAGRA Pod"a*gra, n. Etym: [L. See Podagric.] (Med.)

Defn: Gout in the joints of the foot; — applied also to gout in other parts of body.

PODAGRIC; PODAGRICAL Po*dag"ric, Po*dag"ric*al, a. Etym: [L. podagricus, Gr.

1. Pertaining to the gout; gouty; caused by gout.

2. Afflicted with gout. Sir T. Browne.

PODAGROUS Pod"a*grous, a.

Defn: Gouty; podagric.

PODALGIA Po*dal"gi*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: pain in the foot, due to gout, rheumatism, etc.

PODARTHRUM Po*dar"thrum, n.; pl. Podarthra. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: The foot joint; in birds, the joint between the metatarsus and the toes.

PODDED Pod"ded, a.

Defn: Having pods.

PODDER Pod"der, n.

Defn: One who collects pods or pulse.

PODESTA Po*des"ta, n. Etym: [It. podestà, fr. L. potestas power, magistracy. See Potent.]

1. One of the chief magistrates of the Italian republics in the Middle Ages. Brande & C.

2. A mayor, alderman, or other magistrate, in some towns of Italy.

PODETIUM Po*de"ti*um, n.; pl. Podetia, E. Podetiums. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A stalk which bears the fructification in some lichens, as in the so-called reindeer moss.

PODGE Podge, n. Etym: [Cf. G. patsche puddle, mire.]

1. A puddle; a plash. Skinner.

2. Porridge. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

PODGY Podg"y, a.

Defn: Fat and short; pudgy.

PODICAL Pod"i*cal a. Etym: [L. podex, podicis, the anus.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Anal; — applied to certain organs of insects.

PODICEPS Pod"i*ceps, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. podex, podicis, anus + pes foot.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Grebe.

PODIUM Po"di*um, n.; pl. Podia. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Pew.]

1. (Arch.)

Defn: A low wall, serving as a foundation, a substructure, or a terrace wall. It is especially employed by archæologists in two senses: (a) The dwarf wall surrounding the arena of an amphitheater, from the top of which the seats began. (b) The masonry under the stylobate of a temple, sometimes a mere foundation, sometimes containing chambers. See Illust. of Column.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The foot.

PODLEY Pod"ley, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A young coalfish.

PODO- Pod"o-. Etym: [See Foot.]

Defn: A combining form or prefix from Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot; as, podocarp, podocephalous, podology.

PODOBRANCH Pod"o*branch, n. Etym: [See Podo-, and Branchia.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of branchiæ attached to the bases of the legs in Crustacea.

PODOBRANCHIA Pod`o*bran"chi*a n., pl. Podobranchle. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Podobranch.

PODOCARP Pod"o*carp, n. Etym: [Podo- + Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A stem, or footstalk, supporting the fruit.

PODOCEPHALOUS Pod`o*ceph"a*lous, a. Etym: [Podo- + Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Having a head of flowers on a long peduncle, or footstalk.

PODOGYNIUM Pod`o*gyn"i*um, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot + (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Basigynium

PODOPHTHALMIA Pod`oph*thal"mi*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Podophthalmic.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The stalk-eyed Crustacea, — an order of Crustacea having the eyes supported on movable stalks. It includes the crabs, lobsters, and prawns. Called also Podophthalmata, and Decapoda.

PODOPHTHALMIC; PODOPHTHALMOUS Pod`oph*thal"mic, Pod`oph*thal"mous, a. Etym: [Podo- + Gr. (Zoöl.) (a) Having the eyes on movable footstalks, or pedicels. (b) Of or pertaining to the Podophthalmia.

PODOPHTHALMITE Pod`oph*thal"mite, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The eyestalk of a crustacean.

PODOPHYLLIN Pod`o*phyl"lin, n. Etym: [From Podophyllum.] (Chem.)

Defn: A brown bitter gum extracted from the rootstalk of the May apple (Podophyllum peltatum). It is a complex mixture of several substances.

PODOPHYLLOUS Pod`o*phyl"lous, a.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having thin, flat, leaflike locomotive organs.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or composing, the layer of tissue, made up of laminæ, beneath a horse's hoof.

