Chapter LI: Bella (73)

Defn: Having each pinna subdivided; -- said of a leaf, or of its pinnæ.

PINNULATED Pin"nu*la`ted, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having pinnules.

PINNULE Pin"nule, n. Etym: [L. pinnula, dim. of pinna feather: cf. F. pinnule.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: One of the small divisions of a decompound frond or leaf. See Illust. of Bipinnate leaf, under Bipinnate.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of a series of small, slender organs, or parts, when arranged in rows so as to have a plumelike appearance; as, a pinnule of a gorgonia; the pinnules of a crinoid.

PINNYWINKLES Pin"ny*win`kles, n. pl.

Defn: An instrument of torture, consisting of a board with holes into which the fingers were pressed, and fastened with pegs. [Written also pilliewinkles.] [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

PINOCLE Pin"o*cle, n.

Defn: See Penuchle.

PINOLE Pi*nole", n.

1. An aromatic powder used in Italy in the manufacture of chocolate.

2. Parched maize, ground, and mixed with sugar, etc. Mixed with water, it makes a nutritious beverage.

PINON; PINYON Piñ"on, n. Etym: [Sp. piñon.] (Bot.) (a) The edible seed of several species of pine; also, the tree producing such seeds, as Pinus Pinea of Southern Europe, and P. Parryana, cembroides, edulis, and monophylla, the nut pines of Western North America. (b) See Monkey's puzzle. [Written also pignon.]

PINPATCH Pin"patch`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The common English periwinkle. [Prov. Eng.]

PINT Pint, n. Etym: [OE. pinte, F. pinte, fr. Sp. pinta spot, mark, pint, fr. pintar to paint; a mark for a pint prob. having been made on or in a larger measure. See Paint.]

Defn: A measure of capacity, equal to half a quart, or four gills, -- used in liquid and dry measures. See Quart.

PINT Pint, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The laughing gull. [Prov. Eng.]

PINTADO Pin*ta"do, n.; pl. Pintados. Etym: [Sp., painted, fr. pintar to paint.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any bird of the genus Numida. Several species are found in Africa. The common pintado, or Guinea fowl, the helmeted, and the crested pintados, are the best known. See Guinea fowl, under Guinea.

PINTAIL Pin"tail`, n.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A northern duck (Dafila acuta), native of both continents. The adult male has a long, tapering tail. Called also gray duck, piketail, piket-tail, spike-tail, split-tail, springtail, sea pheasant, and gray widgeon.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The sharp-tailed grouse of the great plains and Rocky Mountains (Pediocætes phasianellus); -- called also pintailed grouse, pintailed chicken, springtail, and sharptail.

PIN-TAILED Pin"-tailed`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a tapered tail, with the middle feathers longest; -- said of birds.

PINTLE Pin"tle, n. Etym: [A diminutive of Pin.]

1. A little pin.

2. (Mech.)

Defn: An upright pivot pin; as: (a) The pivot pin of a hinge. (b) A hook or pin on which a rudder hangs and turns. (c) A pivot about which the chassis swings, in some kinds of gun carriages. (d) A kingbolt of a wagon.

PINTO Pin"to, a. [Sp., painted.]

Defn: Lit., painted; hence, piebald; mottled; pied.

PINTO Pin"to, n.

Defn: Any pied animal; esp., a pied or "painted" horse.

PINTOS Pin"tos, n. pl.; sing. Pinto (. Etym: [Sp., painted, mottled.] (Eyhnol.)

Defn: A mountain tribe of Mexican Indians living near Acapulco. They are remarkable for having the dark skin of the face irregularly spotted with white. Called also speckled Indians.

PINTSCH GAS Pintsch gas. [After Richard Pintsch, German inventor.]

Defn: A kind of oil gas extensively used for lighting railroad cars, which carry it in compressed form.

PINULE Pin"ule, n. Etym: [Cf. Pinnule.] (Astron.)

Defn: One of the sights of an astrolabe. [Obs.]

PINUS Pi"nus, n. Etym: [L., a pine tree.] (Bot.)

Defn: A large genus of evergreen coniferous trees, mostly found in the northern hemisphere. The genus formerly included the firs, spruces, larches, and hemlocks, but is now limited to those trees which have the primary leaves of the branchlets reduced to mere scales, and the secondary ones (pine needles) acicular, and usually in fascicles of two to seven. See Pine.

PINWEED Pin"weed`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Any plant of the genus Lechea, low North American herbs with branching stems, and very small and abundant leaves and flowers.

PINWORM Pin"worm`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small nematoid worm (Oxyurus vermicularis), which is parasitic chiefly in the rectum of man. It is most common in children and aged persons.

PINXIT Pinx"it. Etym: [L., perfect indicative 3d sing. of pingere to paint.]

Defn: A word appended to the artist's name or initials on a painting, or engraved copy of a painting; as, Rubens pinxit, Rubens painted (this).

PINXTER Pinx"ter, n.

Defn: See Pinkster.

PINY Pin"y, a.

Defn: Abounding with pines. [Written also piney.] "The piny wood." Longfellow.

PION Piñ"on, n. [Sp. piñon.] (Bot.) (a) The edible seed of several species of pine; also, the tree producing such seeds, as Pinus Pinea of Southern Europe, and P. Parryana, cembroides, edulis, and monophylla, the nut pines of Western North America. (b) See Monkey's puzzle. [Written also pignon.]

PIONED Pi"o*ned, a.

Defn: A Shakespearean word of disputed meaning; perh., "abounding in marsh marigolds." Thy banks with pioned and twilled brims. Shak.

PIONEER Pi`o*neer", n. Etym: [F. pionier, orig., a foot soldier, OF. peonier, fr. OF. peon a foot soldier, F. pion. See Pawn in chess.]

1. (Mil.)

Defn: A soldier detailed or employed to form roads, dig trenches, and make bridges, as an army advances.

2. One who goes before, as into the wilderness, preparing the way for others to follow; as, pioneers of civilization; pioneers of reform.

PIONEER Pi`o*neer", v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Pioneered; p. pr. & vb. n. Pioneering.]

Defn: To go before, and prepare or open a way for; to act as pioneer.

PIONEERS' DAY Pi`o*neers'" Day.

Defn: In Utah, a legal holiday, July 24, commemorated the arrival, in 1847, of Brigham Young and his followers at the present site of Salt Lake City.

PIONER Pi`o*ner", n.

Defn: A pioneer. [Obs.] Shak.

PIONY Pi"o*ny, n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Peony.

PIOT Pi"ot, n. Etym: [See Piet.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The magpie. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Holland.

PIOUS Pi"ous, a. Etym: [L. pius: cf. F. pieux.]

1. Of or pertaining to piety; exhibiting piety; reverential; dutiful; religious; devout; godly. "Pious hearts." Milton. "Pious poetry." Johnson. Where was the martial brother's pious care Pope.

2. Practiced under the pretext of religion; prompted by mistaken piety; as, pious errors; pious frauds.

Syn. -- Godly; devout; religious; righteous.

PIOUSLY Pi"ous*ly, adv.

Defn: In a pious manner.

