P P (pe), (continued 16)

POSSESSIVE Pos*sess"ive, n.

1. (Gram.)

Defn: The possessive case.

2. (Gram.)

Defn: A possessive pronoun, or a word in the possessive case.

POSSESSIVELY Pos*sess"ive*ly, adv.

Defn: In a possessive manner.

POSSESSOR Pos*sess"or, n. Etym: [L.: cf. F. possesseur.]

Defn: One who possesses; one who occupies, holds, owns, or controls; one who has actual participation or enjoyment, generally of that which is desirable; a proprietor. "Possessors of eternal glory." Law. As if he had been possessor of the whole world. Sharp.

Syn. — Owner; proprietor; master; holder; occupant.

POSSESSORY Pos*sess"o*ry, a. Etym: [L. possessorius: cf. F. possessoire.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to possession, either as a fact or a right; of the nature of possession; as, a possessory interest; a possessory lord. Possessory action or suit (Law), an action to regain or obtain possession of something. See under Petitory.

POSSET Pos"set, n. Etym: [W. posel curdled milk, posset.]

Defn: A beverage composed of hot milk curdled by some strong infusion, as by wine, etc., — much in favor formerly. "I have drugged their posset." Shak.

POSSET Pos"set, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Posseted; p. pr. & vb. n. Posseting.]

1. To curdle; to turn, as milk; to coagulate; as, to posset the blood. [Obs.] Shak.

2. To treat with possets; to pamper. [R.] "She was cosseted and posseted." O. W. Holmes.

POSSIBILITY Pos`si*bil"i*ty, n.; pl. Possibilities. Etym: [F. possibilité, L. possibilitas.]

1. The quality or state of being possible; the power of happening, being, or existing. "All possibility of error." Hooker. "Latent possibilities of excellence." Johnson.

2. That which is possible; a contingency; a thing or event that may not happen; a contingent interest, as in real or personal estate. South. Burrill.

POSSIBLE Pos"si*ble, a. Etym: [F., fr. L. possibilis, fr. posse to be able, to have power; potis able, capable + esse to be. See Potent, Am, and cf. Host a landlord.]

Defn: Capable of existing or occurring, or of being conceived or thought of; able to happen; capable of being done; not contrary to the nature of things; — sometimes used to express extreme improbability; barely able to be, or to come to pass; as, possibly he is honest, as it is possible that Judas meant no wrong. With God all things are possible. Matt. xix. 26.

Syn. — Practicable; likely. See Practicable.

POSSIBLY Pos"si*bly, adv.

Defn: In a possible manner; by possible means; especially, by extreme, remote, or improbable intervention, change, or exercise of power; by a chance; perhaps; as, possibly he may recover. Can we . . . possibly his love desert Milton. When possibly I can, I will return. Shak.

POSSUM Pos"sum, n. Etym: [Shortened from opossum.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An opossum. [Colloq. U. S.] To play possum, To act possum, to feign ignorance, indifference or inattention, with the intent to deceive; to dissemble; — in allusion to the habit of the opossum, which feigns death when attacked or alarmed.

POST- Post-. Etym: [L. post behind, after; cf. Skr. paçcabehind, afterwards.]

Defn: A prefix signifying behind, back, after; as, postcommissure, postdot, postscript.

POST Post, a. Etym: [F. aposter to place in a post or position, generally for a bad purpose.]

Defn: Hired to do what is wrong; suborned. [Obs.] Sir E. Sandys.

POST Post, n. Etym: [AS., fr. L. postis, akin to ponere, positum, to place. See Position, and cf. 4th Post.]

1. A piece of timber, metal, or other solid substance, fixed, or to be fixed, firmly in an upright position, especially when intended as a stay or support to something else; a pillar; as, a hitching post; a fence post; the posts of a house. They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses. Ex. xii. 7. Then by main force pulled up, and on his shoulders bore, The gates of Azza, post and massy bar. Milton. Unto his order he was a noble post. Chaucer.

Note: Post, in the sense of an upright timber or strut, is used in composition, in such words as king-post, queen-post, crown-post, gatepost, etc.

2. The doorpost of a victualer's shop or inn, on which were chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt. [Obs.] When God sends coin I will discharge your post. S. Rowlands. From pillar to post. See under Pillar. — Knight of the post. See under Knight. — Post hanger (Mach.), a bearing for a revolving shaft, adapted to be fastened to a post. — Post hole, a hole in the ground to set the foot of a post in. — Post mill, a form of windmill so constructed that the whole fabric rests on a vertical axis firmly fastened to the ground, and capable of being turned as the direction of the wind varies. — Post and stall (Coal Mining), a mode of working in which pillars of coal are left to support the roof of the mine.

POST Post, n. Etym: [F. poste, LL. posta station, post (where horses were kept), properly, a fixed or set place, fem. fr. L. positus placed, p. p. of ponere. See Position, and cf. Post a pillar.]

1. The place at which anything is stopped, placed, or fixed; a station. Specifically: (a) A station, or one of a series of stations, established for the refreshment and accommodation of travelers on some recognized route; as, a stage or railway post. (b) A military station; the place at which a soldier or a body of troops is stationed; also, the troops at such a station. (c) The piece of ground to which a sentinel's walk is limited.

2. A messenger who goes from station; an express; especially, one who is employed by the government to carry letters and parcels regularly from one place to another; a letter carrier; a postman. In certain places there be always fresh posts, to carry that further which is brought unto them by the other. Abp. Abbot. I fear my Julia would not deign my lines, Receiving them from such a worthless post. Shak.

3. An established conveyance for letters from one place or station to another; especially, the governmental system in any country for carrying and distributing letters and parcels; the post office; the mail; hence, the carriage by which the mail is transported. I send you the fair copy of the poem on dullness, which I should not care to hazard by the common post. Pope.

4. Haste or speed, like that of a messenger or mail carrier. [Obs.] "In post he came." Shak.

5. One who has charge of a station, especially of a postal station. [Obs.] He held office of postmaster, or, as it was then called, post, for several years. Palfrey.

6. A station, office, or position of service, trust, or emolument; as, the post of duty; the post of danger. The post of honor is a private station. Addison.

7. A size of printing and writing paper. See the Table under Paper. Post and pair, an old game at cards, in which each player a hand of three cards. B. Jonson. — Post bag, a mail bag. — Post bill, a bill of letters mailed by a postmaster. — Post chaise, or Post coach, a carriage usually with four wheels, for the conveyance of travelers who travel post. Post day, a day on which the mall arrives or departs. — Post hackney, a hired post horse. Sir H. Wotton. — Post horn, a horn, or trumpet, carried and blown by a carrier of the public mail, or by a coachman. — Post horse, a horse stationed, intended, or used for the post. — Post hour, hour for posting letters. Dickens. — Post office. (a) An office under governmental superintendence, where letters, papers, and other mailable matter, are received and distributed; a place appointed for attending to all business connected with the mail. (b) The governmental system for forwarding mail matter. — Postoffice order. See Money order, under Money. — Post road, or Post route, a road or way over which the mail is carried. — Post town. (a) A town in which post horses are kept. (b) A town in which a post office is established by law. — To ride post, to ride, as a carrier of dispatches, from place to place; hence, to ride rapidly, with as little delay as possible. — To travel post, to travel, as a post does, by relays of horses, or by keeping one carriage to which fresh horses are attached at each stopping place.

POST Post, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Posted; p. pr. & vb. n. Posting.]

1. To attach to a post, a wall, or other usual place of affixing public notices; to placard; as, to post a notice; to post playbills.

Note: Formerly, a large post was erected before the sheriff's office, or in some public place, upon which legal notices were displayed. This way of advertisement has not entirely gone of use.

2. To hold up to public blame or reproach; to advertise opprobriously; to denounce by public proclamation; as, to post one for cowardice. On pain of being posted to your sorrow Fail not, at four, to meet me. Granville.

3. To enter (a name) on a list, as for service, promotion, or the like.

4. To assign to a station; to set; to place; as, to post a sentinel. "It might be to obtain a ship for a lieutenant, . . . or to get him posted." De Quincey.

5. (Bookkeeping)

Defn: To carry, as an account, from the journal to the ledger; as, to post an account; to transfer, as accounts, to the ledger. You have not posted your books these ten years. Arbuthnot.

6. To place in the care of the post; to mail; as, to post a letter.

7. To inform; to give the news to; to make (one) acquainted with the details of a subject; — often with up. Thoroughly posted up in the politics and literature of the day. Lond. Sat. Rev. To post off, to put off; to delay. [Obs.] "Why did I, venturously, post off so great a business" Baxter. — To post over, to hurry over. [Obs.] Fuller.

POST Post, v. i. Etym: [Cf. OF. poster. See 4th Post.]

1. To travel with post horses; figuratively, to travel in haste. "Post seedily to my lord your husband." Shak. And post o'er land and ocean without rest. Milton.

2. (Man.)

Defn: To rise and sink in the saddle, in accordance with the motion of the horse, esp. in trotting. [Eng.]

POST Post, adv.

Defn: With post horses; hence, in haste; as, to travel post.

POST-ABDOMEN Post`-ab*do"men, n. Etym: [Pref. post- + abdomen.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: That part of a crustacean behind the cephalothorax; — more commonly called abdomen.

POSTABLE Post"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being carried by, or as by, post. [Obs.] W. Montagu.

POSTACT Post"act`, n.

Defn: An act done afterward.

POSTAGE Post"age, n.

Defn: The price established by law to be paid for the conveyance of a letter or other mailable matter by a public post. Postage stamp, a government stamp required to be put upon articles sent by mail in payment of the postage, esp. an adhesive stamp issued and sold for that purpose.

POSTAL Post"al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. postal.]

Defn: Belonging to the post office or mail service; as, postal arrangements; postal authorities. Postal card, or Post card, a card sold by the government for transmission through the mails, at a lower rate of postage than a sealed letter. The message is written on one side of the card, and the direction on the other. — Postal money order. See Money order, under Money. — Postal note, an order payable to bearer, for a sum of money (in the United States less than five dollars under existing law), issued from one post office and payable at another specified office. — Postal Union, a union for postal purposes entered into by the most important powers, or governments, which have agreed to transport mail matter through their several territories at a stipulated rate.

POSTANAL Post*a"nal, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + anal.] (Anat.)

Defn: Situated behind, or posterior to, the anus.

POSTAXIAL Post*ax"i*al, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + axial.] (Anat.)

Defn: Situated behind any transverse axis in the body of an animal; caudal; posterior; especially, behind, or on the caudal or posterior (that is, ulnar or fibular) side of, the axis of a vertebrate limb.

POSTBOY Post"boy`, n.

1. One who rides post horses; a position; a courier.

2. A boy who carries letters from the post.

POST-CAPTAIN Post"-cap`tain, n.

Defn: A captain of a war vessel whose name appeared, or was "posted," in the seniority list of the British navy, as distinguished from a commander whose name was not so posted. The term was also used in the United States navy; but no such commission as post-captain was ever recognized in either service, and the term has fallen into disuse.

POSTCAVA Post"ca`va, n.; pl. Postcavæ . Etym: [NL. See Post-, and Cave, n.] (Anat.)

Defn: The inferior vena cava. — Post"ca`val, a. B. G. Wilder.

POSTCLAVICLE Post*clav"i*cle, n. Etym: [Pref. post- + clavicle.] (Anat.)

Defn: A bone in the pectoral girdle of many fishes projecting backward from the clavicle. — Post`*cla*vic"u*lar, a.

POSTCOMMISSURE Post*com"mis*sure, n. Etym: [Pref. post- + commisure.] (Anat.)

Defn: A transverse commisure in the posterior part of the roof of the third ventricle of the brain; the posterior cerebral commisure. B. G. Wilder.

POSTCOMMUNION Post`com*mun"ion, n. Etym: [Pref. post- + communion.]

1. (Ch. of Eng. & Prot. Epis. Ch.)

Defn: The concluding portion of the communion service.

2. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: A prayer or prayers which the priest says at Mass, after the ablutions.

POSTCORNU Post*cor"nu, n.; pl. Postcornua. Etym: [NL. See Post-, and Cornu.] (Anat.)

Defn: The posterior horn of each lateral ventricle of the brain. B. G. Wilder.