PODOPHYLLUM Pod`o*phyl"lum, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot +

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of herbs of the Barberry family, having large palmately lobed peltate leaves and solitary flower. There are two species, the American Podohyllum peltatum, or May apple, the Himalayan P. Emodi.

2. (Med.)

Defn: The rhizome and rootlet of the May apple (Podophyllum peltatum), — used as a cathartic drug.

PODOSCAPH Pod"o*scaph, n. Etym: [Podo- + Gr.

Defn: A canoe-shaped float attached to the foot, for walking on water.

PODOSPERM Pod"o*sperm, n. Etym: [Podo- + Gr. podosperme.] (Bot.)

Defn: The stalk of a seed or ovule.

PODOSTOMATA Pod`o*stom"a*ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot + (Zoöl.)

Defn: An order of Bryozoa of which Rhabdopleura is the type. See Rhabdopleura.

PODOTHECA Pod`o*the"ca, n.; pl. Podothecæ. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot + (Zoöl.)

Defn: The scaly covering of the foot of a bird or reptile.

PODRIDA Po*dri"da, n. Etym: [Sp., rotten.]

Defn: A miscellaneous dish of meats. See Olla-podrida.

PODURA Po*du"ra, n.; pl. L. Poduræ, E. Poduras. Etym: [NL.; Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot +

Defn: Any small leaping thysanurous insect of the genus Podura and related genera; a springtail. Podura scale (Zoöl.), one of the minute scales with which the body of a podura is covered. They are used as test objects for the microscope.

PODURID Po*du"rid, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any species of Podura or allied genera. — a.

Defn: Pertaining to the poduras.

POE Po"e, n.

Defn: Same as Pol.

POEBIRD Po"e*bird`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The parson bird.

POECILE Poe"ci*le, n.

Defn: Same as Poicile.

POECILITIC Poe`ci*lit"ic, a. Etym: [Gr. (Geol.) (a) Mottled with various colors; variegated; spotted; — said of certain rocks. (b) Specifically: Of or pertaining to, or characterizing, Triassic and Permian sandstones of red and other colors. [Also written poikilitic.]

POECILOPOD Poe*cil"o*pod, n. Etym: [Cf. F. poecilopode.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Poecilopoda. Also used adjectively.

POECILOPODA Poe`ci*lop"o*da, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. -poda.] (Zoöl.) (a) Originally, an artificial group including many parasitic Entomostraca, together with the horseshoe crabs (Limuloidea). (b) By some recent writers applied to the Merostomata.

POEM Po"em, n. Etym: [L. poëma, Gr. poëme.]

1. A metrical composition; a composition in verse written in certain measures, whether in blank verse or in rhyme, and characterized by imagination and poetic diction; — contradistinguished from prose; as, the poems of Homer or of Milton.

2. A composition, not in verse, of which the language is highly imaginative or impassioned; as, a prose poem; the poems of Ossian.

POEMATIC Po`em*at"ic, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Pertaining to a poem, or to poetry; poetical. [R.] Coleridge.

POENAMU Po*e"na*mu, n. (Min.)

Defn: A variety of jade or nephrite, — used in New Zealand for the manufacture of axes and weapons.

POENOLOGY Poe*nol"o*gy, n.

Defn: See Penology.

POEPHAGA Po*eph"a*ga, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A group of herbivorous marsupials including the kangaroos and their allies. — Po*eph"a*gous, a.

POESY Po"e*sy, n. Etym: [F. poésie (cf. It. poesia), L. poesis, from Gr. Posy.]

1. The art of composing poems; poetical skill or faculty; as, the heavenly gift of poesy. Shak.

2. Poetry; metrical composition; poems. Music and poesy used to quicken you. Shak.

3. A short conceit or motto engraved on a ring or other thing; a posy. Bacon.

POET Po"et, n. Etym: [F. poëte, L. poëta, fr. Gr. Poem.]

Defn: One skilled in making poetry; one who has a particular genius for metrical composition; the author of a poem; an imaginative thinker or writer. The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven. Shak. A poet is a maker, as the word signifies. Dryden. Poet laureate. See under Laureate.

POETASTER Po"et*as`ter, n.