PIP Pip, n. Etym: [OE. pippe, D. pip, or F. pépie; from LL. pipita, fr. L. pituita slime, phlegm, rheum, in fowls, the pip. Cf. Pituite.]

Defn: A contagious disease of fowls, characterized by hoarseness, discharge from the nostrils and eyes, and an accumulation of mucus in the mouth, forming a "scale" on the tongue. By some the term pip is restricted to this last symptom, the disease being called roup by them.

PIP Pip, n. Etym: [Formerly pippin, pepin. Cf. Pippin.] (Bot.)

Defn: A seed, as of an apple or orange.

PIP Pip, n. Etym: [Perh. for pick, F. pique a spade at cards, a pike. Cf. Pique.]

Defn: One of the conventional figures or "spots" on playing cards, dominoes, etc. Addison.

PIP Pip, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pipped; p. pr. & vb. n. Pipping.] Etym: [See Peep.]

Defn: To cry or chirp, as a chicken; to peep. To hear the chick pip and cry in the egg. Boyle.

PIPA Pi*pa, n.; pl. Pipas (. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The Surinam toad (Pipa Americana), noted for its peculiar breeding habits.

Note: The male places the eggs on the back of the female, where they soon become inclosed in capsules formed by the thickening of the skin. The incubation of the eggs takes place in the capsules, and the young, when hatched, come forth with well developed legs.

PIPAGE Pip"age, n.

Defn: Transportation, as of petroleum oil, by means of a pipe conduit; also, the charge for such transportation.

PIPAL TREE Pi"pal tree`.

Defn: Same as Peepul tree.

PIPE Pipe, n. Etym: [AS. pipe, probably fr. L. pipare, pipire, to chirp; of imitative origin. Cf. Peep, Pibroch, Fife.]

1. A wind instrument of music, consisting of a tube or tubes of straw, reed, wood, or metal; any tube which produces musical sounds; as, a shepherd's pipe; the pipe of an organ. "Tunable as sylvan pipe." Milton. Now had he rather hear the tabor and the pipe. Shak.

2. Any long tube or hollow body of wood, metal, earthenware, or the like: especially, one used as a conductor of water, steam, gas, etc.

3. A small bowl with a hollow steam, -- used in smoking tobacco, and, sometimes, other substances.

4. A passageway for the air in speaking and breathing; the windpipe, or one of its divisions.

5. The key or sound of the voice. [R.] Shak.

6. The peeping whistle, call, or note of a bird. The earliest pipe of half-awakened birds. Tennyson.

7. pl.

Defn: The bagpipe; as, the pipes of Lucknow.

8. (Mining)

Defn: An elongated body or vein of ore.

9. A roll formerly used in the English exchequer, otherwise called the Great Roll, on which were taken down the accounts of debts to the king; -- so called because put together like a pipe. Mozley & W.

10. (Naut.)

Defn: A boatswain's whistle, used to call the crew to their duties; also, the sound of it.

11. Etym: [Cf. F. pipe, fr. pipe a wind instrument, a tube, fr. L. pipare to chirp. See Etymol. above.]

Defn: A cask usually containing two hogsheads, or 126 wine gallons; also, the quantity which it contains. Pipe fitter, one who fits pipes together, or applies pipes, as to an engine or a building. -- Pipe fitting, a piece, as a coupling, an elbow, a valve, etc., used for connecting lengths of pipe or as accessory to a pipe. -- Pipe office, an ancient office in the Court of Exchequer, in which the clerk of the pipe made out leases of crown lands, accounts of cheriffs, etc. [Eng.] -- Pipe tree (Bot.), the lilac and the mock orange; -- so called because their were formerly used to make pipe stems; -- called also pipe privet. -- Pipe wrench, or Pipetongs, a jawed tool for gripping a pipe, in turning or holding it. -- To smoke the pipe of peace, to smoke from the same pipe in token of amity or preparatory to making a treaty of peace, -- a custom of the American Indians.

PIPE Pipe, v. i.

1. To play on a pipe, fife, flute, or other tubular wind instrument of music. We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced. Matt. xi. 17.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: To call, convey orders, etc., by means of signals on a pipe or whistle carried by a boatswain.

3. To emit or have a shrill sound like that of a pipe; to whistle. "Oft in the piping shrouds." Wordsworth.

4. (Metal.)

Defn: To become hollow in the process of solodifying; -- said of an ingot, as of steel.

PIPE Pipe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Piped; p. pr. & vb. n. Piping.]

1. To perform, as a tune, by playing on a pipe, flute, fife, etc.; to utter in the shrill tone of a pipe. A robin . . . was piping a few querulous notes. W. Irving.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: To call or direct, as a crew, by the boatswain's whistle. As fine a ship's company as was ever piped aloft. Marryat.

3. To furnish or equip with pipes; as, to pipe an engine, or a building.

PIPE CLAY Pipe" clay` (

Defn: A plastic, unctuous clay of a grayish white color, -- used in making tobacco pipes and various kinds of earthenware, in scouring cloth, and in cleansing soldiers' equipments.

PIPECLAY Pipe"clay`, v. t.

1. To whiten or clean with pipe clay, as a soldier's accouterments.

2. To clear off; as, to pipeclay accounts. [Slang, Eng.]

PIPED Piped, a.

Defn: Formed with a pipe; having pipe or pipes; tubular.

PIPEFISH Pipe"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any lophobranch fish of the genus Siphostoma, or Syngnathus, and allied genera, having a long and very slender angular body, covered with bony plates. The mouth is small, at the end of a long, tubular snout. The male has a pouch on his belly, in which the incubation of the eggs takes place.

PIPELAYER; PIPE LAYER Pipe"lay`er, n., or Pipe" lay`er.

1. One who lays conducting pipes in the ground, as for water, gas, etc.

2. (Polit. Cant)

Defn: A politician who works in secret; -- in this sense, usually written as one word. [U.S.]

PIPELAYING; PIPE LAYING Pipe"lay`ing, n., or Pipe" lay`ing.

1. The laying of conducting pipes underground, as for water, gas, etc.

2. (Polit. Cant)

Defn: The act or method of making combinations for personal advantage secretly or slyly; -- in this sense, usually written as one word. [U.S.]

PIPE LINE Pipe line.

Defn: A line of pipe with pumping machinery and apparatus for conveying liquids, esp. petroleum, between distant points.

PIPE-LINE Pipe"-line`, v. t.

Defn: To convey by a pipe line; to furnish with a pipe line or pipe lines.

PIPEMOUTH Pipe"mouth`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any fish of the genus Fistularia; -- called also tobacco pipefish. See Fistularia.

PIPER Pi"per, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: See Pepper.

PIPER Pip"er, n.

1. (Mus.)

Defn: One who plays on a pipe, or the like, esp. on a bagpipe. "The hereditary piper and his sons." Macaulay.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) A common European gurnard (Trigla lyra), having a large head, with prominent nasal projection, and with large, sharp, opercular spines. (b) A sea urchin (Goniocidaris hystrix) having very long spines, native of both the American and European coasts. To pay the piper, to bear the cost, expense, or trouble.

