Chapter XXII: Part 22

3. To entangle; to embarrass; to overcome. [Obs.]

Plunged and graveled with three lines of Seneca.

Sir T. Browne.

Plunge, v. i. 1. To thrust or cast one's self into water or other fluid; to submerge one's self; to dive, or to rush in; as, he plunged into the river. Also used figuratively; as, to plunge into debt.

Forced to plunge naked in the raging sea.

Dryden.

To plunge into guilt of a murther.

Tillotson.

2. To pitch or throw one's self headlong or violently forward, as a horse does.

Some wild colt, which . . . flings and plunges.

Bp. Hall.

3. To bet heavily and with seeming recklessness on a race, or other contest; in an extended sense, to risk large sums in hazardous speculations. [Cant]

Plunging fire (Gun.), firing directed upon an enemy from an elevated position.

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

2. Hence, a desperate hazard or act; a state of being submerged or overwhelmed with difficulties. [R.]

She was brought to that plunge, to conceal her husband's murder or
accuse her son.

Sir P. Sidney.

And with thou not reach out a friendly arm, To raise me from amidst
this plunge of sorrows?

Addison.

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

4. Heavy and reckless betting in horse racing; hazardous speculation. [Cant]

Plunge bath, an immersion by plunging; also, a large bath in which the bather can wholly immerse himself. -- Plunge, or plunging, battery (Elec.), a voltaic battery so arranged that the plates can be plunged into, or withdrawn from, the exciting liquid at pleasure.

Plun"ger (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, plunges; a diver.

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

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

4. (Pottery) A boiler in which clay is beaten by a wheel to a creamy consistence. Knight.

5. (Gun.) The firing pin of a breechloader.

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

Plun"ket (?), n. A kind of blue color; also, anciently, a kind of cloth, generally blue.

Plu"per`fect (?), a. [L. plus more + perfectus perfect; cf. F. plus-que-parfait, L. plusquamperfectum.] More than perfect; past perfect; -- said of the tense which denotes that an action or event was completed at or before the time of another past action or event. -- n. The pluperfect tense; also, a verb in the pluperfect tense.

Plu"ral (?), a. [L. pluralis, from plus, pluris, more; cf. F. pluriel, OF. plurel. See Plus.] Relating to, or containing, more than one; designating two or more; as, a plural word.

Plural faith, which is too much by one.

Shak.

Plural number (Gram.), the number which designates more than one. See Number, n., 8.

Plu"ral, n. (Gram.) The plural number; that form of a word which expresses or denotes more than one; a word in the plural form.

Plu"ral*ism (?), n. 1. The quality or state of being plural, or in the plural number.

2. (Eccl.) The state of a pluralist; the holding of more than one ecclesiastical living at a time. [Eng.]

Plu"ral*ist, n. (Eccl.) A clerk or clergyman who holds more than one ecclesiastical benefice. [Eng.]

Of the parochial clergy, a large proportion were pluralists.

Macaulay.

Plu*ral"i*ty (?), n.; pl. pluralities (#). [L. pluralitas: cf. F. pluralitÈ.] 1. The state of being plural, or consisting of more than one; a number consisting of two or more of the same kind; as, a plurality of worlds; the plurality of a verb.

2. The greater number; a majority; also, the greatest of several numbers; in elections, the excess of the votes given for one candidate over those given for another, or for any other, candidate. When there are more than two candidates, the one who receives the plurality of votes may have less than a majority. See Majority.

Take the plurality of the world, and they are neither wise nor
good.

L'Estrange.

3. (Eccl.) See Plurality of benefices, below.

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

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Plu`ral*i*za"tion (?), n. The act of pluralizing. H. Spencer.

Plu"ral*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pluralized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pluralizing (?).] 1. To make plural by using the plural termination; to attribute plurality to; to express in the plural form.

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

Plu"ral*ize, v. i. 1. To take a plural; to assume a plural form; as, a noun pluralizes. Earle.

2. (Eccl.) To hold more than one benefice at the same time. [Eng.]

Plu"ral*i`zer (?), n. (Eccl.) A pluralist. [R.]

Plu"ral*ly, adv. In a plural manner or sense.

Plu"ri- (?). [See Plus.] A combining form from L. plus, pluris, more, many; as pluriliteral.

||Plu"ri*es (?), n. [So called from L. pluries many times, often, which ||occurs in the first clause.] (Law) A writ issued in the third place, ||after two former writs have been disregarded. Mozley & W.

Plu`ri*fa"ri*ous (?), a. [L. plurifarius, fr. L. plus, pluris, many. Cf. Bifarious.] Of many kinds or fashions; multifarious.

Plu`ri*fo"li*o*late (?), a. [Pluri- + foliolate.] (Bot.) Having several or many leaflets.

Plu`ri*lit"er*al (?), a. [Pluri- + literal.] Consisting of more letters than three. - - n. A pluriliteral word.

Plu`ri*loc"u*lar (?), a. [Pluri- + locular.] Having several cells or loculi; specifically (Bot.), having several divisions containing seeds; as, the lemon and the orange are plurilocular fruits.

Plurilocular sporangia (Bot.), many- celled sporangia, each cell containing a single spore, as in many algÊ.

Plu*rip"a*rous (?), a. [Pluri- + L. parere to bring forth.] Producing several young at a birth; as, a pluriparous animal.

Plu`ri*par"tite (?), a. [Pluri- + partite.] (Bot.) Deeply divided into several portions.

Plu`ri*pres"ence (?), n. [Pluri- + presence.] Presence in more places than one. [R.] Johnson.

Plu"ri*sy (?), n. [L. plus, pluris, more.] Superabundance; excess; plethora. [Obs.] Shak.