Defn: An inferior rhymer, or writer of verses; a dabbler in poetic art. The talk of forgotten poetasters. Macaulay.

POETASTRY Po"et*as`try, n.

Defn: The works of a poetaster. [R.]

POETESS Po"et*ess, n. Etym: [Cf. F. poétesse.]

Defn: A female poet.

POETIC; POETICAL Po*et"ic, Po*et"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. poëticus, Gr. poétiquee.]

1. Of or pertaining to poetry; suitable for poetry, or for writing poetry; as, poetic talent, theme, work, sentiments. Shak.

2. Expressed in metrical form; exhibiting the imaginative or the rhythmical quality of poetry; as, a poetical composition; poetical prose. Poetic license. See License, n., 4.

POETICALLY Po*et"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a poetic manner.

POETICS Po*et"ics, n. Etym: [Cf. F. poétique, L. poëtica, poëtice, Gr.

Defn: The principles and rules of the art of poetry. J. Warton.

POETICULE Po*et"i*cule, n.

Defn: A poetaster. Swinburne.

POETIZE Po"et*ize, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Poetized; p. pr. & vb. n. Poetizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. poétiser.]

Defn: To write as a poet; to compose verse; to idealize. I versify the truth, not poetize. Donne.

POETRY Po"et*ry, n. Etym: [OF. poeterie. See Poet.]

1. The art of apprehending and interpreting ideas by the faculty of imagination; the art of idealizing in thought and in expression. For poetry is the blossom and the fragrance of all human knowledge, human thoughts, human passions, emotions, language. Coleridge.

2. Imaginative language or composition, whether expressed rhythmically or in prose. Specifically: Metrical composition; verse; rhyme; poems collectively; as, heroic poetry; dramatic poetry; lyric or Pindaric poetry. "The planetlike music of poetry." Sir P. Sidney. She taketh most delight In music, instruments, and poetry. Shak.

POETS' CORNER Po"ets' Cor"ner.

Defn: An angle in the south transept of Westminster Abbey, London; — so called because it contains the tombs of Chaucer, Spenser, Dryden, Ben Jonson, Gray, Tennyson, Browning, and other English poets, and memorials to many buried elsewhere.

POETSHIP Po"et*ship, n.

Defn: The state or personality of a poet. [R.]

POGAMOGGAN Pog`a*mog"gan, n. [North Amer. Indian.]

Defn: An aboriginal weapon consisting of a stone or piece of antler fastened to the end of a slender wooden handle, used by American Indians from the Great Plains to the Mackenzie River.

POGGY Pog"gy, n. (Zoöl.) (a) See Porgy. (b) A small whale.

POGY Po"gy, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The menhaden.

Note: Pogy is often confounded with porgy, and therefore incorrectly applied to various fishes.

POH Poh, interj.

Defn: An exclamation expressing contempt or disgust; bah !

POHAGEN Po*ha"gen, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Pauhaugen.

POI Po"i, n.

Defn: A national food of the Hawaiians, made by baking and pounding the kalo (or taro) root, and reducing it to a thin paste, which is allowed to ferment.

POICILE; POECILE Poi"ci*le, or; Poe"ci*le, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. poecile.]

Defn: The frescoed porch or gallery in Athens where Zeno taught. R. Browning.

POIGNANCY Poign"an*cy, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being poignant; as, the poignancy of satire; the poignancy of grief. Swift.

POIGNANT Poign"ant, a. Etym: [F., p. pr. of poindre to sting, fr. L. pungere to prick, sting. See Pungent.]

1. Pricking; piercing; sharp; pungent. "His poignant spear." Spenser. "Poynaunt sauce." Chaucer.

2. Fig.: Pointed; keen; satirical. His wit . . . became more lively and poignant. Sir W. Scott.

POIGNANTLY Poign"ant*ly, adv.

Defn: In a poignant manner.

POIKILITIC Poi`ki*lit"ic, a. (Geol.)

Defn: See Poecilitic.

POIKILOCYTE Poi"ki*lo*cyte, n. Etym: [Gr. (Physiol.)

Defn: An irregular form of corpuscle found in the blood in cases of profound anæmia, probably a degenerated red blood corpuscle.