PIPERACEOUS Pip`er*a"ceous, a. Etym: [L. piper pepper.] (Bot.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the order of plants (Piperaceæ) of which the pepper (Piper nigrum) is the type. There are about a dozen genera and a thousand species, mostly tropical plants with pungent and aromatic qualities.

PIPERAZINE; PIPERAZIN Pi*per"a*zine, n. Also -zin . [Piperidine + azote + -ine.] (Chem.)

Defn: A crystalline substance, (C2H4NH)2, formed by action of ammonia on ethylene bromide, by reduction of pyrazine, etc. It is a strong base, and is used as a remedy for gout.

PIPERIC Pi*per"ic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, or designating, a complex organic acid found in the products of different members of the Pepper family, and extracted as a yellowish crystalline substance.

PIPERIDGE Pip"er*idge, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Pepperidge.

PIPERIDINE Pi*per"i*dine, n. (Chem.)

Defn: An oily liquid alkaloid, C5H11N, having a hot, peppery, ammoniacal odor. It is related to pyridine, and is obtained by the decomposition of piperine.

PIPERINE Pip"er*ine, n. Etym: [L. piper pepper: cf. F. piperin, piperine.] (Chem.)

Defn: A white crystalline compound of piperidine and piperic acid. It is obtained from the black pepper (Piper nigrum) and other species.

PIPERONAL Pip`er*o"nal, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A white crystalline substance obtained by oxidation of piperic acid, and regarded as a complex aldehyde.

PIPERYLENE Pi*per"y*lene, n. Etym: [Piperidine + acetylene.] (Chem.)

Defn: A hydrocarbon obtained by decomposition of certain piperidine derivatives.

PIPESTEM Pipe"stem`, n.

Defn: The hollow stem or tube of a pipe used for smoking tobacco, etc. Took a long reed for a pipestem. Longfellow.

PIPESTONE Pipe"stone`, n.

Defn: A kind of clay slate, carved by the Indians into tobacco pipes. Cf. Catlinite.

PIPETTE Pi*pette", n. Etym: [F., dim. of pipe.]

Defn: A small glass tube, often with an enlargement or bulb in the middle, and usually graduated, -- used for transferring or delivering measured quantities.

PIPEVINE Pipe"vine`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The Dutchman's pipe. See under Dutchman.

PIPEWOOD Pipe"wood`, n.

Defn: An ericaceous shrub (Leucothoë acuminata) of the southern United States, from the wood of which pipe bowls are made.

PIPEWORT Pipe"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Any plant of a genus (Eriocaulon) of aquatic or marsh herbs with soft grass-like leaves.

PIPING Pip"ing, a. Etym: [From Pipe, v.]

1. Playing on a musical pipe. "Lowing herds and piping swains." Swift.

2. Peaceful; favorable to, or characterized by, the music of the pipe rather than of the drum and fife. Shak.

3. Emitting a high, shrill sound.

4. Simmering; boiling; sizzling; hissing; -- from the sound of boiling fluids. Piping crow, Piping crow shrike, Piping roller (Zoöl.), any Australian bird of the genus Gymnorhina, esp. G. tibicen, which is black and white, and the size of a small crow. Called also caruck. -- Piping frog (Zoöl.), a small American tree frog (Hyla Pickeringii) which utters a high, shrill note in early spring. -- Piping hot, boiling hot; hissing hot; very hot. [Colloq.] Milton.

PIPING Pip"ing, n.

1. A small cord covered with cloth, -- used as trimming for women's dresses.

2. Pipes, collectively; as, the piping of a house.

3. The act of playing on a pipe; the shrill noted of birds, etc.

4. A piece cut off to be set or planted; a cutting; also, propagation by cuttings.

PIPISTREL; PIPISTRELLE Pi*pis"trel, Pip`i*strelle", n. Etym: [F. pipistrelle, It. pipistrello.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European bat (Vesperugo pipistrellus); -- called also flittermouse.

PIPIT Pip"it, n. Etym: [So named from its call note.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of small singing birds belonging to Anthus and allied genera, of the family Motacillidæ. They strongly resemble the true larks in habits, colors, and the great length of the hind claw. They are, therefore, often called titlarks, and pipit larks.

Note: The meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis); the tree pipit, or tree lark (A. trivialis); and the rock pipit, or sea lark (A. obscurus) are well-known European species. The common American pipit, or brown lark, is Anthus Pensilvanicus. The Western species (A. Spraguei) is called the American skylark, on account of its musical powers.

PIPKIN Pip"kin, n.Etym: [Dim. of Pipe.]

Defn: A small earthen boiler.

PIPPIN Pip"pin, n. Etym: [Probably fr. OE. pippin a seed, as being raised from the seed. See Pip a seed.] (Bot.) (a) An apple from a tree raised from the seed and not grafted; a seedling apple. (b) A name given to apples of several different kinds, as Newtown pippin, summer pippin, fall pippin, golden pippin. We will eat a last year's pippin. Shak. Normandy pippins, sun-dried apples for winter use.

PIPPUL TREE Pip"pul tree`.

Defn: Same as Peepul tree.

PIPRA Pi"pra, n.; pl. Pipras. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of small clamatorial birds belonging to Pipra and allied genera, of the family Pipridæ. The male is usually glossy black, varied with scarlet, yellow, or sky blue. They chiefly inhabit South America.

PIPRINE Pi"prine, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the pipras, or the family Pipridæ.

PIPSISSEWA Pip*sis"se*wa, n. Etym: [From American Indian.] (Bot.)

Defn: A low evergreen plant (Chimaphila umbellata), with narrow, wedge-lanceolate leaves, and an umbel of pretty nodding fragrant blossoms. It has been used in nephritic diseases. Called also prince's pine.

PIPY Pip"y, a.

Defn: Like a pipe; hollow-stemmed. Keats.

PIQUANCY Pi"quan*cy, n. Etym: [See Piquant.]

Defn: The quality or state of being piquant.

PIQUANT Pi"quant, a. Etym: [F., p.pr. of piquer to prick or sting. See Pike.]

Defn: Stimulating to the taste; giving zest; tart; sharp; pungent; as, a piquant anecdote. "As piquant to the tongue as salt." Addison. "Piquant railleries." Gov. of Tongue.

PIQUANTLY Pi"quant*ly, adv.

Defn: In a piquant manner.

PIQUE Pi`qué", n. Etym: [F., p.p. of piquer to prick.]

Defn: A cotton fabric, figured in the loom, -- used as a dress goods for women and children, and for vestings, etc.

PIQUE Pique, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The jigger. See Jigger.

PIQUE Pique, n. Etym: [F., fr. piquer. See Pike.]

1. A feeling of hurt, vexation, or resentment, awakened by a social slight or injury; irritation of the feelings, as through wounded pride; stinging vexation. Men take up piques and displeasures. Dr. H. More. Wars had arisen . . . upon a personal pique. De Quincey.

2. Keenly felt desire; a longing. Though it have the pique, and long, 'Tis still for something in the wrong. Hudibras.

3. (Card Playing)

Defn: In piquet, the right of the elder hand to count thirty in hand, or to play before the adversary counts one.