Plus (?), a. [L., more; akin to Gr. &?;, &?;, and E. full. See Full, a., and cf. Pi˘, Pleonasm.]

1. (Math.) More, required to be added; positive, as distinguished from negative; -- opposed to minus.

2. Hence, in a literary sense, additional; real; actual.

Success goes invariably with a certain plus or positive power.

Emerson.

Plus sign (Math.), the sign (+) which denotes addition, or a positive quantity.

Plush (?), n. [F. pluche, peluche (cf. It. peluzzo), fr. L. pilus hair. See pile hair, and cf. Peruke.] A textile fabric with a nap or shag on one side, longer and softer than the nap of velvet. Cowper.

Plush"y (?), a. Like plush; soft and shaggy. H. Kingsley.

Plu"tar*chy (?), n. [Gr. &?; wealth + -archy.] Plutocracy; the rule of wealth. [R.]

Plu"te*al (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Of or pertaining to a pluteus.

||Plu"te*us (?), n.; pl. L. Plutei (#), E. Pluteuses (#). [L., a shed.] ||(Zoˆl.) The free-swimming larva of sea urchins and ophiurans, having ||several long stiff processes inclosing calcareous rods.

Plu"to (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Class. Myth.) The son of Saturn and Rhea, brother of Jupiter and Neptune; the dark and gloomy god of the Lower World.

Pluto monkey (Zoˆl.), a long- tailed African monkey (Cercopithecus pluto), having side whiskers. The general color is black, more or less grizzled; the frontal band is white.

Plu*toc"ra*cy (?), n. [Gr. &?;; &?; wealth + &?; to be strong, to rule, fr.&?; strength: cf. F. plutocratie.] A form of government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of the wealthy classes; government by the rich; also, a controlling or influential class of rich men.

Plu"to*crat (?), n. One whose wealth gives him power or influence; one of the plutocracy.

Plu`to*crat"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to plutocracy; as, plutocratic ideas. Bagehot.

Plu*tol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?; wealth + -logy.] The science which treats of wealth.

Plu*to"ni*an (?), a. [L. Plutonius, Gr. &?;: cf. F. plutonien.] Plutonic. Poe.

Plu*to"ni*an (?), n. (Geol.) A Plutonist.

Plu*ton"ic (?), a. [Cf. F. plutonique. See Pluto.] 1. Of or pertaining to Pluto; Plutonian; hence, pertaining to the interior of the earth; subterranean.

2. Of, pertaining to, or designating, the system of the Plutonists; igneous; as, the Plutonic theory.

Plutonic action (Geol.), the influence of volcanic heat and other subterranean forces under pressure. -- Plutonic rocks (Geol.), granite, porphyry, and some other igneous rocks, supposed to have consolidated from a melted state at a great depth from the surface. Cf. Intrusive rocks, under Intrusive. -- Plutonic theory. (Geol.) See Plutonism.

Plu"to*nism (?), n. [Cf. F. plutonisme.] The theory, early advanced in geology, that the successive rocks of the earth\'b6s crust were formed by igneous fusion; -- opposed to the Neptunian theory.

Plu"to*nist (?), n. [Cf. F. plutoniste.] One who adopts the geological theory of igneous fusion; a Plutonian. See Plutonism.

Plu"tus (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Class. Myth.) The son of Jason and Ceres, and the god of wealth. He was represented as bearing a cornucopia, and as blind, because his gifts were bestowed without discrimination of merit.

Plu"vi*al, a. [L. pluvialis, fr. pluvia rain: cf. F. pluvial. See Plover.] 1. Of or pertaining to rain; rainy. [R.]

2. (Geol.) Produced by the action of rain.

Plu"vi*al, n. [LL. pluviale a garment which keeps off the rain: cf. F. pluvial.] A priest's cope.

Plu`vi*am"e*ter (?), n. See Pluviometer.

Plu`vi*a*met"ric*al (?), a. See Pluviometrical.

Plu"vi*an (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The crocodile bird.

Plu`vi*om"e*ter (?), n. [L. pluvia rain + -meter: cf. F. pluviomËtre.] An instrument for ascertaining the amount of rainfall at any place in a given time; a rain gauge.

Plu`vi*o*met"ric*al (?), a. [Cf. F. pluviomÈtrique.] Of or pertaining to a pluviometer; determined by a pluviometer.

||Plu`vi`Ùse" (?), n. [F. See Pluvious.] The fifth month of the French ||republican calendar adopted in 1793. It began January 20, and ended ||February 18. See VendÈmiaire.

Plu"vi*ous (?), a. [L. pluviosus, pluvius, fr. pluvia rain: cf. F. pluvieux. See Pluvial, a.] Abounding in rain; rainy; pluvial. Sir T. Browne.

Ply (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Plying (?).] [OE. plien, F. plier to fold, to bend, fr. L. plicare; akin to Gr. &?;, G. flechten. Cf. Apply, Complex, Display, Duplicity, Employ, Exploit, Implicate, Plait, Pliant, Flax.] 1. To bend. [Obs.]

As men may warm wax with handes plie.

Chaucer.

2. To lay on closely, or in folds; to work upon steadily, or with repeated acts; to press upon; to urge importunately; as, to ply one with questions, with solicitations, or with drink.

And plies him with redoubled strokes

Dryden.

He plies the duke at morning and at night.

Shak.

3. To employ diligently; to use steadily.

Go ply thy needle; meddle not.

Shak.

4. To practice or perform with diligence; to work at.

Their bloody task, unwearied, still they ply.

Waller.

Ply, v. i. 1. To bend; to yield. [Obs.]

It would rather burst atwo than plye.

Chaucer.