POIKILOTHERMAL; POIKILOTHERMIC Poi`ki*lo*ther"mal, Poi`ki*lo*ther"mic, a. Etym: [Gr. thermal, thermic.] (Physiol.)

Defn: Having a varying body temperature. See Homoiothermal.

POIKILOTHERMOUS Poi`ki*lo*ther"mous, a. (Physiol.)

Defn: Poikilothermal.

POINCIANA Poin`ci*a"na, n. Etym: [NL. Named after M. de Poinci, a governor of the French West Indies.] (Bot.)

Defn: A prickly tropical shrub (Cæsalpinia, formerly Poinciana, pulcherrima), with bipinnate leaves, and racemes of showy orange-red flowers with long crimson filaments.

Note: The genus Poinciana is kept up for three trees of Eastern Africa, the Mascarene Islands, and India.

POIND Poind, v. t. Etym: [See Pound to confine.]

1. To impound, as cattle. [Obs. or Scot.] Flavel.

2. To distrain. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

POINDER Poind"er, n.

1. The keeper of a cattle pound; a pinder. [Obs. or Scot.] T. Adams.

2. One who distrains property. [Scot.] Jamieson.

POINSETTIA Poin*set"ti*a, n. Etym: [NL. Named after Joel R. Poinsett of South Carolina.] (Bot.)

Defn: A Mexican shrub (Euphorbia pulcherrima) with very large and conspicuous vermilion bracts below the yellowish flowers.

POINT Point, v. t. & i.

Defn: To appoint. [Obs.] Spenser.

POINT Point, n. Etym: [F. point, and probably also pointe, L. punctum, puncta, fr. pungere, punctum, to prick. See Pungent, and cf. Puncto, Puncture.]

1. That which pricks or pierces; the sharp end of anything, esp. the sharp end of a piercing instrument, as a needle or a pin.

2. An instrument which pricks or pierces, as a sort of needle used by engravers, etchers, lace workers, and others; also, a pointed cutting tool, as a stone cutter's point; — called also pointer.

3. Anything which tapers to a sharp, well-defined termination. Specifically: A small promontory or cape; a tract of land extending into the water beyond the common shore line.

4. The mark made by the end of a sharp, piercing instrument, as a needle; a prick.

5. An indefinitely small space; a mere spot indicated or supposed. Specifically: (Geom.) That which has neither parts nor magnitude; that which has position, but has neither length, breadth, nor thickness, — sometimes conceived of as the limit of a line; that by the motion of which a line is conceived to be produced.

6. An indivisible portion of time; a moment; an instant; hence, the verge. When time's first point begun Made he all souls. Sir J. Davies.

7. A mark of punctuation; a character used to mark the divisions of a composition, or the pauses to be observed in reading, or to point off groups of figures, etc.; a stop, as a comma, a semicolon, and esp. a period; hence, figuratively, an end, or conclusion. And there a point, for ended is my tale. Chaucer. Commas and points they set exactly right. Pope.

8. Whatever serves to mark progress, rank, or relative position, or to indicate a transition from one state or position to another, degree; step; stage; hence, position or condition attained; as, a point of elevation, or of depression; the stock fell off five points; he won by tenpoints. "A point of precedence." Selden. "Creeping on from point to point." Tennyson. A lord full fat and in good point. Chaucer.

9. That which arrests attention, or indicates qualities or character; a salient feature; a characteristic; a peculiarity; hence, a particular; an item; a detail; as, the good or bad points of a man, a horse, a book, a story, etc. He told him, point for point, in short and plain. Chaucer. In point of religion and in point of honor. Bacon. Shalt thou dispute With Him the points of liberty Milton.

10. Hence, the most prominent or important feature, as of an argument, discourse, etc.; the essential matter; esp., the proposition to be established; as, the point of an anecdote. "Here lies the point." Shak. They will hardly prove his point. Arbuthnot.

11. A small matter; a trifle; a least consideration; a punctilio. This fellow doth not stand upon points. Shak. [He] cared not for God or man a point. Spenser.

12. (Mus.)