POSTDATE Post"date`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Postdated; p. pr. & vb. n. Postdating.] Etym: [Pref. post- + date.]

1. To date after the real time; as, to postdate a contract, that is, to date it later than the time when it was in fact made.

2. To affix a date to after the event.

POSTDATE Post"date`, a.

Defn: Made or done after the date assigned. Of these [predictions] some were postdate; cunningly made after the thing came to pass. Fuller.

POSTDATE Post"date`, n.

Defn: A date put to a bill of exchange or other paper, later than that when it was actually made.

POSTDILUVIAL; POSTDILUVIAN Post`di*lu"vi*al, Post`di*lu"vi*an, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + diluvial, diluvian.]

Defn: Being or happening after the flood in Noah's days.

POSTDILUVIAN Post`di*lu"vi*an, n.

Defn: One who lived after the flood.

POST-DISSEIZIN Post"-dis*sei"zin, n. Etym: [Pref. post- + disseizin.] (O. Eng. Law)

Defn: A subsequent disseizin committed by one of lands which the disseizee had before recovered of the same disseizor; a writ founded on such subsequent disseizin, now abolished. Burrill. Tomlins.

POST-DISSEIZOR Post`-dis*sei"zor, n. Etym: [Pref. post- + disseizor.] (O. Eng. Law)

Defn: A person who disseizes another of lands which the disseizee had before recovered of the same disseizor. Blackstone.

POSTEA Post"e*a, n. Etym: [L., after these or those (things), afterward.] (Law)

Defn: The return of the judge before whom a cause was tried, after a verdict, of what was done in the cause, which is indorsed on the nisi prius record. Wharton.

POSTEL Pos"tel, n.

Defn: Apostle. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POSTENCEPHALON Post`en*ceph"a*lon, n. (Anat.)

Defn: The metencephalon.

POSTENTRY Post"en*try, n. Etym: [Pref. post- + entry.]

1. A second or subsequent, at the customhouse, of goods which had been omitted by mistake.

2. (Bookkeeping)

Defn: An additional or subsequent entry.

POSTER Post"er, n.

1. A large bill or placard intended to be posted in public places.

2. One who posts bills; a billposter.

POSTER Post"er, n.

1. One who posts, or travels expeditiously; a courier. "Posters of the sea and land." Shak.

2. A post horse. "Posters at full gallop." C. Lever.

POSTERIOR Pos*te"ri*or, a. Etym: [L. posterior, compar. of posterus coming after, from post after. See Post-.]

1. Later in time; hence, later in the order of proceeding or moving; coming after; — opposed to prior. Hesiod was posterior to Homer. Broome.

2. Situated behind; hinder; — opposed to anterior.

3. (Anat.)

Defn: At or toward the caudal extremity; caudal; — in human anatomy often used for dorsal.

4. (Bot.)

Defn: On the side next the axis of inflorescence; — said of an axillary flower. Gray.

POSTERIORITY Pos*te`ri*or"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. postériorité.]

Defn: The state of being later or subsequent; as, posteriority of time, or of an event; — opposed to priority.

POSTERIORLY Pos*te"ri*or*ly, adv.

Defn: Subsequently in time; also, behind in position.

POSTERIORS Pos*te"ri*ors, n. pl.

Defn: The hinder parts, as of an animal's body. Swift.

POSTERITY Pos*ter"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. posteritas: cf. F. postérité. See Posterior.]

1. The race that proceeds from a progenitor; offspring to the furthest generation; the aggregate number of persons who are descended from an ancestor of a generation; descendants; — contrasted with ancestry; as, the posterity of Abraham. If [the crown] should not stand in thy posterity. Shak.

2. Succeeding generations; future times. Shak. Their names shall be transmitted to posterity. Shak. Their names shall be transmitted to posterity. Smalridge.

POSTERN Pos"tern, n. Etym: [OF. posterne, posterle, F. poterne, fr. L. posterula, fr. posterus coming after. See Posterior.]

1. Originally, a back door or gate; a private entrance; hence, any small door or gate. He by a privy postern took his flight. Spenser. Out at the postern, by the abbey wall. Shak.

2. (Fort.)

Defn: A subterraneous passage communicating between the parade and the main ditch, or between the ditches and the interior of the outworks. Mahan.

POSTERN Pos"tern, a.

Defn: Back; being behind; private. "The postern door." Dryden.

POSTERO Pos"te*ro

Defn: - (posterior, back; as, postero-inferior, situated back and below; postero-lateral, situated back and at the side.

POSTEXILIAN; POSTEXILIC Post`ex*il"i*an, Post`ex*il"ic, a.

Defn: After the exile; specif. (Jewish Hist.),

Defn: belonging to a period subsequent to the Babylonian captivity or exile (b. c. 597 or about 586-about 537).

POSTEXIST Post`ex*ist", v. i. Etym: [Pref. post- + exist.]

Defn: To exist after; to live subsequently. [Obs. or R.]

POSTEXISTENCE Post`ex*ist"ence, n.

Defn: Subsequent existence.

POSTEXISTENT Post`ex*ist"ent, a.

Defn: Existing or living after. [R.] "Postexistent atoms." Cudworth.

POSTFACT Post"fact`, a. Etym: [See Post-, and Fact.]

Defn: Relating to a fact that occurs after another.

POSTFACT Post"fact`, n.

Defn: A fact that occurs after another. "Confirmed upon the postfact." Fuller.

POSTFACTUM Post`fac"tum, n. Etym: [LL.] (Rom. & Eng. Law)

Defn: Same as Postfact.

POST-FINE Post"-fine`, n. Etym: [Pref. post- + fine.] (O. Eng. Law)

Defn: A duty paid to the king by the cognizee in a fine of lands, when the same was fully passed; — called also the king's silver.

POSTFIX Post"fix, n.; pl. Postfixes. Etym: [Pref. post- + -fix, as in prefix: cf. F. postfixe.] (Gram.)

Defn: A letter, syllable, or word, added to the end of another word; a suffix. Parkhurst.

POSTFIX Post*fix", v. t.

Defn: To annex; specifically (Gram.), to add or annex, as a letter, syllable, or word, to the end of another or principal word; to suffix. Parkhurst.

POSTFRONTAL Post*fron"tal, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + frontal.] (Anat.)

Defn: Situated behind the frontal bone or the frontal region of the skull; — applied especially to a bone back of and below the frontal in many animals. — n.

Defn: A postfrontal bone.

POSTFURCA Post*fur"ca, n.; pl. Postfurcæ. Etym: [NL., fr. post behind + furca a fork.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the internal thoracic processes of the sternum of an insect.

POSTGENITURE Post*gen"i*ture, n. Etym: [Pref. post- + L. genitura birth, geniture.]

Defn: The condition of being born after another in the same family; - - distinguished from primogeniture. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

POSTGLACIAL Post*gla"cial, a. (Geol.) (a) Formed or occurring after the last glacial epoch of the Pleistocene period, or at a locality within the area of Pleistocene glaciation after the final disappearance of the glacier from the locality. (b) Of, pertaining to, or designating, an epoch after the last Glacial and before the Terrace epoch. [R.]

POSTGLENOID Post*gle"noid, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + glenoid.] (Anat.)

Defn: Situated behind the glenoid fossa of the temporal bone.

POSTGRADUATE Post*grad"u*ate, a. [Pref. post-+ graduate.]

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or designating, the studies pursued after graduation, esp., after receiving the bachelor's degree at a college; graduate. — n.

Defn: A student who pursues such studies.

Most careful writers consider the word graduate to be the proper word to use in this sense.

POSTHASTE Post`haste", n.

Defn: Haste or speed in traveling, like that of a post or courier. Shak.

POSTHASTE Post`haste, adv.

Defn: With speed or expedition; as, he traveled posthaste; to send posthaste. Shak.

POSTHETOMY Pos*thet"o*my, n. Etym: [Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Circumcision. Dunglison.

POSTHOUSE Post"house`, n.

1. A house established for the convenience of the post, where relays of horses can be obtained.

2. A house for distributing the malls; a post office.

POSTHUME; POSTHUMED Post"hume, Post"humed, a.

Defn: Posthumos. [Obs.] I. Watts. Fuller.

POSTHUMOUS Post"hu*mous, a. Etym: [L. posthumus, postumus, properly, last; hence, late born (applied to children born after the father's death, or after he had made his will), superl. of posterus, posterior. See Posterior.]

1. Born after the death of the father, or taken from the dead body of the mother; as, a posthumous son or daughter.

2. Published after the death of the author; as, posthumous works; a posthumous edition.

3. Being or continuing after one's death; as, a posthumous reputation. Addison. Sir T. Browne.

POSTHUMOUSLY Post"hu*mous*ly, adv.

Defn: It a posthumous manner; after one's decease.

POSTIC Pos"tic, a. Etym: [L. posticus, fr. post after, behind.]

Defn: Backward. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

POSTICOUS Pos"ti*cous, a. Etym: [L. posticus.] (Bot.) (a) Posterior. (b) Situated on the outer side of a filament; — said of an extrorse anther.

POSTIL Pos"til, n. Etym: [F. postille, apostille, LL. postilla, probably from L. post illa (sc. verba) after those (words). Cf. Apostil.]

1. Originally, an explanatory note in the margin of the Bible, so called because written after the text; hence, a marginal note; a comment. Langton also made postils upon the whole Bible. Foxe.

2. (R. C. Ch. & Luth. Ch.)

Defn: A short homily or commentary on a passage of Scripture; as, the first postils were composed by order of Charlemagne.

POSTIL Pos"til, v. t. Etym: [Cf. LL. postillare.]

Defn: To write marginal or explanatory notes on; to gloss. Bacon.

POSTIL Pos"til, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Postiled (Postilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Postiling or Postilling.]

Defn: To write postils, or marginal notes; to comment; to postillate. Postiling and allegorizing on Scripture. J. H. Newman.

POSTILER Pos"til*er, n. Etym: [Written also postiller.]

Defn: One who writers marginal notes; one who illustrates the text of a book by notes in the margin. Sir T. Browne.

POSTILION Pos*til"ion, n. Etym: [F. postillon, It. postiglione, fr. posta post. See Post a postman.]

Defn: One who rides and guides the first pair of horses of a coach or post chaise; also, one who rides one of the horses when one pair only is used. [Written also postillion.]

POSTILLATE Pos"til*late, v. t. Etym: [LL. postillatus, p. p. of postillare.]

Defn: To explain by marginal notes; to postil. Tracts . . . postillated by his own hand. C. Knight.

POSTILLATE Pos"til*late, v. i.

1. To write postils; to comment.

2. To preach by expounding Scripture verse by verse, in regular order.

POSTILLATION Pos`til*la"tion, n. Etym: [LL. postillatio.]

Defn: The act of postillating; exposition of Scripture in preaching.

POSTILLATOR Pos"til*la`tor, n. Etym: [LL.]

Defn: One who postillates; one who expounds the Scriptures verse by verse.

POSTILLER Post"il*ler, n.

Defn: See Postiler.

POST-IMPRESSIONISM Post`-im*pres"sion*ism, n. (Painting)

Defn: In the broadest sense, the theory or practice of any of several groups of recent painters, or of these groups taken collectively, whose work and theories have in common a tendency to reaction against the scientific and naturalistic character of impressionism and neo- impressionism. In a strict sense the term post-impressionism is used to denote the effort at self-expression, rather than representation, shown in the work of Cézanne, Matisse, etc.; but it is more broadly used to include cubism, the theory or practice of a movement in both painting and sculpture which lays stress upon volume as the important attribute of objects and attempts its expression by the use of geometrical figures or solids only; and futurism, a theory or practice which attempts to place the observer within the picture and to represent simultaneously a number of consecutive movements and impressions. In practice these theories and methods of the post- impressionists change with great rapidity and shade into one another, so that a picture may be both cubist and futurist in character. They tend to, and sometimes reach, a condition in which both representation and traditional decoration are entirely abolished and a work of art becomes a purely subjective expression in an arbitrary and personal language.

POSTING Post"ing, n.

1. The act of traveling post.

2. (Bookkeeping)

Defn: The act of transferring an account, as from the journal to the ledger. Posting house, a post house.

POSTLIMINIAR Post`li*min"i*ar, a. Etym: [See Postliminium.]