Syn. -- Displeasure; irritation; grudge; spite. Pique, Spite, Grudge. Pique denotes a quick and often transient sense of resentment for some supposed neglect or injury, but it is not marked by malevolence. Spite is a stronger term, denoting settled ill will or malice, with a desire to injure, as the result of extreme irritation. Grudge goes still further, denoting cherished and secret enmity, with an unforgiving spirit. A pique is usually of recent date; a grudge is that which has long subsisted; spite implies a disposition to cross or vex others.

PIQUE Pique, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Piqued; p. pr. & vb. n. Piquing.] Etym: [F. piquer. See Pike.]

1. To wound the pride of; to sting; to nettle; to irritate; to fret; to offend; to excite to anger. Pique her, and soothe in turn. Byron.

2. To excite to action by causing resentment or jealousy; to stimulate; to prick; as, to pique ambition, or curiosity. Prior.

3. To pride or value; -- used reflexively. Men . . . pique themselves upon their skill. Locke.

Syn. -- To offend; displease; irritate; provoke; fret; nettle; sting; goad; stimulate.

PIQUE Pique, v. i.

Defn: To cause annoyance or irritation. "Every piques." Tatler.

PIQUEER Pi*queer", v. i.

Defn: See Pickeer. [R.]

PIQUEERER Pi*queer"er, n.

Defn: See Pickeerer. [R.]

PIQUET Piqu"et, n.

Defn: See Picket. [R.]

PIQUET Pi*quet", n. Etym: [F., prob. fr. pique. See Pique, Pike, and Picket.]

Defn: A game at cards played between two persons, with thirty-two cards, all the deuces, threes, fours, fives, and sixes, being set aside. [Written also picket and picquet.]

PIRACY Pi"ra*cy, n.; pl. Piracies. Etym: [Cf. LL. piratia, Gr. Pirate.]

1. The act or crime of a pirate.

2. (Common Law)

Defn: Robbery on the high seas; the taking of property from others on the open sea by open violence; without lawful authority, and with intent to steal; -- a crime answering to robbery on land.

Note: By statute law several other offenses committed on the seas (as trading with known pirates, or engaging in the slave trade) have been made piracy.

3. "Sometimes used, in a quasi-figurative sense, of violation of copyright; but for this, infringement is the correct and preferable term." Abbott.

PIRAGUA Pi*ra"gua, n.

Defn: See Pirogue.

PIRAI Pi*rai", n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Piraya.

PIRAMETER Pi*ram"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. -meter.]

Defn: A dynamometer for ascertaining the power required to draw carriages over roads.

PIRARUCU Pi`ra*ru"cu, n. Etym: [From the native South American name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Arapaima.

PIRATE Pi"rate, n. Etym: [L. pirata, Gr. peril: cf. F. pirate. See Peril.]

1. A robber on the high seas; one who by open violence takes the property of another on the high seas; especially, one who makes it his business to cruise for robbery or plunder; a freebooter on the seas; also, one who steals in a harbor.

2. An armed ship or vessel which sails without a legal commission, for the purpose of plundering other vessels on the high seas.

3. One who infringes the law of copyright, or publishes the work of an author without permission. Pirate perch (Zoöl.), a fresh-water percoid fish of the United States (Aphredoderus Sayanus). It is of a dark olive color, speckled with blackish spots.

PIRATE Pi"rate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pirated; p. pr. & vb. n. Pirating.] Etym: [Cf. F. pirater.]

Defn: To play the pirate; to practice robbery on the high seas.

PIRATE Pi"rate, v. t.

Defn: To publish, as books or writings, without the permission of the author. They advertised they would pirate his edition. Pope.

PIRATIC Pi*rat"ic, a.

Defn: Piratical.

PIRATICAL Pi*rat"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. piraticus, Gr. piratique.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a pirate; acquired by, or practicing, piracy; as, a piratical undertaking. "Piratical printers." Pope. -- Pi*rat"ic*al*ly, adv.

PIRAYA Pi*ra"ya, n. Etym: [From the native name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large voracious fresh-water fish (Serrasalmo piraya) of South America, having lancet-shaped teeth.

PIRIE Pir"ie, n. (Naut.)

Defn: See Pirry.

PIRIE Pir"ie, n. Etym: [See Pear.] (Bot.)

Defn: A pear tree. [Written also pery, pyrie.] [Obs.] Chaucer.

PIRIRIGUA Pi`ri*ri"gua, n. Etym: [From the native name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A South American bird (Guira guira) allied to the cuckoos.

PIRL Pirl, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Purl.]

1. To spin, as a top.

2. To twist or twine, as hair in making fishing lines.

PIRN Pirn, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]

Defn: A quill or reed on which thread or yarn is wound; a bobbin; also, the wound yarn on a weaver's shuttle; also, the reel of a fishing rod. [Scot.]

PIROGUE Pi*rogue", n. Etym: [Originally an American Indian word: cf. F. pirogue, Sp. piroga, piragua.]

Defn: A dugout canoe; by extension, any small boat. [Written variously periauger, perogue, piragua, periagua, etc.]

PIROUETTE Pir`ou*ette", n. Etym: [F.; of uncertain origin.]

1. A whirling or turning on the toes in dancing.

2. (Man.)

Defn: The whirling about of a horse.

PIROUETTE Pir`ou*ette", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pirouetted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pirouetting.] Etym: [F. pirouetter.]

Defn: To perform a pirouette; to whirl, like a dancer.

PIRRY; PIRRIE Pir"ry, Pir"rie, n. Etym: [Cf. Scot. pirr a gentle breeze, Icel. byrr a prosperous wind, bylr a blast of wind.]

Defn: A rough gale of wind. [Obs.] Sir T. Elyot.

PISASPHALTUM Pis`as*phal"tum, n.

Defn: See Pissasphalt.

PISAY Pi"say, n. (Arch.)

Defn: See Pisé.

PISCARY Pis"ca*ry, n. Etym: [L. piscarius relating to fishes or to fishing, fr. piscis a fish.] (Law)

Defn: The right or privilege of fishing in another man's waters. Blackstone.

PISCATION Pis*ca"tion, n. Etym: [L. piscatio, fr. piscari to fish.]

Defn: Fishing; fishery. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

PISCATOR Pis*ca"tor, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A fisherman; an angler.

PISCATORIAL; PISCATORY Pis`ca*to"ri*al, Pis"ca*to*ry, a. Etym: [L. piscatorius, fr. piscator a fisherman, fr. piscari to fish, fr. piscis a fish. See Fish the animal.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to fishes or fishing. Addison.

PISCES Pis"ces, n. pl. Etym: [L. piscis a fish.]

1. (Astron.) (a) The twelfth sign of the zodiac, marked pisces in almanacs. (b) A zodiacal constellation, including the first point of Aries, which is the vernal equinoctial point; the Fish.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The class of Vertebrata that includes the fishes. The principal divisions are Elasmobranchii, Ganoidei, and Teleostei.

PISCICAPTURE Pis"ci*cap`ture, n.

Defn: Capture of fishes, as by angling. [R.] W. H. Russell.

PISCICULTURAL Pis`ci*cul"tur*al, a.

Defn: Relating to pisciculture.

PISCICULTURE Pis`ci*cul"ture, n. Etym: [L. piscis a fish + E. culture.]