Defn: A dot or mark used to designate certain tones or time; as: (a) (Anc. Mus.) A dot or mark distinguishing or characterizing certain tones or styles; as, points of perfection, of augmentation, etc.; hence, a note; a tune. "Sound the trumpet — not a levant, or a flourish, but a point of war." Sir W. Scott. (b) (Mod. Mus.) A dot placed at the right hand of a note, to raise its value, or prolong its time, by one half, as to make a whole note equal to three half notes, a half note equal to three quarter notes.

13. (Astron.)

Defn: A fixed conventional place for reference, or zero of reckoning, in the heavens, usually the intersection of two or more great circles of the sphere, and named specifically in each case according to the position intended; as, the equinoctial points; the solstitial points; the nodal points; vertical points, etc. See Equinoctial Nodal.

14. (Her.)

Defn: One of the several different parts of the escutcheon. See Escutcheon.

15. (Naut.) (a) One of the points of the compass (see Points of the compass, below); also, the difference between two points of the compass; as, to fall off a point. (b) A short piece of cordage used in reefing sails. See Reef point, under Reef.

16. (Anc. Costume)

Defn: A a string or lace used to tie together certain parts of the dress. Sir W. Scott.

17. Lace wrought the needle; as, point de Venise; Brussels point. See Point lace, below.

18. pl. (Railways)

Defn: A switch. [Eng.]

19. An item of private information; a hint; a tip; a pointer. [Cant, U. S.]

20. (Cricket)

Defn: A fielder who is stationed on the off side, about twelve or fifteen yards from, and a little in advance of, the batsman.

21. The attitude assumed by a pointer dog when he finds game; as, the dog came to a point. See Pointer.

22. (Type Making)

Defn: A standard unit of measure for the size of type bodies, being one twelfth of the thickness of pica type. See Point system of type, under Type.

23. A tyne or snag of an antler.

24. One of the spaces on a backgammon board.

25. (Fencing)

Defn: A movement executed with the saber or foil; as, tierce point.

Note: The word point is a general term, much used in the sciences, particularly in mathematics, mechanics, perspective, and physics, but generally either in the geometrical sense, or in that of degree, or condition of change, and with some accompanying descriptive or qualifying term, under which, in the vocabulary, the specific uses are explained; as, boiling point, carbon point, dry point, freezing point, melting point, vanishing point, etc. At all points, in every particular, completely; perfectly. Shak. — At point, In point, At, In, or On, the point, as near as can be; on the verge; about (see About, prep., 6); as, at the point of death; he was on the point of speaking. "In point to fall down." Chaucer. "Caius Sidius Geta, at point to have been taken, recovered himself so valiantly as brought day on his side." Milton. — Dead point. (Mach.) Same as Dead center, under Dead. — Far point (Med.), in ophthalmology, the farthest point at which objects are seen distinctly. In normal eyes the nearest point at which objects are seen distinctly; either with the two eyes together (binocular near point), or with each eye separately (monocular near point). — Nine points of the law, all but the tenth point; the greater weight of authority. — On the point. See At point, above. — Point lace, lace wrought with the needle, as distinguished from that made on the pillow. — Point net, a machine-made lace imitating a kind of Brussels lace (Brussels ground). — Point of concurrence (Geom.), a point common to two lines, but not a point of tangency or of intersection, as, for instance, that in which a cycloid meets its base. — Point of contrary flexure, a point at which a curve changes its direction of curvature, or at which its convexity and concavity change sides. — Point of order, in parliamentary practice, a question of order or propriety under the rules. — Point of sight (Persp.), in a perspective drawing, the point assumed as that occupied by the eye of the spectator. — Point of view, the relative position from which anything is seen or any subject is considered. — Points of the compass (Naut.), the thirty-two points of division of the compass card in the mariner's compass; the corresponding points by which the circle of the horizon is supposed to be divided, of which the four marking the directions of east, west, north, and south, are called cardinal points, and the rest are named from their respective directions, as N. by E., N. N. E., N. E. by N., N. E., etc. See Illust. under Compass. — Point paper, paper pricked through so as to form a stencil for transferring a design. — Point system of type. See under Type. — Singular point (Geom.), a point of a curve which possesses some property not possessed by points in general on the curve, as a cusp, a point of inflection, a node, etc. — To carry one's point, to accomplish one's object, as in a controversy. — To make a point of, to attach special importance to. — To make, or gain, a point, accomplish that which was proposed; also, to make advance by a step, grade, or position. — To mark, or score, a point, as in billiards, cricket, etc., to note down, or to make, a successful hit, run, etc. — To strain a point, to go beyond the proper limit or rule; to stretch one's authority or conscience. — Vowel point, in Hebrew, and certain other Eastern and ancient languages, a mark placed above or below the consonant, or attached to it, representing the vowel, or vocal sound, which precedes or follows the consonant.