The willow plied, and gave way to the gust.

L'Estrange.

2. To act, go, or work diligently and steadily; especially, to do something by repeated actions; to go back and forth; as, a steamer plies between certain ports.

Ere half these authors be read (which will soon be with plying hard
and daily).

Milton.

He was forced to ply in the streets as a porter.

Addison.

The heavy hammers and mallets plied.

Longfellow.

3. (Naut.) To work to windward; to beat.

Ply, n. [Cf. F. pli, fr. plier. See Ply, v.] 1. A fold; a plait; a turn or twist, as of a cord. Arbuthnot.

2. Bent; turn; direction; bias.

The late learners can not so well take the ply.

Bacon.

Boswell, and others of Goldsmith's contemporaries, . . . did not
understand the secret plies of his character.

W. Irving.

The czar's mind had taken a strange ply, which it retained to the
last.

Macaulay.

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

Ply"er (?), n. One who, or that which, plies; specifically: (a) pl. A kind of balance used in raising and letting down a drawbridge. It consists of timbers joined in the form of a St. Andrew's cross. (b) pl. See Pliers.

Plyght (?), v. & n. See Plight. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Plym"outh Breth"ren (?). The members of a religious sect which first appeared at Plymouth, England, about 1830. They protest against sectarianism, and reject all official ministry or clergy. Also called Brethren, Christian Brethren, Plymouthists, etc. The Darbyites are a division of the Brethren.

Pne*om"e*ter (?), n. [Gr. &?; to breathe + -meter.] (Physiol.) A spirometer.

{ Pneu*mat"ic (?), Pneu*mat"ic*al (?), } a. [L. pneumaticus, Gr. &?;, fr. &?;, &?;, wind, air, &?; to blow, breathe; cf. OHG. fnehan: cf. F. pneumatique. Cf. Pneumonia.] 1. Consisting of, or resembling, air; having the properties of an elastic fluid; gaseous; opposed to dense or solid.

The pneumatical substance being, in some bodies, the native spirit
of the body.

Bacon.

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

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

4. (Biol.) Fitted to contain air; Having cavities filled with air; as, pneumatic cells; pneumatic bones.

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

Pneu`ma*tic"i*ty (?), n. (Biol.) The state of being pneumatic, or of having a cavity or cavities filled with air; as, the pneumaticity of the bones of birds.

Pneu*mat"ics (?), n. [Cf. F. pneumatique.]

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

2. (Philos. & Theol.) The scientific study or knowledge of spiritual beings and their relations to God, angels, and men.

Pneu"ma*to- (n"m*t- or n*mt"-). A combining form from Gr. pney^ma, pney`matos, wind, air, breath, respiration; as, pneumatograph, pneumatology. [1913 Webster]

Pneu*mat"o*cele (?), n. [Pneumato- + Gr. &?; a tumor; cf. F. pneumatocËle.] (Med.) A distention of the scrotum by air; also, hernia of the lungs.

Pneu*mat"o*cyst (?), n. [Pneumato- + cyst.] (Zoˆl.) A cyst or sac of a siphonophore, containing air, and serving as a float, as in Physalia.

Pneu*mat"o*garm (?), n. [Pneumato- + -gram.] (Physiol.) A tracing of the respiratory movements, obtained by a pneumatograph or stethograph.

Pneu*mat"o*graph (?), n. [Pneumato- + -graph.] (Physiol.) An instrument for recording the movements of the thorax or chest wall during respiration; -- also called stethograph.

Pneu`ma*to*log"ic*al (?), a. [Cf. F. pneumatologique.] Of or pertaining to pneumatology.

Pneu`ma*tol"o*gist (?), n. [Cf. F. pneumatologiste.] One versed in pneumatology.

Pneu`ma*tol"o*gy (?), n. [Pneumato- + -logy: cf. F. pneumatologie.] 1. The doctrine of, or a treatise on, air and other elastic fluids. See Pneumatics, 1.

2. (Philos. & Theol.) The science of spiritual being or phenomena of any description.

Pneu`ma*tom"e*ter (?), n. [Pneumato- + -meter.] (Physiol.) An instrument for measuring the amount of force exerted by the lungs in respiration.

Pneu`ma*tom"e*try (?), n. See Spirometry.

Pneu*mat"o*phore (?), n. [Pneumato- + Gr. &?; to bear.] (Zoˆl.) One of the Pneumonophora.

Pneu`ma*to*tho"rax (?), n. [Pneumato- + thorax.] (Med.) See Pneumothorax.

Pneu"mo- (?). A combining form from Gr. pney`mwn, pney`monos, a lung; as, pneumogastric, pneumology.

Pneu`mo*coc"cus (?), n. [See Pneumo- , and Coccus.] (Biol.) A form of micrococcus found in the sputum (and elsewhere) of persons suffering with pneumonia, and thought to be the cause of this disease.

Pneu`mo*gas"tric (?), a. [Pneumo- + gastric.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the lungs and the stomach. -- n. The pneumogastric nerve.

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

Pneu"mo*graph (?), n. Same as Pneumatograph.

Pneu*mog"ra*phy (?), n. [Pneumo- + -graphy.] A description of the lungs. Dunglison.

Pneu*mol"o*gy (?), n. [Pneumo- + -logy.] (Anat.) The science which treats of the lungs.

Pneu*mom"e*ter (?), n. [Pneumo- + -meter.] (Physiol.) A spirometer.

Pneu*mom"e*try (?), n. Measurement of the capacity of the lungs for air. Dunglison.

Pneu*mo"ni*a (n*m"n*), n. [NL., fr. Gr. pneymoni`a, fr. pney`mwn, pl. pney`mones the lungs, also, pley`mwn, which is perh. the original form. Cf. Pneumatio, Pulmonary.] (Med.) Inflammation of the lungs.