Defn: Fish culture. See under Fish.

PISCICULTURIST Pis`ci*cul"tur*ist, n.

Defn: One who breeds fish.

PISCIFORM Pis"ci*form, a. Etym: [L. piscis fish + -form.]

Defn: Having the form of a fish; resembling a fish.

PISCINA Pis*ci"na, n. Etym: [L., a certain, fishpond, fr. piscis a fish.] (Arch.)

Defn: A niche near the altar in a church, containing a small basin for rinsing altar vessels.

PISCINAL Pis"ci*nal, a. Etym: [L. piscinalis: cf. F. piscinal.]

Defn: Belonging to a fishpond or a piscina.

PISCINE Pis"cine, a. Etym: [L. piscis a fish.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a fish or fishes; as, piscine remains.

PISCIVOROUS Pis*civ"o*rous, a. Etym: [L. piscis a fish + vorare to devour: cf. F. piscivore.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Feeding or subsisting on fish.

PISE Pi`sé", n. Etym: [F. pisé, from piser to stamp, pound, L. pisare.] (Arch.)

Defn: A species of wall made of stiff earth or clay rammed in between molds which are carried up as the wall rises; -- called also pisé work. Gwilt.

PISH Pish, interj.

Defn: An exclamation of contempt.

PISH Pish, v. i.

Defn: To express contempt. Pope.

PISHU Pi"shu, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The Canada lynx. [Written also peeshoo.]

PISIFORM Pi"si*form, a. Etym: [L. pisum a pea + -form: cf. F. pisiforme.]

Defn: Resembling a pea or peas in size and shape; as, a pisiform iron ore.

PISIFORM Pi"si*form, n. (Anat.)

Defn: A small bone on the ulnar side of the carpus in man and many mammals. See Illust. of Artiodactyla.

PISMIRE Pis"mire, n. Etym: [Piss + mire; so called because it discharges a moisture vulgarly considered urine. See Mire an ant.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An ant, or emmet.

PISOLITE Pi"so*lite, n. Etym: [Gr. -lite: cf. F. pisolithe.] (Min.)

Defn: A variety of calcite, or calcium carbonate, consisting of aggregated globular concretions about the size of a pea; -- called also peastone, peagrit.

Note: Oölite is similar in structure, but the concretions are as small as the roe of a fish.

PISOLITIC Pi`so*lit"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. pisolithique.] (Min.)

Defn: Composed of, containing, or resembling, pisolite.

PISOPHALT Pis"o*phalt, n. Etym: [For pissasphalt.] (Min.)

Defn: Pissasphalt. [Obs.]

PISS Piss, v. t. & i. Etym: [OE. pissen, F. pisser; akin to It. pisciare, D. & G. pissen, Dan. pisse, Icel. pissa.]

Defn: To discharge urine, to urinate. Shak.

PISS Piss, n.

Defn: Urine.

PISSABED Piss"a*bed`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A name locally applied to various wild plants, as dandelion, bluet, oxeye daisy, etc.

PISSASPHALT Pis"sas*phalt, n. Etym: [L. pissasphaltus, Gr. pissasphalte.] (Min.)

Defn: Earth pitch; a soft, black bitumen of the consistence of tar, and of a strong smell. It is inflammable, and intermediate between petroleum and asphalt. [Written also pisasphaltum, pisasphalt, etc.]

PIST Pist, n.

Defn: (man.) See Piste.

PISTACHE Pis*tache", n. [OE. pistace, fr. F. pistache. See Pistachio.] (Bot.)

Defn: The anacardiaceous tree Pistacia vera, which yields the pistachio nut; also, the nut itself and the flavoring extract prepared from it.

PISTACHIO Pis*ta"chio, n. Etym: [It. pistacchio (cf. Sp. pistacho, F. pistache), fr. L. pistacium, Gr. pistah. Cf. Fistinut.] (Bot.)

Defn: The nut of the Pistacia vera, a tree of the order Anacardiaceæ, containing a kernel of a pale greenish color, which has a pleasant taste, resembling that of the almond, and yields an oil of agreeable taste and odor; -- called also pistachio nut. It is wholesome and nutritive. The tree grows in Arabia, Persia, Syria, and Sicily. [Written also pistachia.]

PISTACHIO GREEN Pistachio green.

Defn: A light yellowish green color resembling that of the pistachio nut.

PISTACIA Pis*ta"ci*a, n. Etym: [NL. See Pistachio.] (Bot.)

Defn: The name of a genus of trees, including the tree which bears the pistachio, the Mediterranean mastic tree (Pistacia Lentiscus), and the species (P. Terebinthus) which yields Chian or Cyprus turpentine.

PISTACITE Pis"ta*cite, n. Etym: [Cf. F. pistacite. So called from its green color. See Pistachio.] (Min.)

Defn: Epidote.

PISTAREEN Pis`ta*reen", n.

Defn: An old Spanish silver coin of the value of about twenty cents.

PISTAZITE Pis"ta*zite, n. (Min.)

Defn: Same as Pistacite.

PISTE Piste, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. pisere, pinsere, pistum, to pound.] (Min.)

Defn: The track or tread a horseman makes upon the ground he goes over. Johnson.

PISTEL; PISTIL Pis"tel, Pis"til, n.

Defn: An epistle. [Obs.]

PISTIC Pis"tic, a. Etym: [L. pisticus, Gr.

Defn: Pure; genuine. [R.] Jer. Taylor.

PISTIL Pis"til, n. Etym: [L. pistillum, pistillus, a pestle: cf. F. pistil. See Pestle.] (Bot.)

Defn: The seed-bearing organ of a flower. It consists of an ovary, containing the ovules or rudimentary seeds, and a stigma, which is commonly raised on an elongated portion called a style. When composed of one carpel a pistil is simple; when composed of several, it is compound. See Illust. of Flower, and Ovary.

PISTILLACEOUS Pis`til*la"ceous, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Growing on, or having nature of, the pistil; of or pertaining to a pistil. Barton.

PISTILLATE Pis"til*late, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having a pistil or pistils; -- usually said of flowers having pistils but no stamens.

PISTILLATION Pis`til*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. pistillum a pestle.]

Defn: The act of pounding or breaking in a mortar; pestillation. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

PISTILLIDIUM Pis`til*lid"i*um, n.; pl. Pistillida. Etym: [NL., fr. E. pistil.] (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Archegonium.

PISTILLIFEROUS Pis`til*lif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Pistil + -ferous: cf. F. pistillifère.] (Bot.)

Defn: Pistillate.

PISTILLODY Pis"til*lo*dy, n. Etym: [Pistil + Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: The metamorphosis of other organs into pistils.

PISTOL Pis"tol, n. Etym: [F. pistole, pistolet, It. pistola; prob. from a form Pistola, for Pistoja, a town in Italy where pistols were first made. Cf. Pistole.]

Defn: The smallest firearm used, intended to be fired from one hand, -- now of many patterns, and bearing a great variety of names. See Illust. of Revolver. Pistol carbine, a firearm with a removable but- piece, and thus capable of being used either as a pistol or a carbine. -- Pistol pipe (Metal.), a pipe in which the blast for a furnace is heated, resembling a pistol in form. -- Pistol shot. (a) The discharge of a pistol. (b) The distance to which a pistol can propel a ball.