POINT Point, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pointed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pointing.] Etym: [Cf. F. pointer. See Point, n.]

1. To give a point to; to sharpen; to cut, forge, grind, or file to an acute end; as, to point a dart, or a pencil. Used also figuratively; as, to point a moral.

2. To direct toward an abject; to aim; as, to point a gun at a wolf, or a cannon at a fort.

3. Hence, to direct the attention or notice of. Whosoever should be guided through his battles by Minerva, and pointed to every scene of them. Pope.

4. To supply with punctuation marks; to punctuate; as, to point a composition.

5. To mark (as Hebrew) with vowel points.

6. To give particular prominence to; to designate in a special manner; to indicate, as if by pointing; as, the error was pointed out. Pope. He points it, however, by no deviation from his straightforward manner of speech. Dickens.

7. To indicate or discover by a fixed look, as game.

8. (Masonry)

Defn: To fill up and finish the joints of (a wall), by introducing additional cement or mortar, and bringing it to a smooth surface.

9. (Stone Cutting)

Defn: To cut, as a surface, with a pointed tool. To point a rope (Naut.), to taper and neatly finish off the end by interweaving the nettles. — To point a sail (Naut.), to affix points through the eyelet holes of the reefs. — To point off, to divide into periods or groups, or to separate, by pointing, as figures. — To point the yards (of a vessel) (Naut.), to brace them so that the wind shall strike the sails obliquely. Totten.

POINT Point (point), v. i.

1. To direct the point of something, as of a finger, for the purpose of designating an object, and attracting attention to it; — with at. Now must the world point at poor Katharine. Shak. Point at the tattered coat and ragged shoe. Dryden.

2. To indicate the presence of game by fixed and steady look, as certain hunting dogs do. He treads with caution, and he points with fear. Gay.

3. (Med.)

Defn: To approximate to the surface; to head; — said of an abscess. To point at, to treat with scorn or contempt by pointing or directing attention to. — To point well (Naut.), to sail close to the wind; — said of a vessel.

POINTAL Point"al, n. Etym: [From Point: cf. F. pointal an upright wooden prop, OF. pointille a prick or prickle.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The pistil of a plant.

2. A kind of pencil or style used with the tablets of the Middle Ages. "A pair of tablets [i. e., tablets] . . . and a pointel." Chaucer.

3. (Arch.)

Defn: See Poyntel. [Obs. or R.]

POINT ALPHABET Point alphabet.

Defn: An alphabet for the blind with a system of raised points corresponding to letters.

POINT APPLIQUE Point appliqué.

Defn: Lace having a needle-made design applied to a net ground, this ground often being machine-made.

POINT-BLANK Point`-blank", n. Etym: [F. point point + blanc white.]

1. The white spot on a target, at which an arrow or other missile is aimed. [Obs.] Jonson.

2. (Mil.) (a) With all small arms, the second point in which the natural line of sight, when horizontal, cuts the trajectory. (b) With artillery, the point where the projectile first strikes the horizontal plane on which the gun stands, the axis of the piece being horizontal.

POINT-BLANK Point`-blank", a.

1. Directed in a line toward the object aimed at; aimed directly toward the mark.

2. Hence, direct; plain; unqualified; — said of language; as, a point-blank assertion. Point-blank range, the extent of the apparent right line of a ball discharged. — Point-blank shot, the shot of a gun pointed directly toward the object to be hit.

POINT-BLANK Point`-blank", adv.

Defn: In a point-blank manner. To sin point-blank against God's word. Fuller.

POINT D'APPUI Point` d'ap`pui". Etym: [F.] (Mil.)

Defn: See under Appui.