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

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

Pneu*mon"ic, n. (Med.) A medicine for affections of the lungs.

Pneu`mo*nit"ic (?), a. (Med.) Of or pertaining to pneumonitis.

||Pneu`mo*ni"tis (?), n. [NL. See Pneumo-, and -itis.] (Med.) ||Inflammation of the lungs; pneumonia.

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Pneu`mo*nom"e*ter (?), n. [See Pneumo-, and -meter.] (Physiol.) A spirometer; a pneumometer.

||Pneu`mo*noph"o*ra (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a lung + &?; to ||bear.] (Zoˆl.) The division of Siphonophora which includes the ||Physalia and allied genera; -- called also PneumatophorÊ.

Pneu"mo*ny (?), n. [Cf. F. pneumonie.] See Pneumonia.

||Pneu`mo*ˆt"o*ka (?), n. pl. [NL. See Pneumo-, and Oˆticoid.] (Zoˆl.) ||Same as Sauropsida.

||Pneu*moph"o*ra (?), n. pl. [NL. See Pneumonophora.] (Zoˆl.) (Zoˆl.) A ||division of holothurians having an internal gill, or respiratory ||tree.

Pneu`mo*skel"e*ton (?), n. [Pneumo- + skeleton.] (Zoˆl.) A chitinous structure which supports the gill in some invertebrates.

Pneu`mo*ther"a*py (?), n. [Gr. &?; air + therapy.] (Med.) The treatment of disease by inhalations of compressed or rarefied air.

Pneu`mo*tho"rax (?), n. [Gr. &?; air + E. thorax.] (Med.) A condition in which air or other gas is present in the cavity of the chest; -- called also pneumatothorax.

||Pni*ga"li*on (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; nightmare, fr. &?; to ||throttle.] (Med.) Nightmare.

Pnyx (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;.] (Gr. Antiq.) The place at Athens where the meetings of the people were held for making decrees, etc.

Po"a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; grass.] (Bot.) A genus of grasses, including a great number of species, as the kinds called meadow grass, Kentucky blue grass, June grass, and spear grass (which see).

Poach (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poached (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Poaching.] [F. pocher to place in a pocket, to poach eggs (the yolk of the egg being as it were pouched in the white), from poche pocket, pouch. See Pouch, v. & n.] 1. To cook, as eggs, by breaking them into boiling water; also, to cook with butter after breaking in a vessel. Bacon.

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

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

Poach, v. t. [Cf. OF. pocher to thrust or dig out with the fingers, to bruise (the eyes), F. pouce thumb, L. pollex, and also E. poach to cook eggs, to plunder, and poke to thrust against.] 1. To stab; to pierce; to spear, \as fish. [Obs.] Carew.

2. To force, drive, or plunge into anything. [Obs.]

His horse poching one of his legs into some hollow ground.

Sir W. Temple.

3. To make soft or muddy by trampling Tennyson.

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

Poach, v. i. To become soft or muddy.

Chalky and clay lands . . . chap in summer, and poach in winter.

Mortimer.

Poach"ard (?), n. [From Poach to stab.] [Written also pocard, pochard.] (Zoˆl.) (a) A common European duck (Aythya ferina); -- called also goldhead, poker, and fresh-water, or red-headed, widgeon. (b) The American redhead, which is closely allied to the European poachard.

Red-crested poachard (Zoˆl.), an Old World duck (Branta rufina). -- Scaup poachard, the scaup duck. -- Tufted poachard, a scaup duck (Aythya, or Fuligula cristata), native of Europe and Asia.

Poach"er (?), n. 1. One who poaches; one who kills or catches game or fish contrary to law.

2. (Zoˆl.) The American widgeon. [Local, U.S.]

Sea poacher (Zoˆl.), the lyrie.

Poach"i*ness (?), n. The state of being poachy; marshiness.

Poach"y (?), a. [See Poach to stab.] Wet and soft; easily penetrated by the feet of cattle; -- said of land

{ Poak, Poake } (?), n. Waste matter from the preparation of skins, consisting of hair, lime, oil, etc.

Po"can (?), n. (Bot.) The poke (Phytolacca decandra); -- called also pocan bush.

Po"chard (?), n. (Zoˆl.) See Poachard.

Pock (?), n. [OE. pokke, AS. pocc, poc; akin to D. pok, G. pocke, and perh. to E. poke a pocket. Cf. Pox.] (Med.) A pustule raised on the surface of the body in variolous and vaccine diseases.

Of pokkes and of scab every sore.

Chaucer.

Pock"arred (?), a. See Pockmarked. [Obs.]

Pock"-bro`ken (?), a. Broken out, or marked, with smallpox; pock-fretten.

Pock"et (?), n. [OE. poket, Prov. F. & OF. poquette, F. pochette, dim. fr. poque, pouque, F. poche; probably of Teutonic origin. See Poke a pocket, and cf. Poach to cook eggs, to plunder, and Pouch.] 1. A bag or pouch; especially; a small bag inserted in a garment for carrying small articles, particularly money; hence, figuratively, money; wealth.

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

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

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

4. (Arch.) A hole or space covered by a movable piece of board, as in a floor, boxing, partitions, or the like.

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

6. (Nat.) A strip of canvas, sewn upon a sail so that a batten or a light spar can placed in the interspace.

7. (Zoˆl.) Same as Pouch.

Pocket is often used adjectively, or in the formation of compound words usually of obvious signification; as, pocket comb, pocket compass, pocket edition, pocket handkerchief, pocket money, pocket picking, or pocket-picking, etc.

