Chapter LI: Bella (74)

Defn: Any one of a large group of bright-colored clamatorial birds belonging to Pitta, and allied genera of the family Pittidæ. Most of the species are varied with three or more colors, such as blue, green, crimson, yellow, purple, and black. They are called also ground thrushes, and Old World ant thrushes; but they are not related to the true thrushes.

Note: The pittas are most abundant in the East Indies, but some inhabit Southern Asia, Africa, and Australia. They live mostly upon the ground, and feed upon insects of various kinds.

PITTACAL Pit"ta*cal, n. Etym: [Gr. pittacale.] (Chem.)

Defn: A dark blue substance obtained from wood tar. It consists of hydrocarbons which when oxidized form the orange-yellow eupittonic compounds, the salts of which are dark blue.

PITTANCE Pit"tance, n. Etym: [OE. pitance, pitaunce, F. pitance; cf. It. pietanza, LL. pitancia, pittantia, pictantia; perh. fr. L. pietas pity, piety, or perhaps akin to E. petty. Cf. Petty, and Pity.]

1. An allowance of food bestowed in charity; a mess of victuals; hence, a small charity gift; a dole. "A good pitaunce." Chaucer. One half only of this pittance was ever given him in money. Macaulay.

2. A meager portion, quality, or allowance; an inconsiderable salary or compensation. "The small pittance of learning they received." Swift. The inconsiderable pittance of faithful professors. Fuller.

PITTED Pit"ted, a.

1. Marked with little pits, as in smallpox. See Pit, v. t., 2.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Having minute thin spots; as, pitted ducts in the vascular parts of vegetable tissue.

PITTER Pit"ter, n.

Defn: A contrivance for removing the pits from peaches, plums, and other stone fruit.

PITTER Pit"ter, v. i.

Defn: To make a pattering sound; to murmur; as, pittering streams. [Obs.] R. Greene.

PITTER-PATTER Pit"ter-pat`ter, n.

Defn: A sound like that of alternating light beats. Also, a pattering of words.

PITTER-PATTER Pit"ter-pat`ter, adv.

Defn: With, or with the sound of, alternating light beats; as, his heart went pitter-patter.

PITTLE-PATTLE Pit"tle-pat`tle, v. i.

Defn: To talk unmeaningly; to chatter or prattle. [R.] Latimer.

PITUITARY Pi*tu"i*ta*ry, a. Etym: [L. pituita phlegm, pituite: cf. F. pituitarie.] (Anat.) (a) Secreting mucus or phlegm; as, the pituitary membrane, or the mucous membrane which lines the nasal cavities. (b) Of or pertaining to the pituitary body; as, the pituitary fossa. Pituitary body or gland (Anat.), a glandlike body of unknown function, situated in the pituitary fossa, and connected with the infundibulum of the brain; the hypophysis. -- Pituitary fossa (Anat.), the ephippium.

PITUITE Pit"u*ite, n. Etym: [L. pituita: cf. F. pituite. Cf. Pip a disease of fowls.]

Defn: Mucus, phlegm.

PITUITOUS Pi*tu"i*tous, a. Etym: [L. pituitosus: cf. F. pituiteux.]

Defn: Consisting of, or resembling, pituite or mucus; full of mucus; discharging mucus. Pituitous fever (Med.), typhoid fever; enteric fever.

PITUITRIN Pi*tu"i*trin, n. (Biol. Chem.)

Defn: A substance or extract from the pituitary body.

PITY Pit"y, n.; pl. Pities. Etym: [OE. pite, OF. pité, pitié, F. pitié, L. pietas piety, kindness, pity. See Pious, and cf. Piety.]

1. Piety. [Obs.] Wyclif.

2. A feeling for the sufferings or distresses of another or others; sympathy with the grief or misery of another; compassion; fellow- feeling; commiseration. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord. Prov. xix. 17. He . . . has no more pity in him than a dog. Shak.

3. A reason or cause of pity, grief, or regret; a thing to be regretted. "The more the pity." Shak. What pity is it That we can die but once to serve our country! Addison.

Note: In this sense, sometimes used in the plural, especially in the colloquialism: "It is a thousand pities."