Defn: Contrived, done, or existing subsequently. "Postliminious after applications of them to their purposes." South.

POSTLIMINIARY Post`li*min"i*a*ry, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or involving, the right of postliminium.

POSTLIMINIUM; POSTLIMINY Post`li*min"i*um, Post*lim"i*ny, n. Etym: [L. postliminium, post after + limen, liminis, a threshold.]

1. (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: The return to his own country, and his former privileges, of a person who had gone to sojourn in a foreign country, or had been banished, or taken by an enemy. Burrill.

2. (Internat. Law)

Defn: The right by virtue of which persons and things taken by an enemy in war are restored to their former state when coming again under the power of the nation to which they belonged. Kent.

POSTLUDE Post"lude, n. Etym: [Pref. post- + -lude, as in prelude.] (Med.)

Defn: A voluntary at the end of a service.

POSTMAN Post"man, n.; pl. Postmen (.

1. A post or courier; a letter carrier.

2. (Eng. Law)

Defn: One of the two most experienced barristers in the Court of Exchequer, who have precedence in motions; — so called from the place where he sits. The other of the two is called the tubman. Whishaw.

POSTMARK Post"mark`, n.

Defn: The mark, or stamp, of a post office on a letter, giving the place and date of mailing or of arrival.

POSTMARK Post"mark`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Postmarked; p. pr. & vb. n. Postmarking.]

Defn: To mark with a post-office stamp; as, to postmark a letter or parcel.

POSTMASTER Post"mas`ter, n.

1. One who has charge of a station for the accommodation of travelers; one who supplies post horses.

2. One who has charge of a post office, and the distribution and forwarding of mails.

POSTMASTER-GENERAL Post"mas`ter-gen"er*al, n.; pl. Postmasters-general.

Defn: The chief officer of the post-office department of a government. In the United States the postmaster-general is a member of the cabinet.

POSTMASTERSHIP Post"mas`ter*ship, n.

Defn: The office of postmaster.

POSTMERIDIAN Post`me*rid"i*an, a. Etym: [L. postmeridianus; post after + meridianus. See Meridian.]

1. Coming after the sun has passed the meridian; being in, or belonging to, the afternoon. (Abbrev. P. M.)

2. Fig., belonging to the after portion of life; late. [R.]

POST-MORTEM Post-mor"tem, a. Etym: [L., after death.]

Defn: After death; as, post-mortem rigidity. Post-mortem examination (Med.), an examination of the body made after the death of the patient; an autopsy.

POSTNARES Post*na"res, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Post-, and Nares.] (Anat.)

Defn: The posterior nares. See Nares.

POSTNATAL Post*na"tal, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + natal.]

Defn: After birth; subsequent to birth; as, postnatal infanticide; postnatal diseases.

POSTNATE Post"nate, a. Etym: [LL. postnatus second or subsequently born; L. post after + natus born.]

Defn: Subsequent. "The graces and gifts of the spirit are postnate." [Archaic] Jer. Taylor.

POST NOTE Post" note`. (Com.)

Defn: A note issued by a bank, payable at some future specified time, as distinguished from a note payable on demand. Burrill.

POSTNUPTIAL Post*nup"tial, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + nuptial.]

Defn: Being or happening after marriage; as, a postnuptial settlement on a wife. Kent.

POST-OBIT; POST-OBIT BOND Post-o"bit, n., or; Post-o"bit bond`. Etym: [Pref. post- + obit.] (Law)

Defn: A bond in which the obligor, in consideration of having received a certain sum of money, binds himself to pay a larger sum, on unusual interest, on the death of some specified individual from whom he has expectations. Bouvier.

POST-OBIT; POST-OBIT BOND Post-o"bit, n., or Post-o"bit bond`. [Pref. post- + obit.] (Law)

Defn: A bond in which the obligor, in consideration of having received a certain sum of money, binds himself to pay a larger sum, on unusual interest, on the death of some specified individual from whom he has expectations. Bouvier.

POSTOBLONGATA Post*ob`lon*ga"ta, n. Etym: [NL. See Post-, and Oblongata.] (Anat.)

Defn: The posterior part of the medulla oblongata. B. G. Wilder.

POSTOCULAR Post*oc"u*lar, a. & n. Etym: [Pref. post- + ocular.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Postorbital.

POST OFFICE Post" of`fice, n.

Defn: See under 4th Post.

POSTORAL Post*o"ral, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + oral.] (Anat.)

Defn: Situated behind, or posterior to, the mouth.

POSTORBITAL Post*or"bit*al, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + orbital.] (Anat. & Zoöl.)

Defn: Situated behind the orbit; as, the postorbital scales of some fishes and reptiles. — n.

Defn: A postorbital bone or scale.

POSTPAID Post"paid`, a.

Defn: Having the postage prepaid, as a letter.

POSTPALATINE Post*pal"a*tine, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + palatine.] (Anat.)

Defn: Situated behind the palate, or behind the palatine bones.

POSTPLIOCENE Post*pli"o*cene, a. (Geol.) Etym: [Pref. post- + pliocene.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the period immediately following the Pliocene; Pleistocene. Also used as a noun. See Quaternary.

POSTPONE Post*pone", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Postponed; p. pr. & vb. n. Postponing.] Etym: [L. postponere, postpositum; post after + ponere to place, put. See Post-, and Position.]

1. To defer to a future or later time; to put off; also, to cause to be deferred or put off; to delay; to adjourn; as, to postpone the consideration of a bill to the following day, or indefinitely. His praise postponed, and never to be paid. Cowper.

2. To place after, behind, or below something, in respect to precedence, preference, value, or importance. All other considerations should give way and be postponed to this. Locke.

Syn. — To adjourn; defer; delay; procrastinate.

POSTPONEMENT Post*pone"ment, n.

Defn: The act of postponing; a deferring, or putting off, to a future time; a temporary delay. Macaulay.

POSTPONENCE Post*pon"ence, n. Etym: [From L. postponens, p. pr.]

Defn: The act of postponing, in sense 2. [Obs.] Johnson.

POSTPONER Post*pon"er, n.

Defn: One who postpones.

POSTPOSE Post*pose", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Postposed; p. pr. & vb. n. Postposing.] Etym: [F. postposer. See Post-, and Pose, v. t.]

Defn: To postpone. [Obs.] Fuller.

POSTPOSIT Post*pos"it, v. t. Etym: [L. postpositus, p. p. See Postpone.]

Defn: To postpone. [Obs.] Feltham.

POSTPOSITION Post`po*si"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. postposition. See Postpone.]

1. The act of placing after, or the state of being placed after. "The postposition of the nominative case to the verb." Mede.

2. A word or particle placed after, or at the end of, another word; - - distinguished from preposition.

POSTPOSITIONAL Post`po*si"tion*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to postposition.

POSTPOSITIVE Post*pos"i*tive, a. Etym: [See Postpone.]

Defn: Placed after another word; as, a postpositive conjunction; a postpositive letter. — Post*pos"i*tive*ly, adv.

POSTPRANDIAL Post*pran"di*al, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + prandial.]

Defn: Happening, or done, after dinner; after-dinner; as, postprandial speeches.

POSTREMOGENITURE Pos*tre`mo*gen"i*ture, n. Etym: [L. postremus last + genitura birth, geniture.]

Defn: The right of the youngest born. Mozley & W.

POSTREMOTE Post`re*mote", a. Etym: [Pref. post- + remote.]

Defn: More remote in subsequent time or order.

POSTRIDER Post"rid`er, n.

Defn: One who rides over a post road to carry the mails. Bancroft.

POSTSCAPULA Post*scap"u*la, n. Etym: [NL. See Post-, and Scapula.] (Anat.)

Defn: The part of the scapula behind or below the spine, or mesoscapula.

POSTSCAPULAR Post*scap"u*lar, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the postscapula; infraspinous.

POSTSCENIUM Post*sce"ni*um, n. Etym: [L., fr. post + scena a scene.]

Defn: The part of a theater behind the scenes; the back part of the stage of a theater.

POSTSCRIBE Post*scribe", v. t. Etym: [L. postscribere. See Postscript.]

Defn: To make a postscript. [R.] T. Adams.

POSTSCRIPT Post"script, n. Etym: [L. postscriptus, (assumed) p. p. of postscribere to write after; post after + scribere to write: cf. F. postscriptum. See Post-, and Scribe.]

Defn: A paragraph added to a letter after it is concluded and signed by the writer; an addition made to a book or composition after the main body of the work has been finished, containing something omitted, or something new occurring to the writer. [Abbrev. P. S.]

POSTSCRIPTED Post"script*ed, a.

Defn: Having a postscript; added in a postscript. [R.] J. Q. Adams.

POSTSCUTELLUM Post`scu*tel"lum, n. Etym: [NL. See Post-, and Scutellum.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The hindermost dorsal piece of a thoracic somite of an insect; the plate behind the scutellum.

POSTSPHENOID Post*sphe"noid, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + sphenoid.] (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the posterior part of the sphenoid bone.

POST-TEMPORAL Post-tem"po*ral, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + temporal.] (Anat.)

Defn: Situated back of the temporal bone or the temporal region of the skull; — applied especially to a bone which usually connects the supraclavicle with the skull in the pectoral arch of fishes. — n.

Defn: A post-temporal bone.

POSTTERTIARY Post*ter"ti*a*ry, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + tertiary.] (Geol.)

Defn: Following, or more recent than, the Tertiary; Quaternary.

POST-TRAGUS Post"-tra`gus, n. Etym: [NL. See Post-, and Tragus.] (Anat.)

Defn: A ridge within and behind the tragus in the ear of some animals.

POST-TYMPANIC Post`-tym*pan"ic, a. Etym: [Pref. post- + tympanic.] (Anat.)

Defn: Situated behind the tympanum, or in the skull, behind the auditory meatus.

POSTULANT Pos"tu*lant, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. postulans, p. pr. of postulare. See Postulate.]

Defn: One who makes a request or demand; hence, a candidate.

POSTULATE Pos"tu*late, n. Etym: [L. postulatum a demand, request, prop. p. p. of postulare to demand, prob. a dim. of poscere to demand, prob. for porcscere; akin to G. forschen to search, investigate, Skr. prach to ask, and L. precari to pray: cf. F. postulat. See Pray.]

1. Something demanded or asserted; especially, a position or supposition assumed without proof, or one which is considered as self-evident; a truth to which assent may be demanded or challenged, without argument or evidence.

2. (Geom.)

Defn: The enunciation of a self-evident problem, in distinction from an axiom, which is the enunciation of a self-evident theorem. The distinction between a postulate and an axiom lies in this, — that the latter is admitted to be self-evident, while the former may be agreed upon between two reasoners, and admitted by both, but not as proposition which it would be impossible to deny. Eng. Cyc.

POSTULATE Pos"tu*late, a.

Defn: Postulated. [Obs.] Hudibras.

POSTULATE Pos"tu*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Postulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Postulating.]

1. To beg, or assume without proof; as, to postulate conclusions.

2. To take without express consent; to assume. The Byzantine emperors appear to have . . . postulated a sort of paramount supremacy over this nation. W. Tooke.

3. To invite earnestly; to solicit. [Obs.] Bp. Burnet.

POSTULATED Pos"tu*la`ted, a.

Defn: Assumed without proof; as, a postulated inference. Sir T. Browne.

POSTULATION Pos`tu*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. postulatio: cf. F. postulation.]

Defn: The act of postulating, or that which is postulated; assumption; solicitation; suit; cause.

POSTULATORY Pos"tu*la*to*ry, a. Etym: [L. postulatorius.]

Defn: Of the nature of a postulate. Sir T. Browne.

POSTULATUM Pos`tu*la"tum, n.; pl. Postulata. Etym: [L. See Postulate, n.]

Defn: A postulate. Addison.

POSTUMOUS Pos"tu*mous, a.

Defn: See Posthumous. [R.]

POSTURAL Pos"tur*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to posture.

POSTURE Pos"ture, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. positura, fr. ponere, positum, to place. See Position.]

1. The position of the body; the situation or disposition of the several parts of the body with respect to each other, or for a particular purpose; especially (Fine Arts), the position of a figure with regard to the several principal members by which action is expressed; attitude. Atalanta, the posture of whose limbs was so lively expressed . . . one would have sworn the very picture had run. Sir P. Sidney. In most strange postures We have seen him set himself. Shak. The posture of a poetic figure is a description of his heroes in the performance of such or such an action. Dryden.