Out of pocket. See under Out, prep. -- Pocket borough, a borough "owned" by some person. See under Borough. [Eng.] -- Pocket gopher (Zoˆl.), any one of several species of American rodents of the genera Geomys, and Thomomys, family GeomydÊ. They have large external cheek pouches, and are fossorial in their habits. they inhabit North America, from the Mississippi Valley west to the Pacific. Called also pouched gopher. -- Pocket mouse (Zoˆl.), any species of American mice of the family SaccomyidÊ. They have external cheek pouches. Some of them are adapted for leaping (genus Dipadomys), and are called kangaroo mice. They are native of the Southwestern United States, Mexico, etc. -- Pocket piece, a piece of money kept in the pocket and not spent. -- Pocket pistol, a pistol to be carried in the pocket. -- Pocket sheriff (Eng. Law), a sheriff appointed by the sole authority of the crown, without a nomination by the judges in the exchequer. Burrill.

Pock"et (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pocketed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pocketing.] 1. To put, or conceal, in the pocket; as, to pocket the change.

He would pocket the expense of the license.

Sterne.

2. To take clandestinely or fraudulently.

He pocketed pay in the names of men who had long been dead.

Macaulay.

To pocket a ball (Billiards), to drive a ball into a pocket of the table. -- To pocket an insult, affront, etc., to receive an affront without open resentment, or without seeking redress. "I must pocket up these wrongs." Shak.

Pock"et*book` (?), n. A small book or case for carrying papers, money, etc., in the pocket; also, a notebook for the pocket.

Pock"et*ful (?), n.; pl. Pocketfuls (&?;). As much as a pocket will hold; enough to fill a pocket; as, pocketfuls of chestnuts.

Pock"et*knife` (?), n.; pl. -knives (&?;). A knife with one or more blades, which fold into the handle so as to admit of being carried in the pocket.

Pock"-fret`ten (?), a. See Pockmarked.

Pock"i*ness (?), n. The state of being pocky.

Pock"mark (?), n. A mark or pit made by smallpox.

Pock"marked` (?), a. Marked by smallpox; pitted.

Pock"-pit`ted (?), a. Pockmarked; pitted.

Pock"-pud`ding (?), n. A bag pudding; a name of reproach or ridicule formerly applied by the Scotch to the English.

Pock"wood` (?), n. [So called because formerly used as a specific for the pock.] (Bot.) Lignum- vitÊ.

Pock"y (?), a. [Compar. Pockier (?); superl. Pockiest.] Full of pocks; affected with smallpox or other eruptive disease. Bp. Hall.

||Po"co (?), adv. [It.] (Mus.) A little; -- used chiefly in phrases ||indicating the time or movement; as, poco pi˘ allegro, a little ||faster; poco largo, rather slow.

||Poco a poco [It.] (Mus.) Little by little; as, poco a poco crescendo, ||gradually increasing in loudness.

Po"cock (?), n. Peacock. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Po`co*cu*ran"te (?), n. [It. poco curante caring little.] A careless person; a trifler. [R.]

Po`co*cu*ran"tism (?). n. Carelessness; apathy; indifference. [R.] Carlyle.

Po*co"son (?), n. Low, wooded grounds or swamps in Eastern Maryland and Virginia. [Written also poquoson.] Washington.

Poc"u*lent (?), a. [L. poculentus, fr. poculum a cup.] Fit for drink. [Obs.] "Some those herbs which are not esculent, are . . . poculent." Bacon.

Poc"u*li*form (?), a. [L. poculum a cup + -form: cf. F. poculiforme.] Having the shape of a goblet or drinking cup.

-pod (?). [See Foot.] A combining form or suffix from Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot; as, decapod, an animal having ten feet; phyllopod, an animal having leaflike feet; myriapod, hexapod.

Pod (?), n. [Probably akin to pudding, and perhaps the same word as pad a cushion; cf. also Dan. pude pillow, cushion, and also E. cod a husk, pod.] 1. A bag; a pouch. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Tusser.

2. (Bot.) A capsule of plant, especially a legume; a dry dehiscent fruit. See Illust. of Angiospermous.

3. (Zoˆl.) A considerable number of animals closely clustered together; -- said of seals.

Pod auger, or pod bit, an auger or bit the channel of which is straight instead of twisted.

Pod, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Podded; p. pr. & vb. n. Podding.] To swell; to fill; also, to produce pods.

-po*da (?). A New Latin plural combining form or suffix from Gr. &?;, &?;, foot; as, hexapoda, myriapoda. See -pod.

Pod"a*gra (?), n. [L. See Podagric.] (Med.) Gout in the joints of the foot; - - applied also to gout in other parts of body.

{ Po*dag"ric (?), Po*dag"ric*al (?), } a. [L. podagricus, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; gout in the feet; &?;, &?;, Foot + &?; a catching.]

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

2. Afflicted with gout. Sir T. Browne.

Pod"a*grous (?), a. Gouty; podagric.

Po*dal"gi*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, &?;, foot + &?; pain.] (Med.) pain in the foot, due to gout, rheumatism, etc.

||Po*dar"thrum (?), n.; pl. Podarthra (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?;, &?;, foot ||+ &?; joint.] (Anat.) The foot joint; in birds, the joint between the ||metatarsus and the toes.

Pod"ded (?), a. Having pods.

Pod"der (?), n. One who collects pods or pulse.

Po*des"ta (?), n. [It. podest‡, fr. L. potestas power, magistracy. See Potent.]

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

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

||Po*de"ti*um (?), n.; pl. Podetia (#), E. Podetiums (#). [NL., fr. Gr. ||&?;, &?;, foot.] (Bot.) A stalk which bears the fructification in ||some lichens, as in the so-called reindeer moss.