Syn. -- Compassion; mercy; commiseration; condolence; sympathy, fellow- suffering; fellow-feeling. -- Pity, Sympathy, Compassion. Sympathy is literally fellow-feeling, and therefore requiers a certain degree of equality in situation, circumstances, etc., to its fullest exercise. Compassion is deep tenderness for another under severe or inevitable misfortune. Pity regards its object not only as suffering, but weak, and hence as inferior.

PITY Pit"y, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pitied; p. pr. & vb. n. Pitying.]

1. To feel pity or compassion for; to have sympathy with; to compassionate; to commiserate; to have tender feelings toward (any one), awakened by a knowledge of suffering. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. Ps. ciii. 13.

2. To move to pity; -- used impersonally. [Obs.] It pitieth them to see her in the dust. Bk. of Com. Prayer.

PITY Pit"y, v. i.

Defn: To be compassionate; to show pity. I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy. Jer. xiii. 14.

PITYING Pit"y*ing, a.

Defn: Expressing pity; as, a pitying eye, glance, or word. -- Pit"y*ing*ly, adv.

PITYRIASIS Pit`y*ri"a*sis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: A superficial affection of the skin, characterized by irregular patches of thin scales which are shed in branlike particles. Pityriasis versicolor Etym: [NL.] (Med.), a parasitic disease of the skin, characterized by the development of reddish or brownish patches.

PITYROID Pit"y*roid, a. Etym: [Gr. -oid.]

Defn: Having the form of, or resembling, bran. Smart.

PIU Pi"ù, adv. Etym: [It., fr. L. plus. See Plus.] (Mus.)

Defn: A little more; as, più allegro, a little more briskly.

PIVOT Piv"ot, n. Etym: [F.; prob. akin to It. piva pipe, F. pipe. See Pipe.]

1. A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or other body turns.

2. The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a watch.

3. Hence, figuratively: A turning point or condition; that on which important results depend; as, the pivot of an enterprise.

4. (Mil.)

Defn: The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place whike the company or line moves around him in wheeling; -- called also pivot man. Pivot bridge, a form of drawbridge in which one span, called the pivot span, turns about a central vertical axis. -- Pivot gun, a gun mounted on a pivot or revolving carriage, so as to turn in any direction. -- Pivot tooth (Dentistry), an artificial crown attached to the root of a natural tooth by a pin or peg.

PIVOT Piv"ot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pivoted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pivoting.]

Defn: To place on a pivot. Clarke.

PIVOTAL Piv"ot*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a pivot or turning point; belonging to, or constituting, a pivot; of the nature of a pivot; as, the pivotalopportunity of a career; the pivotal position in a battle.

PIX Pix, n. & v.

Defn: See Pyx.

PIXY; PIXIE Pix"y, Pix"ie, n.; pl. Pixies. Etym: [For Pucksy, from Puck.]

1. An old English name for a fairy; an elf. [Written also picksy.]

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A low creeping evergreen plant (Pyxidanthera barbulata), with mosslike leaves and little white blossoms, found in New Jersey and southward, where it flowers in earliest spring. Pixy ring, a fairy ring or circle. [Prov. Eng.] -- Pixy stool (Bot.), a toadstool or mushroom. [Prov. Eng.]

PIXY-LED Pix"y-led`, a.

Defn: Led by pixies; bewildered.

PIZZICATO Piz`zi*ca"to. Etym: [It., pinched.] (Mus.)

Defn: A direction to violinists to pluck the string with the finger, instead of using the bow. (Abrev. pizz.)

PIZZLE Piz"zle, n. Etym: [Cf. Prov. G. pissel, pesel, peisel, peserich, D. pees a tendon or spring.]

Defn: The penis; -- so called in some animals, as the bull. Shak.

PLACABILITY Pla`ca*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. placabilitas: cf. F. placabilité.]

Defn: The quality or state of being placable or appeasable; placable disposition.

PLACABLE Pla"ca*ble, a. Etym: [L. placabilis, fr. placare to quiet, pacify: cf. F. placable. See Placate.]

Defn: Capable of being appeased or pacified; ready or willing to be pacified; willing to forgive or condone. Methought I saw him placable and mild. Milton.

PLACABLENESS Pla"ca*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being placable.