2. Place; position; situation. [Obs.] Milton. His [man's] noblest posture and station in this world. Sir M. Hale.

3. State or condition, whether of external circumstances, or of internal feeling and will; disposition; mood; as, a posture of defense; the posture of affairs. The several postures of his devout soul. Atterbury.

Syn. — Attitude; position. See Attitude.

POSTURE Pos"ture, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Postured; p. pr. & vb. n. Posturing.]

Defn: To place in a particular position or attitude; to dispose the parts of, with reference to a particular purpose; as, to posture one's self; to posture a model. Howell.

POSTURE Pos"ture, v. i.

1. To assume a particular posture or attitude; to contort the body into artificial attitudes, as an acrobat or contortionist; also, to pose.

2. Fig.: To assume a character; as, to posture as a saint.

POSTURER Pos`tur*er, n.

Defn: One who postures.

POSTZYGAPOPHYSIS Post*zyg`a*poph"y*sis, n.; pl. Postzygapophyses. Etym: [NL. See Post- , and Zygapophysis.] (Anat.)

Defn: A posterior zygapophysis.

POSY Po"sy, n.; pl. Posies. Etym: [Contr. fr. poesy.]

1. A brief poetical sentiment; hence, any brief sentiment, motto, or legend; especially, one inscribed on a ring. "The posy of a ring." Shak.

2. Etym: [Probably so called from the use of flowers as having an enigmatical significance. Wedgwood.]

Defn: A flower; a bouquet; a nosegay. "Bridegroom's posies." Spenser. We make a difference between suffering thistles to grow among us, and wearing them for posies. Swift.

POT Pot, n. Etym: [Akin to LG. pott, D. pot, Dan. potte, Sw. potta, Icel. pottr, F. pot; of unknown origin.]

1. A metallic or earthen vessel, appropriated to any of a great variety of uses, as for boiling meat or vegetables, for holding liquids, for plants, etc.; as, a quart pot; a flower pot; a bean pot.

2. An earthen or pewter cup for liquors; a mug.

3. The quantity contained in a pot; a potful; as, a pot of ale. "Give her a pot and a cake." De Foe.

4. A metal or earthenware extension of a flue above the top of a chimney; a chimney pot.

5. A crucible; as, a graphite pot; a melting pot.

6. A wicker vessel for catching fish, eels, etc.

7. A perforated cask for draining sugar. Knight.

8. A size of paper. See Pott. Jack pot. See under 2d Jack. — Pot cheese, cottage cheese. See under Cottage. — Pot companion, a companion in drinking. — Pot hanger, a pothook. — Pot herb, any plant, the leaves or stems of which are boiled for food, as spinach, lamb's-quarters, purslane, and many others. — Pot hunter, one who kills anything and everything that will help to fill has bag; also, a hunter who shoots game for the table or for the market. — Pot metal. (a) The metal from which iron pots are made, different from common pig iron. (b) An alloy of copper with lead used for making large vessels for various purposes in the arts. Ure. (c) A kind of stained glass, the colors of which are incorporated with the melted glass in the pot. Knight. — Pot plant (Bot.), either of the trees which bear the monkey-pot. — Pot wheel (Hydraul.), a noria. — To go to pot, to go to destruction; to come to an end of usefulness; to become refuse. [Colloq.] Dryden. J. G. Saxe.

POT Pot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Potted; p. pr. & vb. n. Potting.]

Defn: To place or inclose in pots; as: (a) To preserve seasoned in pots. "Potted fowl and fish." Dryden. (b) To set out or cover in pots; as, potted plants or bulbs. (c) To drain; as, to pot sugar, by taking it from the cooler, and placing it in hogsheads, etc., having perforated heads, through which the molasses drains off. B. Edwards. (d) (Billiards) To pocket.

POT Pot, v. i.

Defn: To tipple; to drink. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] It is less labor to plow than to pot it. Feltham.

POTABLE Po"ta*ble, a. Etym: [F., fr. L. potabilis, fr. potare to drink; akin to Gr. po`tos a drinking, po`sis a drink, Skr. pa to drink, OIr. ibim I drink. Cf. Poison, Bib, Imbibe.]

Defn: Fit to be drunk; drinkable. "Water fresh and potable." Bacon. — n.

Defn: A potable liquid; a beverage. "Useful in potables." J. Philips.

POTABLENESS Po"ta*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being drinkable.

POTAGE Pot"age (; 48), n.

Defn: See Pottage.

POTAGER Pot"a*ger, n. Etym: [F. fr. potage soup, porridge. See Pottage.]

Defn: A porringer. [Obs.] Grew.

POTAGRO Po*tag"ro, n.

Defn: See Potargo.

POTALE Pot"ale`, n.

Defn: The refuse from a grain distillery, used to fatten swine.

POTAMIAN Po*ta"mi*an, n. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A river tortoise; one of a group of tortoises (Potamites, or Trionychoidea) having a soft shell, webbed feet, and a sharp beak. See Trionyx.

POTAMOGRAPHY Pot`a*mog"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Gr. -graphy.]

Defn: An account or description of rivers; potamology.

POTAMOLOGY Pot`a*mol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Gr. -logy.]

Defn: A scientific account or discussion of rivers; a treatise on rivers; potamography.

POTAMOSPONGIAE Pot`a*mo*spon"gi*æ, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The fresh-water sponges. See Spongilla.

POTANCE Po"tance, n. Etym: [F. potence. See Potence, Potency.] (Watch Making)

Defn: The stud in which the bearing for the lower pivot of the verge is made.

POTARGO Po*tar"go, n. Etym: [Cf. Botargo.]

Defn: A kind of sauce or pickle. King.

POTASH Pot"ash`, n. Etym: [Pot + ash.] (Chem.) (a) The hydroxide of potassium hydrate, a hard white brittle substance, KOH, having strong caustic and alkaline properties; — hence called also caustic potash. (b) The impure potassium carbonate obtained by leaching wood ashes, either as a strong solution (lye), or as a white crystalline (pearlash).

POTASHES Pot"ash`es, n. pl. (Chem.)

Defn: Potash. [Obs.]

POTASSA Po*tas"sa, n. Etym: [NL., fr. E. potash.] (Chem.) (a) Potassium oxide. [Obs.] (b) Potassium hydroxide, commonly called caustic potash.

POTASSAMIDE Pot`ass*am"ide, n. Etym: [Potassium + amide.] (Chem.)

Defn: A yellowish brown substance obtained by heating potassium in ammonia.

POTASSIC Po*tas"sic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or containing, potassium.

POTASSIUM Po*tas"si*um, n. Etym: [NL. See Potassa, Potash.] (Chem.)

Defn: An Alkali element, occurring abundantly but always combined, as in the chloride, sulphate, carbonate, or silicate, in the minerals sylvite, kainite, orthoclase, muscovite, etc. Atomic weight 39.0. Symbol K (Kalium).

Note: It is reduced from the carbonate as a soft white metal, lighter than water, which oxidizes with the greatest readiness, and, to be preserved, must be kept under liquid hydrocarbons, as naphtha or kerosene. Its compounds are very important, being used in glass making, soap making, in fertilizers, and in many drugs and chemicals. Potassium permanganate, the salt KMnO4, crystallizing in dark red prisms having a greenish surface color, and dissolving in water with a beautiful purple red color; — used as an oxidizer and disinfectant. The name chameleon mineral is applied to this salt and also to potassium manganate. — Potassium bitartrate. See Cream of tartar, under Cream.

POTASSOXYL Pot`ass*ox"yl, n. Etym: [Potassium + oxygen + -yl.] (Chem.)

Defn: The radical KO, derived from, and supposed to exist in, potassium hydroxide and other compounds.

POTATION Po*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. potatio, fr. potare. See Potable.]

1. The act of drinking. Jer. Taylor.

2. A draught. "Potations pottle deep." Shak.

3. Drink; beverage. "Thin potations." Shak.

POTATO Po*ta"to, n.; pl. Potatoes. Etym: [Sp. patata potato, batata sweet potato, from the native American name (probably batata) in Hayti.] (Bot.) (a) A plant (Solanum tuberosum) of the Nightshade family, and its esculent farinaceous tuber, of which there are numerous varieties used for food. It is native of South America, but a form of the species is found native as far north as New Mexico. (b) The sweet potato (see below). Potato beetle, Potato bug. (Zoöl.) (a) A beetle (Doryphora decemlineata) which feeds, both in the larval and adult stages, upon the leaves of the potato, often doing great damage. Called also Colorado potato beetle, and Doryphora. See Colorado beetle. (b) The Lema trilineata, a smaller and more slender striped beetle which feeds upon the potato plant, bur does less injury than the preceding species. — Potato fly (Zoöl.), any one of several species of blister beetles infesting the potato vine. The black species (Lytta atrata), the striped (L. vittata), and the gray (L. cinerea, or Fabricii) are the most common. See Blister beetle, under Blister. — Potato rot, a disease of the tubers of the potato, supposed to be caused by a kind of mold (Peronospora infestans), which is first seen upon the leaves and stems. — Potato weevil (Zoöl.), an American weevil (Baridius trinotatus) whose larva lives in and kills the stalks of potato vines, often causing serious damage to the crop. — Potato whisky, a strong, fiery liquor, having a hot, smoky taste, and rich in amyl alcohol (fusel oil); it is made from potatoes or potato starch. — Potato worm (Zoöl.), the large green larva of a sphinx, or hawk moth (Macrosila quinquemaculata); — called also tomato worm. See Illust. under Tomato. — Seaside potato (Bot.), Ipomoea Pes-Capræ, a kind of morning-glory with rounded and emarginate or bilobed leaves. [West Indies] — Sweet potato (Bot.), a climbing plant (Ipomoea Balatas) allied to the morning-glory. Its farinaceous tubers have a sweetish taste, and are used, when cooked, for food. It is probably a native of Brazil, but is cultivated extensively in the warmer parts of every continent, and even as far north as New Jersey. The name potato was applied to this plant before it was to the Solanum tuberosum, and this is the "potato" of the Southern United States. — Wild potato. (Bot.) (a) A vine (Ipomoea pandurata) having a pale purplish flower and an enormous root. It is common in sandy places in the United States. (b) A similar tropical American plant (I. fastigiata) which it is thought may have been the original stock of the sweet potato.

POTATOR Po*ta"tor, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A drinker. [R.] Southey.

POTATORY Po"ta*to*ry, a. Etym: [L. potatorius, from potare to drink.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to drinking. Ld. Lytton.

POT-AU-FEU Pot`-au`-feu", n. [F., lit., pot on the fire.] (Cookery)

Defn: A dish of broth, meat, and vegetables prepared by boiling in a pot, — a dish esp. common among the French. Grant Allen.

POT-BELLIED Pot"-bel`lied, a.

Defn: Having a protuberant belly, like the bottom of a pot.

POT-BELLY Pot"-bel`ly, n.

Defn: A protuberant belly.

POTBOILER Pot"boil`er, n.

Defn: A term applied derisively to any literary or artistic work, and esp. a painting, done simply for money and the means of living. [Cant]

POTBOY Pot"boy`, n.

Defn: A boy who carries pots of ale, beer, etc.; a menial in a public house.

POTCH Potch, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Poach to stab.]

Defn: To thrust; to push. [Obs.] "I 'll potch at him some way." Shak.

POTCH Potch, v. t.

Defn: See Poach, to cook. [Obs.] Wiseman.

POTCHER Potch"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, potches. Potcher engine (Paper Making), a machine in which washed rags are stirred in a bleaching solution.

POTECARY Pot"e*ca*ry, n.

Defn: An apothecary. [Obs.]

POTEEN Po*teen", n. Etym: [Cf. Ir. potaim, poitim, I drink, poitin a small pot.]

Defn: Whisky; especially, whisky illicitly distilled by the Irish peasantry. [Written also potheen, and potteen.]

POTELOT Po"te*lot, n. Etym: [F.,; cf. G. pottloth black lead.] (Old Chem. & Min.)

Defn: Molybdenum sulphide.

POTENCE Po"tence, n. Etym: [F., fr. LL. potentia staff, crutch, L., might, power. See Potency.]