Podge (?), n. [Cf. G. patsche puddle, mire.] 1. A puddle; a plash. Skinner.

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

Podg"y (?), a. Fat and short; pudgy.

Pod"i*cal (?), a. [L. podex, podicis, the anus.] (Zoˆl.) Anal; -- applied to certain organs of insects.

||Pod"i*ceps (?), n. [NL., fr. L. podex, podicis, anus + pes foot.] ||(Zoˆl.) See Grebe.

||Po"di*um (?), n.; pl. Podia (#). [L., fr. Gr. &?;, dim. of &?;, &?;, ||foot. See Pew.] 1. (Arch.) A low wall, serving as a foundation, a ||substructure, or a terrace wall. It is especially employed by ||archÊologists in two senses: (a) The dwarf wall surrounding the arena ||of an amphitheater, from the top of which the seats began. (b) The ||masonry under the stylobate of a temple, sometimes a mere foundation, ||sometimes containing chambers. See Illust. of Column.

2. (Zoˆl.) The foot.

Pod"ley (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A young coalfish.

Pod"o- (?). [See Foot.] A combining form or prefix from Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot; as, podocarp, podocephalous, podology.

Pod"o*branch (?), n. [See Podo-, and Branchia.] (Zoˆl.) One of the branchiÊ attached to the bases of the legs in Crustacea.

||Pod`o*bran"chi*a (?), n., pl. PodobranchiÊ (-). [NL.] (Zoˆl.) Same as ||Podobranch.

Pod"o*carp (?), n. [Podo- + Gr. karpo`s fruit.] (Bot.) A stem, or footstalk, supporting the fruit.

Pod`o*ceph"a*lous (?), a. [Podo- + Gr. &?; head.] (Bot.) Having a head of flowers on a long peduncle, or footstalk.

||Pod`o*gyn"i*um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot + gynh` ||woman.] (Bot.) Same as Basigynium

||Pod`oph*thal"mi*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Podophthalmic.] (Zoˆl.) The ||stalk-eyed Crustacea, -- an order of Crustacea having the eyes ||supported on movable stalks. It includes the crabs, lobsters, and ||prawns. Called also Podophthalmata, and Decapoda.

{ Pod`oph*thal"mic (?), Pod`oph*thal"mous (?), } a. [Podo- + Gr. &?; an eye.] (Zoˆl.) (a) Having the eyes on movable footstalks, or pedicels. (b) Of or pertaining to the Podophthalmia.

Pod`oph*thal"mite (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The eyestalk of a crustacean.

Pod`o*phyl"lin (?), n. [From Podophyllum.] (Chem.) A brown bitter gum extracted from the rootstalk of the May apple (Podophyllum peltatum). It is a complex mixture of several substances.

Pod`o*phyl"lous (?), a. 1. (Zoˆl.) Having thin, flat, leaflike locomotive organs.

2. (Anat.) Pertaining to, or composing, the layer of tissue, made up of laminÊ, beneath a horse's hoof.

||Pod`o*phyl"lum (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot + &?; leaf.] ||1. (Bot.) A genus of herbs of the Barberry family, having large ||palmately lobed peltate leaves and solitary flower. There are two ||species, the American Podohyllum peltatum, or May apple, the ||Himalayan P. Emodi.

2. (Med.) The rhizome and rootlet of the May apple (Podophyllum peltatum), -- used as a cathartic drug.

Pod"o*scaph (?), n. [Podo- + Gr. &?; boat.] A canoe-shaped float attached to the foot, for walking on water.

Pod"o*sperm (?), n. [Podo- + Gr. &?; seed: cf. F. podosperme.] (Bot.) The stalk of a seed or ovule.

||Pod`o*stom"a*ta (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot + &?;, ||&?;, mouth.] (Zoˆl.) An order of Bryozoa of which Rhabdopleura is the ||type. See Rhabdopleura.

||Pod`o*the"ca (?), n.; pl. PodothecÊ (#). [NL., fr. Gr. poy`s, podo`s, ||foot + &?; case.] (Zoˆl.) The scaly covering of the foot of a bird or ||reptile.

||Po*dri"da (?), n. [Sp., rotten.] A miscellaneous dish of meats. See ||Olla-podrida.

Po*du"ra (?), n.; pl. L. PodurÊ (#), E. Poduras (#). [NL.; Gr. poy`s, podo`s, foot + &?; tail.] Any small leaping thysanurous insect of the genus Podura and related genera; a springtail.

Podura scale (Zoˆl.), one of the minute scales with which the body of a podura is covered. They are used as test objects for the microscope.

<! p. 1105 !>

Po*du"rid (?), n. (Zoˆl.) Any species of Podura or allied genera. -- a. Pertaining to the poduras.

Po"e (?), n. Same as Poi.

Po"e*bird` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The parson bird.

Pú"ci*le (?), n. Same as Poicile.

Pú`ci*lit"ic (?), a. [Gr. poiki`los many-colored, variegated.] (Geol.) (a) Mottled with various colors; variegated; spotted; -- said of certain rocks. (b) Specifically: Of or pertaining to, or characterizing, Triassic and Permian sandstones of red and other colors. [Also written poikilitic.]

Pú*cil"o*pod (?), n. [Cf. F. púcilopode.] (Zoˆl.) One of the Púcilopoda. Also used adjectively.

||Pú`ci*lop"o*da (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; variegated, manifold + ||-poda.] (Zoˆl.) (a) Originally, an artificial group including many ||parasitic Entomostraca, together with the horseshoe crabs ||(Limuloidea). (b) By some recent writers applied to the Merostomata.