PISTOL Pis"tol, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pistoled; p. pr. & vb. n. Pistoling.] Etym: [Cf. F. pistoler.]

Defn: To shoot with a pistol. "To pistol a poacher." Sydney Smith.

PISTOLADE Pis"to*lade`, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A pistol shot.

PISTOLE Pis*tole", n. Etym: [F., probably a name given in jest in France to a Spanish coin. Cf. Pistol.]

Defn: The name of certain gold coins of various values formerly coined in some countries of Europe. In Spain it was equivalent to a quarter doubloon, or about $3.90, and in Germany and Italy nearly the same. There was an old Italian pistole worth about $5.40.

PISTOLEER Pis`to*leer", n. Etym: [Cf. F. pistolier.]

Defn: One who uses a pistol. [R.] Carlyle.

PISTOLET Pis"to*let`, n. Etym: [F., a dim. of pistole.]

Defn: A small pistol. Donne. Beau. & Fl.

PISTON Pis"ton, n. Etym: [F. piston; cf. It. pistone piston, also pestone a large pestle; all fr. L. pinsere, pistum, to pound, to stamp. See Pestle, Pistil.] (Mach.)

Defn: A sliding piece which either is moved by, or moves against, fluid pressure. It usually consists of a short cylinder fitting within a cylindrical vessel along which it moves, back and forth. It is used in steam engines to receive motion from the steam, and in pumps to transmit motion to a fluid; also for other purposes. Piston head (Steam Eng.), that part of a piston which is made fast to the piston rod. -- Piston rod, a rod by which a piston is moved, or by which it communicates motion. -- Piston valve (Steam Eng.), a slide valve, consisting of a piston, or connected pistons, working in a cylindrical case which is provided with ports that are traversed by the valve.

PISTON RING Pis"ton ring. (Mach.)

Defn: A spring packing ring, or any of several such rings, for a piston.

PIT Pit, n. Etym: [OE. pit, put, AS. pytt a pit, hole, L. puteus a well, pit.]

1. A large cavity or hole in the ground, either natural or artificial; a cavity in the surface of a body; an indentation; specifically: (a) The shaft of a coal mine; a coal pit. (b) A large hole in the ground from which material is dug or quarried; as, a stone pit; a gravel pit; or in which material is made by burning; as, a lime pit; a charcoal pit. (c) A vat sunk in the ground; as, a tan pit. Tumble me into some loathsome pit. Shak.

2. Any abyss; especially, the grave, or hades. Back to the infernal pit I drag thee chained. Milton. He keepth back his soul from the pit. Job xxxiii. 18.

3. A covered deep hole for entrapping wild beasts; a pitfall; hence, a trap; a snare. Also used figuratively. The anointed of the Lord was taken in their pits. Lam. iv. 20.

4. A depression or hollow in the surface of the human body; as: (a) The hollow place under the shoulder or arm; the axilla, or armpit. (b) See Pit of the stomach (below). (c) The indentation or mark left by a pustule, as in smallpox.

5. Formerly, that part of a theater, on the floor of the house, below the level of the stage and behind the orchestra; now, in England, commonly the part behind the stalls; in the United States, the parquet; also, the occupants of such a part of a theater.

6. An inclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats. "As fiercely as two gamecocks in the pit." Locke.

7. Etym: [Cf. D. pit, akin to E. pith.] (Bot.) (a) The endocarp of a drupe, and its contained seed or seeds; a stone; as, a peach pit; a cherry pit, etc. (b) A depression or thin spot in the wall of a duct. Cold pit (Hort.), an excavation in the earth, lined with masonry or boards, and covered with glass, but not artificially heated, -- used in winter for the storing and protection of half-hardly plants, and sometimes in the spring as a forcing bed. -- Pit coal, coal dug from the earth; mineral coal. -- Pit frame, the framework over the shaft of a coal mine. -- Pit head, the surface of the ground at the mouth of a pit or mine. -- Pit kiln, an oven for coking coal. -- Pit martin (Zoöl.), the bank swallow. [Prov. Eng.] -- Pit of the stomach (Anat.), the depression on the middle line of the epigastric region of the abdomen at the lower end of the sternum; the infrasternal depression. -- Pit saw (Mech.), a saw worked by two men, one of whom stands on the log and the other beneath it. The place of the latter is often in a pit, whence the name. -- Pit viper (Zoöl.), any viperine snake having a deep pit on each side of the snout. The rattlesnake and copperhead are examples. -- Working pit (Min.), a shaft in which the ore is hoisted and the workmen carried; -- in distinction from a shaft used for the pumps.

PIT Pit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pitting.]

1. To place or put into a pit or hole. They lived like beasts, and were pitted like beasts, tumbled into the grave. T. Grander.

2. To mark with little hollows, as by various pustules; as, a face pitted by smallpox.

3. To introduce as an antagonist; to set forward for or in a contest; as, to pit one dog against another.

PITA Pi"ta, n. Etym: [Sp.] (Bot.) (a) A fiber obtained from the Agave Americana and other related species, -- used for making cordage and paper. Called also pita fiber, and pita thread. (b) The plant which yields the fiber.

PITAHAYA Pit`a*ha"ya, n. Etym: [Sp., prob. from the native name.] (Bot.)

Defn: A cactaceous shrub (Cereus Pitajaya) of tropical America, which yields a delicious fruit.

PITAPAT Pit"a*pat`, adv. Etym: [An onomatopoetic reduplication of pat a light, quick blow.]

Defn: In a flutter; with palpitation or quick succession of beats. Lowell. "The fox's heart went pitapat." L'Estrange.

PITAPAT Pit"a*pat`, n.

Defn: A light, repeated sound; a pattering, as of the rain. "The pitapat of a pretty foot." Dryden.

PITCH Pitch, n. Etym: [OE. pich, AS. pic, L. pix; akin to Gr.

1. A thick, black, lustrous, and sticky substance obtained by boiling down tar. It is used in calking the seams of ships; also in coating rope, canvas, wood, ironwork, etc., to preserve them. He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith. Ecclus. xiii. 1.

2. (Geol.)

Defn: See Pitchstone. Amboyna pitch, the resin of Dammara australis. See Kauri. -- Burgundy pitch. See under Burgundy. -- Canada pitch, the resinous exudation of the hemlock tree (Abies Canadensis); hemlock gum. -- Jew's pitch, bitumen. -- Mineral pitch. See Bitumen and Asphalt. -- Pitch coal (Min.), bituminous coal. -- Pitch peat (Min.), a black homogeneous peat, with a waxy luster. -- Pitch pine (Bot.), any one of several species of pine, yielding pitch, esp. the Pinus rigida of North America.

PITCH Pitch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pitched; p. pr. & vb. n. Pitching.] Etym: [See Pitch, n.]

1. To cover over or smear with pitch. Gen. vi. 14.

2. Fig.: To darken; to blacken; to obscure. The welkin pitched with sullen could. Addison.

PITCH Pitch, v. t. Etym: [OE. picchen; akin to E. pick, pike.]