Defn: Potency; capacity. [R.] Sir W. Hamilton.

POTENCY Po"ten*cy, n. Etym: [L. potentia, from potens, -entis, potent. See Potent, and cf. Potance, Potence, Puissance.]

Defn: The quality or state of being potent; physical or moral power; inherent strength; energy; ability to effect a purpose; capability; efficacy; influence. "Drugs of potency." Hawthorne. A place of potency and away o' the state. Shak.

POTENT Po"tent, a. Etym: [L. potens, -entis, p. pr. of posse to be able, to have power, fr. potis able, capable (akin to Skr. pati master, lord) + esse to be. See Host a landlord, Am, and cf. Despot, Podesta, Possible, Power, Puissant.]

1. Producing great physical effects; forcible; powerful' efficacious; as, a potent medicine. "Harsh and potent injuries." Shak. Moses once more his potent rod extends. Milton.

2. Having great authority, control, or dominion; puissant; mighty; influential; as, a potent prince. "A potent dukedom." Shak. Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors. Shak.

3. Powerful, in an intellectual or moral sense; having great influence; as, potent interest; a potent argument. Cross potent. (Her.) See Illust. (7) of Cross.

Syn. — Powerful; mighty; puissant; strong; able; efficient; forcible; efficacious; cogent; influential.

POTENT Po"tent, n.

1. A prince; a potentate. [Obs.] Shak.

2. Etym: [See Potence.]

Defn: A staff or crutch. [Obs.]

3. (Her.)

Defn: One of the furs; a surface composed of patches which are supposed to represent crutch heads; they are always alternately argent and azure, unless otherwise specially mentioned. Counter potent (Her.), a fur differing from potent in the arrangement of the patches.

POTENTACY Po"ten*ta*cy, n. Etym: [See Potentate.]

Defn: Sovereignty. [Obs.]

POTENTATE Po"ten*tate, n. Etym: [LL. potentatus, fr. potentare to exercise power: cf. F. potentat. See Potent, a.]

Defn: One who is potent; one who possesses great power or sway; a prince, sovereign, or monarch. The blessed and only potentate. 1 Tim. vi. 15. Cherub and seraph, potentates and thrones. Milton.

POTENTIAL Po*ten"tial, a. Etym: [Cf. F. potentiel. See Potency.]

1. Being potent; endowed with energy adequate to a result; efficacious; influential. [Obs.] "And hath in his effect a voice potential." Shak.

2. Existing in possibility, not in actuality. "A potential hero." Carlyle. Potential existence means merely that the thing may be at ome time; actual existence, that it now is. Sir W. Hamilton. Potential cautery. See under Cautery. — Potential energy. (Mech.) See the Note under Energy. — Potential mood, or mode (Gram.), that form of the verb which is used to express possibility, liberty, power, will, obligation, or necessity, by the use of may, can, must, might, could, would, or should; as, I may go; he can write.

POTENTIAL Po*ten"tial, n.

1. Anything that may be possible; a possibility; potentially. Bacon.

2. (Math.)

Defn: In the theory of gravitation, or of other forces acting in space, a function of the rectangular coordinates which determine the position of a point, such that its differential coefficients with respect to the coördinates are equal to the components of the force at the point considered; — also called potential function, or force function. It is called also Newtonian potential when the force is directed to a fixed center and is inversely as the square of the distance from the center.

3. (Elec.)

Defn: The energy of an electrical charge measured by its power to do work; hence, the degree of electrification as referred to some standard, as that of the earth; electro-motive force.

POTENTIALITY Po*ten`ti*al"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being potential; possibility, not actuality; inherent capability or disposition, not actually exhibited.

POTENTIALLY Po*ten"tial*ly, adv.

1. With power; potently. [Obs.]

2. In a potential manner; possibly, not positively. The duration of human souls is only potentially infinite. Bentley.

POTENTIATE Po*ten"ti*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Potentiated; p. pr. & vb. n. Potentiating.]

Defn: To render active or potent. Coleridge.

POTENTIOMETER Po*ten`ti*om"e*ter, n. Etym: [Potential + -meter.] (Elec.)

Defn: An instrument for measuring or comparing electrial potentials or electro-motive forces.

POTENTIZE Po"ten*tize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Potentized; p. pr. & vb. n. Potentizing.]

Defn: To render the latent power of (anything) available. Dunglison.

POTENTLY Po"tent*ly, adv.

Defn: With great force or energy; powerfully; efficaciously. "You are potently opposed." Shak.

POTENTNESS Po"tent*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being potent; powerfulness; potency; efficacy.

POTESTATE Po"tes*tate, n.

Defn: A chief ruler; a potentate. [Obs.] Wyclif. "An irous potestate." Chaucer.

POTESTATIVE Po*tes"ta*tive, a. Etym: [L. potestativus, fr. potestas power: cf. F. potestatif. See Potent.]

Defn: Authoritative. [Obs.] Bp. Pearson.

POTGUN Pot"gun`, n.

1. A pot-shaped cannon; a mortar. [Obs.] "Twelve potguns of brass." Hakluyt.

2. A popgun. [Obs.] Swift.

POTHECARY Poth"e*ca*ry, n.

Defn: An apothecary. [Obs.]

POTHEEN Po*theen", n.

Defn: See Poteen.

POTHER Poth"er, n. Etym: [Cf. D. peuteren to rummage, poke. Cf. Potter, Pudder.]

Defn: Bustle; confusion; tumult; flutter; bother. [Written also potter, and pudder.] "What a pother and stir!" Oldham. "Coming on with a terrible pother." Wordsworth.

POTHER Poth"er, v. i.

Defn: To make a bustle or stir; to be fussy.

POTHER Poth"er, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pothered; p. pr. & vb. n. Pothering.]

Defn: To harass and perplex; to worry. "Pothers and wearies himself." Locke.

POTHOLE Pot"hole`, n.

Defn: A circular hole formed in the rocky beds of rivers by the grinding action of stones or gravel whirled round by the water in what was at first a natural depression of the rock.

POTHOOK Pot"hook`, n.

1. An

2. A written character curved like a pothook; (pl.) a scrawled writing. "I long to be spelling her Arabic scrawls and pothooks." Dryden.

POTHOUSE Pot"house`, n.

Defn: An alehouse. T. Warton.

POTICHE Po`tiche", n.; pl. -tiches (#). [F., fr. pot a pot.] (Ceramics)

Defn: A vase with a separate cover, the body usually rounded or polygonal in plan with nearly vertical sides, a neck of smaller size, and a rounded shoulder.

POTICHOMANIA; POTICHOMANIE Po`ti*cho*ma"ni*a, Po`ti*cho*ma"nie, n. Etym: [F. potichomanie; potiche a porcelain vase + manie mania.]

Defn: The art or process of coating the inside of glass vessels with engravings or paintings, so as to give them the appearance of painted ware.

POTION Po"tion, n. Etym: [L. potio, from potare to drink: cf. F. potion. See Poison.]

Defn: A draught; a dose; usually, a draught or dose of a liquid medicine. Shak.

POTION Po"tion, v. t.

Defn: To drug. [Obs.] Speed.

POT LACE Pot lace.

Defn: Lace whose pattern includes one or more representations of baskets or bowls from which flowers spring.

POTLATCH Pot"latch`, n. [Chinook potlatch, pahtlatch, fr. Nootka pahchilt, pachalt, a gift.]

1. Among the Kwakiutl, Chimmesyan, and other Indians of the northwestern coast of North America, a ceremonial distribution by a man of gifts to his own and neighboring tribesmen, often, formerly, to his own impoverishment. Feasting, dancing, and public ceremonies accompany it.

2. Hence, a feast given to a large number of persons, often accompanied by gifts. [Colloq., Northwestern America]

POT LEAD Pot lead.

Defn: Graphite, or black lead, often used on the bottoms of racing vessels to diminish friction.

POTLID Pot"lid`, n.

Defn: The lid or cover of a pot. Potlid valve, a valve covering a round hole or the end of a pipe or pump barrel, resembling a potlid in form.

POTLUCK Pot"luck`, n.

Defn: Whatever may chance to be in the pot, or may be provided for a meal. A woman whose potluck was always to be relied on. G. Eliot. To take potluck, to take what food may chance to be provided.

POTMAN Pot"man, n.; pl. Potmen (.

1. A pot companion. [Obs.] Life of A. Wood (1663).

2. A servant in a public house; a potboy.

POTOO Po*too", n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large South American goatsucker (Nyctibius grandis).

POTOROO Po`to*roo", n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any small kangaroo belonging to Hypsiprymnus, Bettongia, and allied genera, native of Australia and Tasmania. Called also kangaroo rat.

POTPIE Pot"pie`, n.

Defn: A meat pie which is boiled instead of being baked.

POTPOURRI Pot`pour`ri", n. Etym: [F., fr. pot pot + pourri, p. p. of pourrir to rot, L. putrere. Cf. Olla-podrida.]

Defn: A medley or mixture. Specifically: (a) A ragout composed of different sorts of meats, vegetables, etc., cooked together. (b) A jar or packet of flower leaves, perfumes, and spices, used to scent a room. (c) A piece of music made up of different airs strung together; a medley. (d) A literary production composed of parts brought together without order or bond of connection.

POTSDAM GROUP Pots"dam group` (. (Geol.)

Defn: A subdivision of the Primordial or Cambrian period in American geology; — so named from the sandstone of Potsdam, New York. See Chart of Geology.

POTSHARD; POTSHARE Pot"shard`, Pot"share`, n.

Defn: A potsherd. [Obs.] Spenser.

POTSHERD Pot"sherd`, n. Etym: [Pot + sherd or shard.]

Defn: A piece or fragment of a broken pot. Job ii. 8.

POT SHOT Pot shot.

Defn: Lit., a shot fired simply to fill the pot; hence, a shot fired at an animal or person when at rest or within easy range, or fired simply to kill, without reference to the rules of sport; a shot needling no special skill.

POTSTONE Pot"stone`, n. (Min.)

Defn: A variety of steatite sometimes manufactured into culinary vessels.

POTSURE Pot"*sure`, a.

Defn: Made confident by drink. [Obs.]

POT-SURE Pot"-sure` (-shur), a.

Defn: Made confident by drink. [Obs.]

POTT Pott, n.

Defn: A size of paper. See under Paper.

POTTAGE Pot"tage (; 48), n. Etym: [F. potage, fr. pot pot. See Pot, and cf. Porridge, Porringer.]

Defn: A kind of food made by boiling vegetables or meat, or both together, in water, until soft; a thick soup or porridge. [Written also potage.] Chaucer. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils. Gen. xxv. 34.

POTTAIN Pot"tain, n.

Defn: Old pot metal. [Obs.] Holland.

POTTEEN Pot*teen", n.

Defn: See Poteen.

POTTER Pot"ter, n. Etym: [Cf. F. potier.]

1. One whose occupation is to make earthen vessels. Ps. ii. 9. The potter heard, and stopped his wheel. Longfellow.

2. One who hawks crockery or earthenware. [Prov. Eng.] De Quincey.

3. One who pots meats or other eatables.

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The red-bellied terrapin. See Terrapin. Potter's asthma (Med.), emphysema of the lungs; — so called because very prevalent among potters. Parkers. — Potter's clay. See under Clay. — Potter's field, a public burial place, especially in a city, for paupers, unknown persons, and criminals; — so named from the field south of Jerusalem, mentioned in Matt. xxvii. 7. — Potter's ore. See Alquifou. — Potter's wheel, a horizontal revolving disk on which the clay is molded into form with the hands or tools. "My thoughts are whirled like a potter's wheel." Shak. Potter wasp (Zoöl.), a small solitary wasp (Eumenes fraternal) which constructs a globular nest of mud and sand in which it deposits insect larvæ, such as cankerworms, as food for its young.

POTTER Pot"ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pottered; p. pr. & vb. n. Pottering.] Etym: [Cf. W. pwtio to poke, or OD. poteren to search one thoroughly, Sw. påta, peta, to pick, E. pother, put.]

1. To busy one's self with trifles; to labor with little purpose, energy, of effect; to trifle; to pother. Pottering about the Mile End cottages. Mrs. Humphry Ward.

2. To walk lazily or idly; to saunter.

POTTER Pot"ter, v. t.