POINT-DEVICE; POINT-DEVISE Point`-de*vice", Point`-de*vise", a. Etym: [OE. at point devis; at at + point point, condition + devis exact, careful, OF. devis fixed, set. See Device.]

Defn: Uncommonly nice and exact; precise; particular. You are rather point-devise in your accouterments. Shak. Thus he grew up, in logic point-devise, Perfect in grammar, and in rhetoric nice. Longfellow.

POINT-DEVICE; POINT-DEVISE Point`-de*vice", Point`-de*vise", adv.

Defn: Exactly. [Obs.] Shak.

POINTED Point"ed, a.

1. Sharp; having a sharp point; as, a pointed rock.

2. Characterized by sharpness, directness, or pithiness of expression; terse; epigrammatic; especially, directed to a particular person or thing. His moral pleases, not his pointed wit. Pope. Pointed arch (Arch.), an arch with a pointed crown. — Pointed style (Arch.), a name given to that style of architecture in which the pointed arch is the predominant feature; — more commonly called Gothic. — Point"ed*ly, adv. — Point"ed*ness, n.

POINTEL Point"el, n. Etym: [From Point. Cf. Pointal.]

Defn: See Pointal.

POINTER Point"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, points. Specifically: (a) The hand of a timepiece. (b) (Zoöl.) One of a breed of dogs trained to stop at scent of game, and with the nose point it out to sportsmen. (c) pl. (Astron.)

Defn: The two stars (Merak and Dubhe) in the Great Bear, the line between which points nearly in the direction of the north star. See Illust. of Ursa Major. (b) pl. (Naut.)

Defn: Diagonal braces sometimes fixed across the hold.

POINTING Point"ing, n.

1. The act of sharpening.

2. The act of designating, as a position or direction, by means of something pointed, as a finger or a rod.

3. The act or art of punctuating; punctuation.

4. The act of filling and finishing the joints in masonry with mortar, cement, etc.; also, the material so used.

5. The rubbing off of the point of the wheat grain in the first process of high milling.

6. (Sculpt.)

Defn: The act or process of measuring, at the various distances from the surface of a block of marble, the surface of a future piece of statuary; also, a process used in cutting the statue from the artist's model.

POINTINGSTOCK Point`ing*stock`, n.

Defn: An object of ridicule or scorn; a laughingstock. Shak.

POINTLESS Point"less, a.

Defn: Having no point; blunt; wanting keenness; obtuse; as, a pointless sword; a pointless remark.

Syn. — Blunt; obtuse, dull; stupid.

POINTLESSLY Point"less*ly, adv.

Defn: Without point.

POINTLETED Point"let*ed, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having a small, distinct point; apiculate. Henslow.

POINTREL Poin"trel, n.

Defn: A graving tool. Knight.

POINTSMAN Points"man, n.; pl. -men (-men).

Defn: A man who has charge of railroad points or switches. [Eng.]

POINT SWITCH Point switch. (Railroads)

Defn: A switch made up of a rail from each track, both rails being tapered far back and connected to throw alongside the through rail of either track.

POISE Poise, n. Etym: [OE. pois, peis, OF. pois, peis, F. poids, fr. L. pensum a portion weighed out, pendere to weigh, weigh out. Cf. Avoirdupois, Pendant, Poise, v.] [Formerly written also peise.]

1. Weight; gravity; that which causes a body to descend; heaviness. "Weights of an extraordinary poise." Evelyn.

2. The weight, or mass of metal, used in weighing, to balance the substance weighed.

3. The state of being balanced by equal weight or power; equipoise; balance; equilibrium; rest. Bentley.

4. That which causes a balance; a counterweight. Men of unbounded imagination often want the poise of judgment. Dryden.

POISE Poise, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poised, (; p. pr. & vb. n. Poising.] Etym: [OE. poisen, peisen, OF. & F. peser, to weigh, balance, OF. il peise, il poise, he weighs, F. il pèse, fr. L. pensare, v. intens. fr. pendere to weigh. See Poise, n., and cf. Pensive.] [Formerly written also peise.]

1. To balance; to make of equal weight; as, to poise the scales of a balance.

2. To hold or place in equilibrium or equiponderance. Nor yet was earth suspended in the sky; Nor poised, did on her own foundation lie. Dryden.