Po"em (?), n. [L. poÎma, Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to make, to compose, to write, especially in verse: cf. F. poÎme.] 1. A metrical composition; a composition in verse written in certain measures, whether in blank verse or in rhyme, and characterized by imagination and poetic diction; -- contradistinguished from prose; as, the poems of Homer or of Milton.

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

Po`em*at"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?;.] Pertaining to a poem, or to poetry; poetical. [R.] Coleridge.

Po*e"na*mu (?), n. (Min.) A variety of jade or nephrite, -- used in New Zealand for the manufacture of axes and weapons.

Pú*nol"o*gy (p*nl"*j), n. See Penology.

||Po*eph"a*ga (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. pohfa`gos grass eating; po`a ||grass + fagei^n to eat.] (Zoˆl.) A group of herbivorous marsupials ||including the kangaroos and their allies. -- Po*eph"a*gous (#), a.

Po"e*sy (?), n. [F. poÈsie (cf. It. poesia), L. poesis, from Gr. &?;. from &?; to make. Cf. Posy.]

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

2. Poetry; metrical composition; poems.

Music and poesy used to quicken you.

Shak.

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

Po"et (?), n. [F. poÎte, L. poÎta, fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to make. Cf. Poem.] One skilled in making poetry; one who has a particular genius for metrical composition; the author of a poem; an imaginative thinker or writer.

The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven
to earth, from earth to heaven.

Shak.

A poet is a maker, as the word signifies.

Dryden.

Poet laureate. See under Laureate.

Po"et*as`ter (?), n. An inferior rhymer, or writer of verses; a dabbler in poetic art.

The talk of forgotten poetasters.

Macaulay.

Po"et*as`try (?), n. The works of a poetaster. [R.]

Po"et*ess, n. [Cf. F. poÈtesse.] A female poet.

{ Po*et"ic (?), Po*et"ic*al (?), } a. [L. poÎticus, Gr. &?;: cf. F. poÈtiquee.] 1. Of or pertaining to poetry; suitable for poetry, or for writing poetry; as, poetic talent, theme, work, sentiments. Shak.

2. Expressed in metrical form; exhibiting the imaginative or the rhythmical quality of poetry; as, a poetical composition; poetical prose.

Poetic license. See License, n., 4.

Po*et"ic*al*ly, adv. In a poetic manner.

Po*et"ics (?), n. [Cf. F. poÈtique, L. poÎtica, poÎtice, Gr. &?; (sc. &?;.] The principles and rules of the art of poetry. J. Warton.

Po*et"i*cule (?), n. A poetaster. Swinburne.

Po"et*ize (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Poetized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Poetizing.] [Cf. F. poÈtiser.] To write as a poet; to compose verse; to idealize.

I versify the truth, not poetize.

Donne.

Po"et*ry (?), n. [OF. poeterie. See Poet.] 1. The art of apprehending and interpreting ideas by the faculty of imagination; the art of idealizing in thought and in expression.

For poetry is the blossom and the fragrance of all human knowledge,
human thoughts, human passions, emotions, language.

Coleridge.

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

She taketh most delight In music, instruments, and poetry.

Shak.

Po"et*ship, n. The state or personality of a poet. [R.]

Pog"gy (?), n. (Zoˆl.) (a) See Porgy. (b) A small whale.

Po"gy (?), n. (Zoˆl.) The menhaden.

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

Poh (?), interj. An exclamation expressing contempt or disgust; bah !

Po*ha"gen, n. (Zoˆl.) See Pauhaugen.

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

{ Poi"ci*le (?), or Pú"ci*le (?) }, n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; (sc. &?;); cf. L. poecile.] The frescoed porch or gallery in Athens where Zeno taught. R. Browning.

Poign"an*cy (?), n. The quality or state of being poignant; as, the poignancy of satire; the poignancy of grief. Swift.

Poign"ant (?), a. [F., p. pr. of poindre to sting, fr. L. pungere to prick, sting. See Pungent.] 1. Pricking; piercing; sharp; pungent. "His poignant spear." Spenser. "Poynaunt sauce." Chaucer.

2. Fig.: Pointed; keen; satirical.

His wit . . . became more lively and poignant.

Sir W. Scott.

Poign"ant*ly, adv. In a poignant manner.

Poi`ki*lit"ic (?), a. (Geol.) See Púcilitic.

Poi"ki*lo*cyte (poi"k*l*st), n. [Gr. poiki`los diversified, changeable + ky`tos hollow vessel.] (Physiol.) An irregular form of corpuscle found in the blood in cases of profound anÊmia, probably a degenerated red blood corpuscle.

{ Poi`ki*lo*ther"mal (-thr"mal), Poi`ki*lo*ther"mic (-thr"mk), } a. [Gr. poiki`los changeable + E. thermal, thermic.] (Physiol.) Having a varying body temperature. See Homoiothermal.

Poi`ki*lo*ther"mous (-ms), a. (Physiol.) Poikilothermal.

||Poin`ci*a"na (?), n. [NL. Named after M. de Poinci, a governor of the ||French West Indies.] (Bot.) A prickly tropical shrub (CÊsalpinia, ||formerly Poinciana, pulcherrima), with bipinnate leaves, and racemes ||of showy orange-red flowers with long crimson filaments.

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

Poind (poind), v. t. [See Pound to confine.] 1. To impound, as cattle. [Obs. or Scot.] Flavel.

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

Poind"er (-r), n. 1. The keeper of a cattle pound; a pinder. [Obs. or Scot.] T. Adams.