Defn: To poke; to push; also, to disturb; to confuse; to bother. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

POTTERN Pot"tern, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to potters. Pottern ore, a species of ore which, from its aptness to vitrify like the glazing of potter's wares, the miners call by this name. Boyle.

POTTERY Pot"ter*y, n.; pl. Potteries. Etym: [F. poterie, fr. pot. See Pot.]

1. The vessels or ware made by potters; earthenware, glazed and baked.

2. The place where earthen vessels are made.

POTTING Pot"ting, n.

1. Tippling. [Obs.] Shak.

2. The act of placing in a pot; as, the potting of plants; the potting of meats for preservation.

3. The process of putting sugar in casks for cleansing and draining. [West Indies] B. Edwards.

POTTLE Pot"tle, n. Etym: [OE. potel, OF. potel, dim. of pot. See Pot.]

1. A liquid measure of four pints.

2. A pot or tankard. Shak. A dry pottle of sack before him. Sir W. Scott.

3. A vessel or small basket for holding fruit. He had a . . . pottle of strawberries in one hand. Dickens. Pottle draught, taking a pottle of liquor at one draught. [ Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

POTTO Pot"to, n. (Zoöl.) (a) A nocturnal mammal (Perodictius potto) of the Lemur family, found in West Africa. It has rudimentary forefingers. Called also aposoro, and bush dog. (b) The kinkajou.

POTT'S DISEASE Pott's" dis*ease". (Med.)

Defn: Caries of the vertebræ, frequently resulting in curvature of the spine and paralysis of the lower extremities; — so named from Percival Pott, an English surgeon. Pott's fracture, a fracture of the lower end of the fibula, with displacement of the tibia. Dunglison.

POTULENT Pot"u*lent, a. Etym: [L. potulentus, fr. potus a drinking, drink, fr. potare to drink.]

1. Fit to drink; potable. [Obs.] Johnson.

2. Nearly drunk; tipsy. [Obs.]

POT-VALIANT Pot"-val`iant, a.

Defn: Having the courage given by drink. Smollett.

POT-WALLOPER Pot"-wal`lop*er, n.

1. A voter in certain boroughs of England, where, before the passage of the reform bill of 1832, the qualification for suffrage was to have boiled (walloped) his own pot in the parish for six months.

2. One who cleans pots; a scullion. [Slang, U. S.]

POUCH Pouch, n. Etym: [F. poche a pocket, pouch, bag; probably of Teutonic origin. See Poke a bag, and cf. Poach to cook eggs, to plunder.]

1. A small bag; usually, a leathern bag; as, a pouch for money; a shot pouch; a mail pouch, etc.

2. That which is shaped like, or used as, a pouch; as: (a) A protuberant belly; a paunch; — so called in ridicule. (b) (Zoöl.) A sac or bag for carrying food or young; as, the cheek pouches of certain rodents, and the pouch of marsupials. (c) (Med.) A cyst or sac containing fluid. S. Sharp. (d) (Bot.) A silicle, or short pod, as of the shepherd's purse. (e) A bulkhead in the hold of a vessel, to prevent grain, etc., from shifting. Pouch mouth, a mouth with blubbered or swollen lips.

POUCH Pouch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pouched; p. pr. & vb. n. Pouching.]

1. To put or take into a pouch.

2. To swallow; — said of fowls. Derham.

3. To pout. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

4. To pocket; to put up with. [R.] Sir W. Scott.

POUCHED Pouched, a. (Zoöl.) (a) Having a marsupial pouch; as, the pouched badger, or the wombat. (b) Having external cheek pouches; as, the pouched gopher. (c) Having internal cheek pouches; as, the pouched squirrels. Pouched dog. (Zoöl.) See Zebra wolf, under Zebra. — Pouched frog (Zoöl.), the nototrema, the female of which has a dorsal pouch in which the eggs are hatched, and in which the young pass through their brief tadpole stage. — Pouched gopher, or Pouched rat. (Zoöl.) See Pocket gopher, under Pocket. — Pouched mouse. (Zoöl.) See Pocket mouse, under Pocket.

POUCHET BOX Pou"chet box`.

Defn: See Pouncet box.

POUCH-MOUTHED Pouch"-mouthed`, a.

Defn: Having a pouch mouth; blobber-lipped.

POUCHONG Pou*chong", n.

Defn: A superior kind of souchong tea. De Colange.

POUCH-SHELL Pouch"-shell`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small British and American pond snail (Bulinus hypnorum).

POUDRE Pou"dre, n. Etym: [See Powder.]

Defn: Dust; powder. [Obs.] Chaucer. Poudre marchant Etym: [see Merchant], a kind of flavoring powder used in the Middle Ages. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POUDRETTE Pou*drette", n. Etym: [F., dim. of poudre dust, powder. See Powder.]

Defn: A manure made from night soil, dried and mixed with charcoal, gypsum, etc.

POUF; POUFFE Pouf Pouffe (poof), n. [Written also pouff.] [F. pouf. Cf. Puff, n.] Lit., a puff; specif.: (a) A soft cushion, esp. one circular in shape and not, like a pilow, of bag form, or thin at the edges. (b) A piece of furniture like an ottoman, generally circular and affording cushion seats on all sides.

POULAINE Pou*laine", n. Etym: [F. soulier à la poulaine.]

Defn: A long pointed shoe. See Cracowes.

POULARD Pou*lard" (poo*lärd"), n. [F. poularde pullet, fr. poule hen. See Pullet.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A pullet from which the ovaries have been removed to produce fattening; hence, a fat pullet.

POULDAVIS Poul"da`vis, n.

Defn: Same as Poledavy. [Obs.]

POULDER Poul"der, n. & v.

Defn: Powder. [Obs.]

POULDRON Poul"dron, n.

Defn: See Pauldron.

POULP; POULPE Poulp, Poulpe, n. Etym: [F. poulpe, fr. L. polypus. See Polyp.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Octopus. Musk poulp (Zoöl.), a Mediterranean octopod (Eledone moschata) which emits a strong odor of musk.

POULT Poult, n. Etym: [OF. pulte, F. poulet, dim. of poule fowl. See Pullet.]

Defn: A young chicken, partridge, grouse, or the like. King. Chapman. Starling the heath poults or black game. R. Jefferise.

POULTER Poul"ter, n. Etym: [OE. pulter. See Poult.]

Defn: A poulterer. [Obs.] Shak.

POULTERER Poul"ter*er, n.

Defn: One who deals in poultry.

POULTICE Poul"tice, n. Etym: [L. puls, pl. pultes, a thick pap; akin to Gr. po`ltos. Cf. Pulse seeds.]

Defn: A soft composition, as of bread, bran, or a mucilaginous substance, to be applied to sores, inflamed parts of the body, etc.; a cataplasm. "Poultice relaxeth the pores." Bacon.

POULTICE Poul"tice, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poulticed; p. pr. & vb. n. Poulticing.]

Defn: To apply a poultice to; to dress with a poultice.

POULTIVE Poul"tive, n.

Defn: A poultice. [Obs.] W. Temple.

POULTRY Poul"try, n. Etym: [From Poult.]

Defn: Domestic fowls reared for the table, or for their eggs or feathers, such as cocks and hens, capons, turkeys, ducks, and geese.

POUNCE Pounce, n. Etym: [F. ponce pumice, pounce, fr. L. pumex, -icis, pumice. See Pumice.]

1. A fine powder, as of sandarac, or cuttlefish bone, — formerly used to prevent ink from spreading on manuscript.

2. Charcoal dust, or some other colored powder for making patterns through perforated designs, — used by embroiderers, lace makers, etc. Pounce box, a box for sprinkling pounce. — Pounce paper, a transparent paper for tracing.

POUNCE Pounce, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Pouncing.]

Defn: To sprinkle or rub with pounce; as, to pounce paper, or a pattern.

POUNCE Pounce, n. Etym: [Prob. through French, from an assumed LL. punctiare to prick, L. pungere, punctum. See Puncheon, Punch, v. t.]

1. The claw or talon of a bird of prey. Spenser. Burke.

2. A punch or stamp. [Obs.] "A pounce to print money with." Withals.

3. Cloth worked in eyelet holes. [Obs.] Homilies.

POUNCE Pounce, v. t.

1. To strike or seize with the talons; to pierce, as with the talons. [Archaic] Stooped from his highest pitch to pounce a wren. Cowper. Now pounce him lightly, And as he roars and rages, let's go deeper. J. Fletcher.

2. To punch; to perforate; to stamp holes in, or dots on, by way of ornament. [Obs.] Sir T. Elyot.

POUNCE Pounce, v. i.

Defn: To fall suddenly and seize with the claws; — with on or upon; as, a hawk pounces upon a chicken. Also used figuratively. Derision is never so agonizing as when it pounces on the wanderings of misguided sensibility. Jeffrey.

POUNCED Pounced, a.

1. Furnished with claws or talons; as, the pounced young of the eagle. Thomson.

2. Ornamented with perforations or dots. [Obs.] "Gilt bowls pounced and pierced." Holinshed.

POUNCET BOX Poun"cet box`. Etym: [Cf. F. poncette, fr. ponce pounce. See Pounce a powder.]

Defn: A box with a perforated lid, for sprinkling pounce, or for holding perfumes. Shak.

POUNCING Poun"cing, n.

1. The art or practice of transferring a design by means of pounce.

2. Decorative perforation of cloth. [Obs.]

POUND Pound, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Pounding.] Etym: [OE. pounen, AS. punian to bruise. Cf. Pun a play on words.]

1. To strike repeatedly with some heavy instrument; to beat. With cruel blows she pounds her blubbered cheeks. Dryden.

2. To comminute and pulverize by beating; to bruise or break into fine particles with a pestle or other heavy instrument; as, to pound spice or salt.

POUND Pound, v. i.

1. To strike heavy blows; to beat.

2. (Mach.)

Defn: To make a jarring noise, as in running; as, the engine pounds.

POUND Pound, n. Etym: [AS. pund an inclosure: cf. forpyndan to turn away, or to repress, also Icel. pynda to extort, torment, Ir. pont, pond, pound. Cf. Pinder, Pinfold, Pin to inclose, Pond.]

1. An inclosure, maintained by public authority, in which cattle or other animals are confined when taken in trespassing, or when going at large in violation of law; a pinfold. Shak.

2. A level stretch in a canal between locks.

3. (Fishing)

Defn: A kind of net, having a large inclosure with a narrow entrance into which fish are directed by wings spreading outward. Pound covert, a pound that is close or covered over, as a shed. — Pound overt, a pound that is open overhead.

POUND Pound, v. t.

Defn: To confine in, or as in, a pound; to impound. Milton.

POUND Pound, n; pl. Pounds, collectively Pound pr Pounds. Etym: [AS. pund, fr. L. pondo, akin to pondus a weight, pendere top weigh. See Pendant.]

1. A certain specified weight; especially, a legal standard consisting of an established number of ounces.

Note: The pound in general use in the United States and in England is the pound avoirdupois, which is divided into sixteen ounces, and contains 7,000 grains. The pound troy is divided into twelve ounces, and contains 5,760 grains. 144 pounds avoirdupois are equal to 175 pounds troy weight. See Avoirdupois, and Troy.

2. A British denomination of money of account, equivalent to twenty shillings sterling, and equal in value to about $4.86. There is no coin known by this name, but the gold sovereign is of the same value.

Note: The pound sterling was in Saxon times, about A. D. 671, a pound troy of silver, and a shilling was its twentieth part; consequently the latter was three times as large as it is at present. Peacham.

POUNDAGE Pound"age, n.

1. A sum deducted from a pound, or a certain sum paid for each pound; a commission.

2. A subsidy of twelve pence in the pound, formerly granted to the crown on all goods exported or imported, and if by aliens, more. [Eng.] Blackstone.

3. (Law)

Defn: The sum allowed to a sheriff or other officer upon the amount realized by an execution; — estimated in England, and formerly in the United States, at so much of the pound. Burrill. Bouvier.

POUNDAGE Pound"age, v. t.

Defn: To collect, as poundage; to assess, or rate, by poundage. [R.]

POUNDAGE Pound"age, n. Etym: [See 3d Pound.]

1. Confinement of cattle, or other animals, in a public pound.

2. A charge paid for the release of impounded cattle.

POUNDAL Pound"al, n. Etym: [From 5th Pound.] (Physics & Mech.)