1. To throw, generally with a definite aim or purpose; to cast; to hurl; to toss; as, to pitch quoits; to pitch hay; to pitch a ball.

2. To thrust or plant in the ground, as stakes or poles; hence, to fix firmly, as by means of poles; to establish; to arrange; as, to pitch a tent; to pitch a camp.

3. To set, face, or pave with rubble or undressed stones, as an embankment or a roadway. Knight.

4. To fix or set the tone of; as, to pitch a tune.

5. To set or fix, as a price or value. [Obs.] Shak. Pitched battle, a general battle; a battle in which the hostile forces have fixed positions; -- in distinction from a skirmish. -- To pitch into, to attack; to assault; to abuse. [Slang]

PITCH Pitch, v. i.

1. To fix or place a tent or temporary habitation; to encamp. "Laban with his brethren pitched in the Mount of Gilead." Gen. xxxi. 25.

2. To light; to settle; to come to rest from flight. The tree whereon they [the bees] pitch. Mortimer.

3. To fix one's choise; -- with on or upon. Pitch upon the best course of life, and custom will render it the more easy. Tillotson.

4. To plunge or fall; esp., to fall forward; to decline or slope; as, to pitch from a precipice; the vessel pitches in a heavy sea; the field pitches toward the east. Pitch and pay, an old aphorism which inculcates ready-money payment, or payment on delivery of goods. Shak.

PITCH Pitch, n.

1. A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand; as, a good pitch in quoits. Pitch and toss, a game played by tossing up a coin, and calling "Heads or tails;" hence: To play pitch and toss with (anything), to be careless or trust to luck about it. "To play pitch and toss with the property of the country." G. Eliot. -- Pitch farthing. See Chuck farthing, under 5th Chuck.

2. (Cricket)

Defn: That point of the ground on which the ball pitches or lights when bowled.

3. A point or peak; the extreme point or degree of elevation or depression; hence, a limit or bound. Driven headlong from the pitch of heaven, down Into this deep. Milton. Enterprises of great pitch and moment. Shak. To lowest pitch of abject fortune. Milton. He lived when learning was at its highest pitch. Addison. The exact pitch, or limits, where temperance ends. Sharp.

4. Height; stature. [Obs.] Hudibras.

5. A descent; a fall; a thrusting down.

6. The point where a declivity begins; hence, the declivity itself; a descending slope; the degree or rate of descent or slope; slant; as, a steep pitch in the road; the pitch of a roof.

7. (Mus.)

Defn: The relative acuteness or gravity of a tone, determined by the number of vibrations which produce it; the place of any tone upon a scale of high and low.

Note: Musical tones with reference to absolute pitch, are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet; with reference to relative pitch, in a series of tones called the scale, they are called one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Eight is also one of a new scale an octave higher, as one is eight of a scale an octave lower.

8. (Mining)

Defn: The limit of ground set to a miner who receives a share of the ore taken out.

9. (Mech.) (a) The distance from center to center of any two adjacent teeth of gearing, measured on the pitch line; -- called also circular pitch. (b) The length, measured along the axis, of a complete turn of the thread of a screw, or of the helical lines of the blades of a screw propeller. (c) The distance between the centers of holes, as of rivet holes in boiler plates. Concert pitch (Mus.), the standard of pitch used by orchestras, as in concerts, etc. -- Diametral pitch (Gearing), the distance which bears the same relation to the pitch proper, or circular pitch, that the diameter of a circle bears to its circumference; it is sometimes described by the number expressing the quotient obtained by dividing the number of teeth in a wheel by the diameter of its pitch circle in inches; as, 4 pitch, 8 pitch, etc. -- Pitch chain, a chain, as one made of metallic plates, adapted for working with a sprocket wheel. -- Pitch line, or Pitch circle (Gearing), an ideal line, in a toothed gear or rack, bearing such a relation to a corresponding line in another gear, with which the former works, that the two lines will have a common velocity as in rolling contact; it usually cuts the teeth at about the middle of their height, and, in a circular gear, is a circle concentric with the axis of the gear; the line, or circle, on which the pitch of teeth is measured. -- Pitch of a roof (Arch.), the inclination or slope of the sides expressed by the height in parts of the span; as, one half pitch; whole pitch; or by the height in parts of the half span, especially among engineers; or by degrees, as a pitch of 30°, of 45°, etc.; or by the rise and run, that is, the ratio of the height to the half span; as, a pitch of six rise to ten run. Equilateral pitch is where the two sloping sides with the span form an equilateral triangle. -- Pitch of a plane (Carp.), the slant of the cutting iron. -- Pitch pipe, a wind instrument used by choristers in regulating the pitch of a tune. -- Pitch point (Gearing), the point of contact of the pitch lines of two gears, or of a rack and pinion, which work together.

PITCH-BLACK Pitch"-black`, a.

Defn: Black as pitch or tar.

PITCHBLENDE Pitch"blende`, n. Etym: [1st pitch + blende.] (Min.)

Defn: A pitch-black mineral consisting chiefly of the oxide of uranium; uraninite. See Uraninite.

PITCH-DARK Pitch"-dark`, a.

Defn: Dark as a pitch; pitch-black.

PITCHER Pitch"er, n.

1. One who pitches anything, as hay, quoits, a ball, etc.; specifically (Baseball), the player who delivers the ball to the batsman.

2. A sort of crowbar for digging. [Obs.] Mortimer.

PITCHER Pitch"er, n. Etym: [OE. picher, OF. pichier, OHG. pehhar, pehhari; prob. of the same origin as E. beaker. Cf. Beaker.]

1. A wide-mouthed, deep vessel for holding liquids, with a spout or protruding lip and a handle; a water jug or jar with a large ear or handle.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A tubular or cuplike appendage or expansion of the leaves of certain plants. American pitcher plants, the species of Sarracenia. See Sarracenia. -- Australian pitcher plant, the Cephalotus follicularis, a low saxifragaceous herb having two kinds of radical leaves, some oblanceolate and entire, others transformed into little ovoid pitchers, longitudinally triple-winged and ciliated, the mouth covered with a lid shaped like a cockleshell. -- California pitcher plant, the Darlingtonia California. See Darlingtonia. -- Pitcher plant, any plant with the whole or a part of the leaves transformed into pitchers or cuplike organs, especially the species of Nepenthes. See Nepenthes.

PITCHERFUL Pitch"er*ful, n.; pl. Pitcherfuls (.

Defn: The quantity a pitcher will hold.

PITCH-FACED Pitch"-faced`, a. (Stone Cutting)

Defn: Having the arris defined by a line beyond which the rock is cut away, so as to give nearly true edges; -- said of squared stones that are otherwise quarry-faced.

PITCHFORK Pitch"fork`, n.

Defn: A fork, or farming utensil, used in pitching hay, sheaves of grain, or the like.

PITCHFORK Pitch"fork`, v. t.

Defn: To pitch or throw with, or as with, a pitchfork. He has been pitchforked into the footguards. G. A. Sala.

PITCHINESS Pitch"i*ness, n. Etym: [From Pitchy.]

Defn: Blackness, as of pitch; darkness.

PITCHING Pitch"ing, n.