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

||Poin*set"ti*a (poin*st"t*), n. [NL. Named after Joel R. Poinsett of ||South Carolina.] (Bot.) A Mexican shrub (Euphorbia pulcherrima) with ||very large and conspicuous vermilion bracts below the yellowish ||flowers.

Point (point), v. t. & i. To appoint. [Obs.] Spenser.

Point, n. [F. point, and probably also pointe, L. punctum, puncta, fr. pungere, punctum, to prick. See Pungent, and cf. Puncto, Puncture.] 1. That which pricks or pierces; the sharp end of anything, esp. the sharp end of a piercing instrument, as a needle or a pin.

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

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

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

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

6. An indivisible portion of time; a moment; an instant; hence, the verge.

When time's first point begun Made he all souls.

Sir J. Davies.

7. A mark of punctuation; a character used to mark the divisions of a composition, or the pauses to be observed in reading, or to point off groups of figures, etc.; a stop, as a comma, a semicolon, and esp. a period; hence, figuratively, an end, or conclusion.

And there a point, for ended is my tale.

Chaucer.

Commas and points they set exactly right.

Pope.

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

A lord full fat and in good point.

Chaucer.

9. That which arrests attention, or indicates qualities or character; a salient feature; a characteristic; a peculiarity; hence, a particular; an item; a detail; as, the good or bad points of a man, a horse, a book, a story, etc.

He told him, point for point, in short and plain.

Chaucer.

In point of religion and in point of honor.

Bacon.

Shalt thou dispute With Him the points of liberty ?

Milton.

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

They will hardly prove his point.

Arbuthnot.

11. A small matter; a trifle; a least consideration; a punctilio.

This fellow doth not stand upon points.

Shak.

[He] cared not for God or man a point.

Spenser.

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

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

14. (Her.) One of the several different parts of the escutcheon. See Escutcheon.

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

16. (Anc. Costume) A a string or lace used to tie together certain parts of the dress. Sir W. Scott.

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

18. pl. (Railways) A switch. [Eng.]

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

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

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

22. (Type Making) A standard unit of measure for the size of type bodies, being one twelfth of the thickness of pica type. See Point system of type, under Type.

23. A tyne or snag of an antler.

24. One of the spaces on a backgammon board.

25. (Fencing) A movement executed with the saber or foil; as, tierce point.

The word point is a general term, much used in the sciences, particularly in mathematics, mechanics, perspective, and physics, but generally either in the geometrical sense, or in that of degree, or condition of change, and with some accompanying descriptive or qualifying term, under which, in the vocabulary, the specific uses are explained; as, boiling point, carbon point, dry point, freezing point, melting point, vanishing point, etc.

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

Point (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pointed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pointing.] [Cf. F. pointer. See Point, n.] 1. To give a point to; to sharpen; to cut, forge, grind, or file to an acute end; as, to point a dart, or a pencil. Used also figuratively; as, to point a moral.

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

3. Hence, to direct the attention or notice of.

Whosoever should be guided through his battles by Minerva, and
pointed to every scene of them.

Pope.

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

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

6. To give particular prominence to; to designate in a special manner; to indicate, as if by pointing; as, the error was pointed out. Pope.

He points it, however, by no deviation from his straightforward
manner of speech.

Dickens.

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

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

9. (Stone Cutting) To cut, as a surface, with a pointed tool.

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

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Point (point), v. i. 1. To direct the point of something, as of a finger, for the purpose of designating an object, and attracting attention to it; -- with at.

Now must the world point at poor Katharine.

Shak.

Point at the tattered coat and ragged shoe.

Dryden.

2. To indicate the presence of game by fixed and steady look, as certain hunting dogs do.

He treads with caution, and he points with fear.

Gay.

3. (Med.) To approximate to the surface; to head; -- said of an abscess.

To point at, to treat with scorn or contempt by pointing or directing attention to. -- To point well (Naut.), to sail close to the wind; -- said of a vessel.

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

1. (Bot.) The pistil of a plant.

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

3. (Arch.) See Poyntel. [Obs. or R.]

Point`-blank" (?), n. [F. point point + blanc white.] 1. The white spot on a target, at which an arrow or other missile is aimed. [Obs.] Jonson.

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

Point`-blank", a. 1. Directed in a line toward the object aimed at; aimed directly toward the mark.

2. Hence, direct; plain; unqualified; -- said of language; as, a point-blank assertion.

Point-blank range, the extent of the apparent right line of a ball discharged. -- Point-blank shot, the shot of a gun pointed directly toward the object to be hit.

Point`-blank", adv. In a point- blank manner.

To sin point-blank against God's word.

Fuller.

Point` d'ap`pui" (?). [F.] (Mil.) See under Appui.

{ Point`-de*vice", Point`-de*vise" } (?), a. [OE. at point devis; at at + point point, condition + devis exact, careful, OF. devis fixed, set. See Device.] Uncommonly nice and exact; precise; particular.

You are rather point-devise in your accouterments.

Shak.

Thus he grew up, in logic point-devise, Perfect in grammar, and in
rhetoric nice.

Longfellow.

{ Point`-de*vice", Point`-de*vise", } adv. Exactly. [Obs.] Shak.

Point"ed (?), a. 1. Sharp; having a sharp point; as, a pointed rock.

2. Characterized by sharpness, directness, or pithiness of expression; terse; epigrammatic; especially, directed to a particular person or thing.

His moral pleases, not his pointed wit.

Pope.

Pointed arch (Arch.), an arch with a pointed crown. -- Pointed style (Arch.), a name given to that style of architecture in which the pointed arch is the predominant feature; -- more commonly called Gothic.

-- Point"ed*ly, adv. -- Point"ed*ness, n.

Point"el (?), n. [From Point. Cf. Pointal.] See Pointal.