Defn: A unit of force based upon the pound, foot, and second, being the force which, acting on a pound avoirdupois for one second, causes it to acquire by the of that time a velocity of one foot per second. It is about equal to the weight of half an ounce, and is 13,825 dynes.

POUND-BREACH Pound"-breach`, n.

Defn: The breaking of a public pound for releasing impounded animals. Blackstone.

POUNDCAKE Pound"cake`, n.

Defn: A kind of rich, sweet cake; — so called from the ingredients being used by pounds, or in equal quantities.

POUNDER Pound"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, pounds, as a stamp in an ore mill.

2. An instrument used for pounding; a pestle.

3. A person or thing, so called with reference to a certain number of pounds in value, weight, capacity, etc.; as, a cannon carrying a twelve-pound ball is called a twelve pounder.

Note: Before the English reform act of 1867, one who was an elector by virtue of paying ten pounds rent was called a ten pounder.

POUNDING Pound"ing, n.

1. The act of beating, bruising, or breaking up; a beating.

2. A pounded or pulverized substance. [R.] "Covered with the poundings of these rocks." J. S. Blackie.

POUNDKEEPER; POUND-KEEPER Pound"keep`er, n.

Defn: The keeper of a pound.

POUNDRATE Pound"*rate`, n.

Defn: A rate or proportion estimated at a certain amount for each pound; poundage.

POUP Poup, v. i.

Defn: See Powp. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POUPART'S LIGAMENT Pou*part's" lig"a*ment. (Anat.)

Defn: A ligament, of fascia, extending, in most mammals, from the ventral side of the ilium to near the symphysis of the pubic bones.

POUPETON Pou"pe*ton, n. Etym: [See Puppet.]

Defn: A puppet, or little baby. [Obs.] Palsgrave.

POUR Pour, a.

Defn: Poor. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POUR Pour, v. i.

Defn: To pore. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POUR Pour, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poured; p. pr. & vb. n. Pouring.] Etym: [OE. pouren, of uncertain origin; cf. W. bwrw to cast, throw, shed, bwrw gwlaw to rain.]

1. To cause to flow in a stream, as a liquid or anything flowing like a liquid, either out of a vessel or into it; as, to pour water from a pail; to pour wine into a decanter; to pour oil upon the waters; to pour out sand or dust.

2. To send forth as in a stream or a flood; to emit; to let escape freely or wholly. I . . . have poured out my soul before the Lord. 1 Sam. i. 15. Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee. Ezek. vii. 8. London doth pour out her citizens ! Shak. Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth With such a full and unwithdrawing hand Milton.

3. To send forth from, as in a stream; to discharge uninterruptedly. Is it for thee the linnet pours his throat Pope.

POUR Pour, v. i.

Defn: To flow, pass, or issue in a stream, or as a stream; to fall continuously and abundantly; as, the rain pours; the people poured out of the theater. In the rude throng pour on with furious pace. Gay.

POUR Pour, n.

Defn: A stream, or something like a stream; a flood. [Colloq.] "A pour of rain." Miss Ferrier.

POURELICHE Poure"liche`, adv.

Defn: Poorly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POURER Pour"er, n.

Defn: One who pours.

POURLIEU Pour"lieu, n.

Defn: See Purlieu.

POURPARLER Pour`par`ler", n. Etym: [F.] (Diplomacy)

Defn: A consultation preliminary to a treaty.

POURPARTY Pour`par"ty, n.; pl. Pourparties. Etym: [See Purparty.] (Law)

Defn: A division; a divided share. To make pourparty, to divide and apportion lands previously held in common.

POURPOINT Pour"point, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A quilted military doublet or gambeson worn in the 14th and 15th centuries; also, a name for the doublet of the 16th and 17th centuries worn by civilians.

POURPRESTURE Pour*pres"ture, n. (Law)

Defn: See Purpresture.

POURSUIVANT Pour"sui*vant, n.

Defn: See Pursuivant.

POURTRAY Pour*tray", v. t.

Defn: See Portray.

POURVEYANCE Pour*vey"ance, n.

Defn: See Purveyance.

POUSSE Pousse, n.

Defn: Pulse; pease. [Obs.] Spenser.

POUSSE-CAFE Pousse"-ca`fé", n. [F., fr. pousser to push + café coffee.]

Defn: A drink served after coffee at dinner, usually one of several liqueurs, or cordials, of different specific gravities poured so as to remain separate in layers; hence, such a drink of cordials served at any time.

POUSSETTE Pous*sette", n. Etym: [F., pushpin, fr. pousser to push. See Push.]

Defn: A movement, or part of a figure, in the contradance. Dickens.

POUSSETTE Pous*sette", v. i.

Defn: To perform a certain movement in a dance. [R.] Tennyson. Down the middle, up again, poussette, and cross. J. & H. Smith.

POU STO Pou sto (poo sto; pou sto). [Gr. poy^ stw^ where I may stand; — from the reputed saying of Archimedes, "Give me where I may stand and I will move the whole world with my steelyard."]

Defn: A place to stand upon; a locus standi; hence, a foundation or basis for operations.

POUT Pout, n. Etym: [F. poulet. See Poult.]

Defn: The young of some birds, as grouse; a young fowl. Carew.

POUT Pout, v. i.

Defn: To shoot pouts. [Scot.]

POUT Pout, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pouting.] Etym: [OE. pouten, of uncertain origin; cf. Prov. pot lip, Prov. F. potte, faire la potte to pout, W. pwdu to pout, be sullen, poten, potten, a paunch, belly.]

1. To thrust out the lips, as in sullenness or displeasure; hence, to look sullen. Thou poutest upon thy fortune and thy love. Shak.

2 2

Defn: To protrude. "Pouting lips." Dryden.

POUT Pout, n.

Defn: A sullen protrusion of the lips; a fit of sullenness. "Jack's in the pouts." J. & H. Smith.

POUT Pout, n. Etym: [Cf. Eelpout.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European whiting pout or bib. Eel pout. (Zoöl.) See Eelpout. — Horn pout, or Horned pout. (Zoöl.) See Bullhead (b).

POUTER Pout"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, pouts.

2. Etym: [Cf. E. pout, and G. puter turkey.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A variety of the domestic pigeon remarkable for the extent to which it is able to dilate its throat and breast.

POUTING Pout"ing, n.

Defn: Childish sullenness.

POUTINGLY Pout"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a pouting, or a sullen, manner.

POVERT Pov"ert, n.

Defn: Poverty. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POVERTY Pov"er*ty, n. Etym: [OE. poverte, OF. poverté, F. pauvreté, fr. L. paupertas, fr. pauper poor. See Poor.]

1. The quality or state of being poor or indigent; want or scarcity of means of subsistence; indigence; need. "Swathed in numblest poverty." Keble. The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty. Prov. xxiii. 21.

2. Any deficiency of elements or resources that are needed or desired, or that constitute richness; as, poverty of soil; poverty of the blood; poverty of ideas. Poverty grass (Bot.), a name given to several slender grasses (as Aristida dichotoma, and Danthonia spicata) which often spring up on old and worn-out fields.

Syn. — Indigence; penury; beggary; need; lack; want; scantiness; sparingness; meagerness; jejuneness. Poverty, Indigence, Pauperism. Poverty is a relative term; what is poverty to a monarch, would be competence for a day laborer. Indigence implies extreme distress, and almost absolute destitution. Pauperism denotes entire dependence upon public charity, and, therefore, often a hopeless and degraded state.

POWAN; POWEN Pow"an, Pow"en, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small British lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeoides, or C. ferus); — called also gwyniad and lake herring.

POWDER Pow"der, n. Etym: [OE. poudre, pouldre, F. poudre, OF. also poldre, puldre, L. pulvis, pulveris: cf. pollen fine flour, mill dust, E. pollen. Cf. Polverine, Pulverize.]

1. The fine particles to which any dry substance is reduced by pounding, grinding, or triturating, or into which it falls by decay; dust. Grind their bones to powder small. Shak.

2. An explosive mixture used in gunnery, blasting, etc.; gunpowder. See Gunpowder. Atlas powder, Baking powder, etc. See under Atlas, Baking, etc. — Powder down (Zoöl.), the peculiar dust, or exfoliation, of powder-down feathers. — Powder-down feather (Zoöl.), one of a peculiar kind of modified feathers which sometimes form patches on certain parts of some birds. They have a greasy texture and a scaly exfoliation. — Powder-down patch (Zoöl.), a tuft or patch of powder-down feathers. — Powder hose, a tube of strong linen, about an inch in diameter, filled with powder and used in firing mines. Farrow. — Powder hoy (Naut.), a vessel specially fitted to carry powder for the supply of war ships. They are usually painted red and carry a red flag. — Powder magazine, or Powder room. See Magazine, 2. — Powder mine, a mine exploded by gunpowder. See Mine. — Powder monkey (Naut.), a boy formerly employed on war vessels to carry powder; a powder boy. — Powder post. See Dry rot, under Dry. — Powder puff. See Puff, n.

POWDER Pow"der, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Powdered; p. pr. & vb. n. Powdering.] Etym: [F. poudrer.]

1. To reduce to fine particles; to pound, grind, or rub into a powder; to comminute; to pulverize; to triturate.

2. To sprinkle with powder, or as with powder; to be sprinkle; as, to powder the hair. A circling zone thou seest Powdered with stars. Milton.

3. To sprinkle with salt; to corn, as meat. [Obs.]

POWDER Pow"der, v. i.

1. To be reduced to powder; to become like powder; as, some salts powder easily.

2. To use powder on the hair or skin; as, she paints and powders.

POWDERED Pow"dered, a.

1. Reduced to a powder; sprinkled with, or as with, powder.

2. Sprinkled with salt; salted; corned. [Obs.] Powdered beef, pickled meats. Harvey.

3. (Her.)

Defn: Same as Semé. Walpole.

POWDERFLASK Pow"der*flask`, n.

Defn: A flask in which gunpowder is carried, having a charging tube at the end.

POWDERHORN Pow"der*horn`, n.

Defn: A horn in which gunpowder is carried.

POWDERING Pow"der*ing,

Defn: a. & n. from Powder, v. t. Powdering tub. (a) A tub or vessel in which meat is corned or salted. (b) A heated tub in which an infected lecher was placed for cure. [Obs.] Shak.

POWDERMILL Pow"der*mill`, n.

Defn: A mill in which gunpowder is made.

POWDER-POSTED Pow"der-post`ed, a.

Defn: Affected with dry rot; reduced to dust by rot. See Dry rot, under Dry. [U.S.]

POWDERY Pow"der*y, a.

1. Easily crumbling to pieces; friable; loose; as, a powdery spar.

2. Sprinkled or covered with powder; dusty; as, the powdery bloom on plums.

3. Resembling powder; consisting of powder. "The powdery snow." Wordsworth.

POWDIKE Pow"dike, n. Etym: [Scot. pow, pou, a pool, a watery or marshy place, fr. E. pool.]

Defn: A dike a marsh or fen. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

POWDRY Pow"dry, a.

Defn: See Powdery.

POWER Pow"er, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Poor, the fish.

POWER Pow"er, n. Etym: [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf. Posse comitatus.]

1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent; the faculty of doing or performing something; capacity for action or performance; capability of producing an effect, whether physical or moral: potency; might; as, a man of great power; the power of capillary attraction; money gives power. "One next himself in power, and next in crime." Milton.

2. Ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength, force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm. "The power of fancy." Shak.

3. Capacity of undergoing or suffering; fitness to be acted upon; susceptibility; — called also passive power; as, great power of endurance. Power, then, is active and passive; faculty is active power or capacity; capacity is passive power. Sir W. Hamilton.

4. The exercise of a faculty; the employment of strength; the exercise of any kind of control; influence; dominion; sway; command; government. Power is no blessing in itself but when it is employed to protect the innocent. Swift.

5. The agent exercising an ability to act; an individual invested with authority; an institution, or government, which exercises control; as, the great powers of Europe; hence, often, a superhuman agent; a spirit; a divinity. "The powers of darkness." Milton. And the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Matt. xxiv. 29.

6. A military or naval force; an army or navy; a great host. Spenser. Never such a power . . . Was levied in the body of a land. Shak.