1. The act of throwing or casting; a cast; a pitch; as, wild pitching in baseball.

2. The rough paving of a street to a grade with blocks of stone. Mayhew.

3. (Hydraul. Eng.)

Defn: A facing of stone laid upon a bank to prevent wear by tides or currents. Pitching piece (Carp.), the horizontal timber supporting the floor of a platform of a stairway, and against which the stringpieces of the sloping parts are supported.

PITCH-ORE Pitch"-ore`, n. (Min.)

Defn: Pitchblende.

PITCHSTONE Pitch"stone`, n. (Geol.)

Defn: An igneous rock of semiglassy nature, having a luster like pitch.

PITCHWORK Pitch"work`, n.

Defn: The work of a coal miner who is paid by a share of his product.

PITCHY Pitch"y, a. Etym: [From 1st Pitch.]

1. Partaking of the qualities of pitch; resembling pitch.

2. Smeared with pitch.

3. Black; pitch-dark; dismal. "Pitchy night." Shak.

PITEOUS Pit"e*ous, a. Etym: [OE. pitous, OF. pitos, F. piteux. See Pity.]

1. Pious; devout. [Obs.] The Lord can deliver piteous men from temptation. Wyclif.

2. Evincing pity, compassion, or sympathy; compassionate; tender. "[She] piteous of his case." Pope. She was so charitable and so pitous. Chaucer.

3. Fitted to excite pity or sympathy; wretched; miserable; lamentable; sad; as, a piteous case. Spenser. The most piteous tale of Lear. Shak.

4. Paltry; mean; pitiful. "Piteous amends." Milton.

Syn. -- Sorrowful; mournful; affecting; doleful; woeful; rueful; sad; wretched; miserable; pitiable; pitiful; compassionate. -- Pit"e*ous*ly, adv. -- Pit"e*ous*ness, n.

PITFALL Pit"fall`, n.

Defn: A pit deceitfully covered to entrap wild beasts or men; a trap of any kind. Sir T. North.

PITFALLING Pit"fall`ing, a.

Defn: Entrapping; insnaring. [R.] "Full of . . . contradiction and pitfalling dispenses." Milton.

PITH Pith, n. Etym: [AS. pi; akin to D. pit pith, kernel, LG. peddik. Cf. Pit a kernel.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The soft spongy substance in the center of the stems of many plants and trees, especially those of the dicotyledonous or exogenous classes. It consists of cellular tissue.

2. (a) (Zoöl.) The spongy interior substance of a feather. (b) (Anat.) The spinal cord; the marrow.

3. Hence: The which contains the strength of life; the vital or essential part; concentrated force; vigor; strength; importance; as, the speech lacked pith. Enterprises of great pith and moment. Shak. Pith paper. Same as Rice paper, under Rice.

PITH Pith, v. t. (Physiol.)

Defn: To destroy the central nervous system of (an animal, as a frog), as by passing a stout wire or needle up and down the vertebral canal.

PITHECANTHROPUS Pith`e*can*thro"pus, n. [NL.; Gr. ape + man.]

1. A hypothetical genus of primates intermediate between man and the anthropoid apes. Haeckel.

2. A genus consisting of an primate (P. erectus) apparently intermediate between man and the existing anthropoid apes, known from bones of a single individual found in Java (hence called Java man) in 1891-92. These bones include a thigh bone of the human type, two molar teeth intermediate between those of man and the anthropoids, and the calvaria of the skull, indicating a brain capacity of about 900 cubic centimeters, and resembling in form that of the Neanderthal man. Also [pl. -thropi],

Defn: an animal of this genus. --Pith`e*can"thrope (#), n. -- Pith`e*can"thro*poid (#), a.

PITHECI Pi*the"ci, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of mammals including the apes and monkeys. Sometimes used in the sense of Primates.

PITHECOID Pith"e*coid, a. Etym: [Gr. -oid.] (Zoöl.)

1. Of or pertaining to the genus Pithecia, or subfamily Pithecinæ, which includes the saki, ouakari, and other allied South American monkeys.

2. Of or pertaining to the anthropoid apes in particular, or to the higher apes of the Old World, collectively.

PITHFUL Pith"ful, a.

Defn: Full of pith. [R.] W. Browne.

PITHILY Pith"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a pithy manner.

PITHINESS Pith"i*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being pithy.

PITHLESS Pith"less, a.

Defn: Destitute of pith, or of strength; feeble. Dryden. "Pithless argumentation." Glandstone.

PIT-HOLE Pit"-hole`, n.

Defn: A pit; a pockmark.

PITHSOME Pith"some, a.

Defn: Pithy; robust. [R.] "Pithsome health and vigor." R. D. Blackmore.

PITHY Pith"y, a. [Compar. Pithier; superl. Pithiest.]

1. Consisting wholly, or in part, of pith; abounding in pith; as, a pithy stem; a pithy fruit.

2. Having nervous energy; forceful; cogent. This pithy speech prevailed, and all agreed. Dryden. In all these Goodman Fact was very short, but pithy. Addison. Pithy gall (Zoöl.), a large, rough, furrowed, oblong gall, formed on blackberry canes by a small gallfly (Diastrophus nebulosus).

PITIABLE Pit"i*a*ble, a. Etym: [Cf. OF. pitiable, F. pitoyable.]

Defn: Deserving pity; wworthy of, or exciting, compassion; miserable; lamentable; piteous; as, pitiable persons; a pitiable condition; pitiable wretchedness.

Syn. -- Sorrowful; woeful; sad. See Piteous. -- Pit"i*a*ble*ness, n. -- Pit"i*a*bly, adv.

PITIER Pit"i*er, n.

Defn: One who pities. Gauden.

PITIFUL Pit"i*ful, a.

1. Full of pity; tender-hearted; compassionate; kind; merciful; sympathetic. The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. James v. 11.

2. Piteous; lamentable; eliciting compassion. A thing, indeed, very pitiful and horrible. Spenser.

3. To be pitied for littleness or meanness; miserable; paltry; contemptible; despicable. That's villainous, and shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it. Shak.

Syn. -- Despicable; mean; paltry. See Contemptible. -- Pit"i*ful*ly, adv. -- Pit"i*ful*ness, n.

PITILESS Pit"i*less, a.

1. Destitute of pity; hard-hearted; merciless; as, a pitilessmaster; pitiless elements.

2. Exciting no pity; as, a pitiless condition. -- Pit"i*less*ly, adv. -- Pit"i*less*ness, n.

PITMAN Pit"man, n.; pl. Pitmen (.

1. One who works in a pit, as in mining, in sawing timber, etc.

2. (Mach.)

Defn: The connecting rod in a sawmill; also, sometimes, a connecting rod in other machinery.

PITOT'S TUBE Pi*tot's" tube`. (Hydraul.)

Defn: A bent tube used to determine the velocity of running water, by placing the curved end under water, and observing the height to which the fluid rises in the tube; a kind of current meter.

PITPAN Pit"pan`, n.

Defn: A long, flat-bottomed canoe, used for the navigation of rivers and lagoons in Central America. Squier.

PITPAT Pit"pat`, n. & adv.

Defn: See Pitapat.

PITTA Pit"ta, n. (Zoöl.)