7. A large quantity; a great number; as, a power o. [Colloq.] Richardson.

8. (Mech.) (a) The rate at which mechanical energy is exerted or mechanical work performed, as by an engine or other machine, or an animal, working continuously; as, an engine of twenty horse power.

Note: The English unit of power used most commonly is the horse power. See Horse power. (b) A mechanical agent; that from which useful mechanical energy is derived; as, water power; steam power; hand power, etc. (c) Applied force; force producing motion or pressure; as, the power applied at one and of a lever to lift a weight at the other end.

Note: This use in mechanics, of power as a synonym for force, is improper and is becoming obsolete. (d) A machine acted upon by an animal, and serving as a motor to drive other machinery; as, a dog power.

Note: Power is used adjectively, denoting, driven, or adapted to be driven, by machinery, and not actuated directly by the hand or foot; as, a power lathe; a power loom; a power press.

9. (Math.)

Defn: The product arising from the multiplication of a number into itself; as, a square is the second power, and a cube is third power, of a number.

10. ( (Metaph.)

Defn: Mental or moral ability to act; one of the faculties which are possessed by the mind or soul; as, the power of thinking, reasoning, judging, willing, fearing, hoping, etc. I. Watts. The guiltiness of my mind, the sudden surprise of my powers, drove the grossness . . . into a received belief. Shak.

11. (Optics)

Defn: The degree to which a lens, mirror, or any optical instrument, magnifies; in the telescope, and usually in the microscope, the number of times it multiplies, or augments, the apparent diameter of an object; sometimes, in microscopes, the number of times it multiplies the apparent surface.

12. (Law)

Defn: An authority enabling a person to dispose of an interest vested either in himself or in another person; ownership by appointment. Wharton.

13. Hence, vested authority to act in a given case; as, the business was referred to a committee with power.

Note: Power may be predicated of inanimate agents, like the winds and waves, electricity and magnetism, gravitation, etc., or of animal and intelligent beings; and when predicated of these beings, it may indicate physical, mental, or moral ability or capacity. Mechanical powers. See under Mechanical. — Power loom, or Power press. See Def. 8 (d), note. — Power of attorney. See under Attorney. — Power of a point (relative to a given curve) (Geom.), the result of substituting the coördinates of any point in that expression which being put equal to zero forms the equation of the curve; as, x2 + y2 - 100 is the power of the point x, y, relative to the circle x2 + y2 - 100 = 0.

POWERABLE Pow"er*a*ble, a.

1. Capable of being effected or accomplished by the application of power; possible. [R.] J. Young.

2. Capable of exerting power; powerful. Camden.

POWERFUL Pow"er*ful, a.

1. Full of power; capable of producing great effects of any kind; potent; mighty; efficacious; intense; as, a powerful man or beast; a powerful engine; a powerful argument; a powerful light; a powerful vessel. The powerful grace that lies In herbs, plants, stones, and their true qualities. Shak.

2. (Mining)

Defn: Large; capacious; — said of veins of ore.

Syn. — Mighty; strong; potent; forcible; efficacious; energetic; intense. — Pow"er*ful*ly, adv. — Pow"er*ful*ness, n.

POWERLESS Pow"er*less, a.

Defn: Destitute of power, force, or energy; weak; impotent; not able to produce any effect. — Pow"er*less*ly, adv. — Pow"er*less*ness, n.

POWLDRON Powl"dron, n. Etym: [OF. espauleron, from espaule shoulder, F. épaule.]

Defn: Same as Pauldron.

POWP Powp, v. i.

Defn: See Poop, v. i. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POWTER Pow"ter, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Pouter.

POWWOW Pow"wow`, n.

1. A priest, or conjurer, among the North American Indians. Be it sagamore, sachem, or powwow. Longfellow.

2. Conjuration attended with great noise and confusion, and often with feasting, dancing, etc., performed by Indians for the cure of diseases, to procure success in hunting or in war, and for other purposes.

3. Hence: Any assembly characterized by noise and confusion; a noisy frolic or gathering. [Colloq. U. S.]

POWWOW Pow"wow`, v. i.

1. To use conjuration, with noise and confusion, for the cure of disease, etc., as among the North American Indians.

2. Hence: To hold a noisy, disorderly meeting. [Colloq. U. S.]

POX Pox, n. Etym: [For pocks, OE. pokkes. See Pock. It is plural in form but is used as a singular.] (Med.)

Defn: Strictly, a disease by pustules or eruptions of any kind, but chiefly or wholly restricted to three or four diseases, — the smallpox, the chicken pox, and the vaccine and the venereal diseases.

Note: Pox, when used without an epithet, as in imprecations, formerly signified smallpox; but it now signifies syphilis.

POX Pox, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poxed; p. pr. & vb. n. Poxing.]

Defn: To infect with the pox, or syphilis.

POY Poy, n. Etym: [OF. apui, apoi, a support, prop., staff, F. appui, fr. OF. apuier, apoier, to support, F. appuyer, fr. à to (L. ad) + OF. pui, poi, a rising ground, hill, L. podium. See Podium, Pew.]

1. A support; — used in composition; as, teapoy.

2. A ropedancer's balancing pole. Johnson.

3. A long boat hook by which barges are propelled against the stream. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

POYNADO Poy*na"do, n.

Defn: A poniard. [Obs.] Lyly.

POYND; POYNDER Poynd, v., Poynd"er (, n.

Defn: See Poind, Poinder.

POY NETTE Poy nette", n. Etym: [Cf. Point.]

Defn: A bodkin. [Obs.]

POYNTEL Poyn"tel, n. Etym: [See Pointal.] (Arch.)

Defn: Paving or flooring made of small squares or lozenges set diagonally. [Formerly written pointal.]

POYOU Poy"ou, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A South American armadillo (Dasypus sexcinctus). Called also sixbanded armadillo.

POZE Poze, v. t.

Defn: See 5th Pose.

POZZUOLANA; POZZOLANA Poz`zu*o*la"na, Poz`zo*la"*na, n. Etym: [It.]

Defn: Volcanic ashes from Pozzuoli, in Italy, used in the manufacture of a kind of mortar which hardens under water.

PRAAM Praam, n. Etym: [D. praam; cf. G. prahm, F. prame; all of Slavonic origin, from a word akin to E. fare. See Fare.] (Naut.)

Defn: A flat-bottomed boat or lighter, — used in Holland and the Baltic, and sometimes armed in case of war. [Written also pram, and prame.]

PRACTIC Prac"tic, a. Etym: [See Practical.]

1. Practical.

2. Artful; deceitful; skillful. [Obs.] "Cunning sleights and practick knavery." Spenser.

PRACTICABILITY Prac"ti*ca*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being practicable; practicableness; feasibility. "The practicability of such a project." Stewart.

PRACTICABLE Prac"ti*ca*ble, a. Etym: [LL. practicare to act, transact, fr. L. practicus active, Gr. practicable, pratiquer to practice. See Practical.]

1. That may be practiced or performed; capable of being done or accomplished with available means or resources; feasible; as, a practicable method; a practicable aim; a practicable good.

2. Capable of being used; passable; as, a practicable weapon; a practicable road. Practicable breach (Mil.), a breach which admits of approach and entrance by an assailing party.

Syn. — Possible; feasible. — Practicable, Possible. A thing may be possible, i. e., not forbidden by any law of nature, and yet may not now be practicable for want of the means requisite to its performance. — Prac"ti*ca*ble*ness, n. — Prac"ti*ca*bly, adv.

PRACTICAL Prac"ti*cal, a. Etym: [L. practicus active, Gr. pratique, formerly also practique. Cf. Pragmatic, Practice.]

1. Of or pertaining to practice or action.

2. Capable of being turned to use or account; useful, in distinction from ideal or theoretical; as, practical chemistry. "Man's practical understanding." South. "For all practical purposes." Macaulay.

3. Evincing practice or skill; capable of applying knowledge to some useful end; as, a practical man; a practical mind.

4. Derived from practice; as, practical skill. Practical joke, a joke put in practice; a joke the fun of which consists in something done, in distinction from something said; esp., a trick played upon a person.

PRACTICALITY Prac`ti*cal"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being practical; practicalness.

PRACTICALIZE Prac"ti*cal*ize, v. t.

Defn: To render practical. [R.] "Practicalizing influences." J. S. Mill.

PRACTICALLY Prac"ti*cal*ly, adv.

Defn: 1. In a practical way; not theoretically; really; as, to look at things practically; practically worthless.

2. By means of practice or use; by experience or experiment; as, practically wise or skillful; practically acquainted with a subject.

3. In practice or use; as, a medicine practically safe; theoretically wrong, but practically right. 4. Almost.

PRACTICALNESS Prac"ti*cal*ness, n.

Defn: Same as Practicality.

PRACTICE Prac"tice, n. Etym: [OE. praktike, practique, F. pratique, formerly also, practique, LL. practica, fr. Gr. Practical, and cf. Pratique, Pretty.]

1. Frequently repeated or customary action; habitual performance; a succession of acts of a similar kind; usage; habit; custom; as, the practice of rising early; the practice of making regular entries of accounts; the practice of daily exercise. A heart . . . exercised with covetous practices. 2 Pet. ii. 14.

2. Customary or constant use; state of being used. Obsolete words may be revived when they are more sounding or more significant than those in practice. Dryden.

3. Skill or dexterity acquired by use; expertness. [R.] "His nice fence and his active practice." Shak.

4. Actual performance; application of knowledge; — opposed to theory. There are two functions of the soul, — contemplation and practice. South. There is a distinction, but no opposition, between theory and practice; each, to a certain extent, supposes the other; theory is dependent on practice; practice must have preceded theory. Sir W. Hamilton.

5. Systematic exercise for instruction or discipline; as, the troops are called out for practice; she neglected practice in music.

6. Application of science to the wants of men; the exercise of any profession; professional business; as, the practice of medicine or law; a large or lucrative practice. Practice is exercise of an art, or the application of a science in life, which application is itself an art. Sir W. Hamilton.

7. Skillful or artful management; dexterity in contrivance or the use of means; art; stratagem; artifice; plot; — usually in a bad sense. [Obs.] Bacon. He sought to have that by practice which he could not by prayer. Sir P. Sidney.

8. (Math.)

Defn: A easy and concise method of applying the rules of arithmetic to questions which occur in trade and business.

9. (Law)

Defn: The form, manner, and order of conducting and carrying on suits and prosecutions through their various stages, according to the principles of law and the rules laid down by the courts. Bouvier.

Syn. — Custom; usage; habit; manner.

PRACTICE Prac"tice, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Practiced; p. pr. & vb. n. Practicing.] Etym: [Often written practise, practised, practising.]

1. To do or perform frequently, customarily, or habitually; to make a practice of; as, to practice gaming. "Incline not my heart . . . practice wicked works." Ps. cxli. 4.

2. To exercise, or follow, as a profession, trade, art, etc., as, to practice law or medicine.

2. To exercise one's self in, for instruction or improvement, or to acquire discipline or dexterity; as, to practice gunnery; to practice music.

4. To put into practice; to carry out; to act upon; to commit; to execute; to do. "Aught but Talbot's shadow whereon to practice your severity." Shak. As this advice ye practice or neglect. Pope.

5. To make use of; to employ. [Obs.] In malice to this good knight's wife, I practiced Ubaldo and Ricardo to corrupt her. Massinger.

6. To teach or accustom by practice; to train. In church they are taught to love God; after church they are practiced to love their neighbor. Landor.

PRACTICE Prac"tice, v. i. Etym: [Often written practise.]

1. To perform certain acts frequently or customarily, either for instruction, profit, or amusement; as, to practice with the broadsword or with the rifle; to practice on the piano. practise

2. To learn by practice; to form a habit. They shall practice how to live secure. Milton. Practice first over yourself to reign. Waller.

3. To try artifices or stratagems. He will practice against thee by poison. Shak.

4. To apply theoretical science or knowledge, esp. by way of experiment; to exercise or pursue an employment or profession, esp. that of medicine or of law. [I am] little inclined to practice on others, and as little that others should practice on me. Sir W. Temple.

PRACTICED Prac"ticed, a. Etym: [Often written practised.]

1. Experienced; expert; skilled; as, a practiced marksman. "A practiced picklock." Ld. Lytton.