PLACARD Pla*card", n. Etym: [F., fr. plaquer to lay or clap on, plaque plate, tablet; probably from Dutch, cf. D. plakken to paste, post up, plak a flat piece of wood.]

1. A public proclamation; a manifesto or edict issued by authority. [Obs.] All placards or edicts are published in his name. Howell.

2. Permission given by authority; a license; as, to give a placard to do something. [Obs.] ller.

3. A written or printed paper, as an advertisement or a declaration, posted, or to be posted, in a public place; a poster.

4. (Anc. Armor)

Defn: An extra plate on the lower part of the breastplate or backplate. Planché.

5. Etym: [Cf. Placket.]

Defn: A kind of stomacher, often adorned with jewels, worn in the fifteenth century and later.

PLACARD Pla*card", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Placarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Placarding.]

1. To post placards upon or within; as, to placard a wall, to placard the city.

2. To announce by placards; as, to placard a sale.

PLACATE Plac"ate, n.

Defn: Same as Placard, 4 & 5.

PLACATE Pla"cate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Placated; p. pr. & vb. n. Placating.] Etym: [L. placatus, p.p. of placare to placate, akin to placere to please. See Please.]

Defn: To appease; to pacify; to concilate. "Therefore is he always propitiated and placated." Cudworth.

PLACATION Pla*ca"tion, n. Etym: [L. placatio.]

Defn: The act of placating. [R.] Puttenham (1589).

PLACE Place, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. platea a street, an area, a courtyard, from Gr. platei^a a street, properly fem. of platy`s, flat, broad; akin to Skr. prsthu, Lith. platus. Cf. Flawn, Piazza, Plate, Plaza.]

1. Any portion of space regarded as measured off or distinct from all other space, or appropriated to some definite object or use; position; ground; site; spot; rarely, unbounded space. Here is the place appointed. Shak. What place can be for us Within heaven's bound Milton. The word place has sometimes a more confused sense, and stands for that space which any body takes up; and so the universe is a place. Locke.

2. A broad way in a city; an open space; an area; a court or short part of a street open only at one end. "Hangman boys in the market place." Shak.

3. A position which is occupied and held; a dwelling; a mansion; a village, town, or city; a fortified town or post; a stronghold; a region or country. Are you native of this place Shak.

4. Rank; degree; grade; order of priority, advancement, dignity, or importance; especially, social rank or position; condition; also, official station; occupation; calling. "The enervating magic of place." Hawthorne. Men in great place are thrice servants. Bacon. I know my place as I would they should do theirs. Shak.

5. Vacated or relinquished space; room; stead (the departure or removal of another being or thing being implied). "In place of Lord Bassanio." Shak.

6. A definite position or passage of a document. The place of the scripture which he read was this. Acts viii. 32.

7. Ordinal relation; position in the order of proceeding; as, he said in the first place.

8. Reception; effect; -- implying the making room for. My word hath no place in you. John viii. 37.

9. (Astron.)

Defn: Position in the heavens, as of a heavenly body; -- usually defined by its right ascension and declination, or by its latitude and longitude. Place of arms (Mil.), a place calculated for the rendezvous of men in arms, etc., as a fort which affords a safe retreat for hospitals, magazines, etc. Wilhelm. -- High place (Script.), a mount on which sacrifices were offered. "Him that offereth in the high place." Jer. xlviii. 35. -- In place, in proper position; timely. -- Out of place, inappropriate; ill-timed; as, his remarks were out of place. -- Place kick (Football), the act of kicking the ball after it has been placed on the ground. -- Place name, the name of a place or locality. London Academy. -- To give place, to make room; to yield; to give way; to give advantage. "Neither give place to the devil." Eph. iv. 27. "Let all the rest give place." Shak. -- To have place, to have a station, room, or seat; as, such desires can have no place in a good heart. -- To take place. (a) To come to pass; to occur; as, the ceremony will not take place. (b) To take precedence or priority. Addison. (c) To take effect; to prevail. "If your doctrine takes place." Berkeley. "But none of these excuses would take place." Spenser. -- To take the place of, to be substituted for.

Syn. -- Situation; seat; abode; position; locality; location; site; spot; office; employment; charge; function; trust; ground; room; stead.

PLACE Place, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Placed; p. pr. & vb. n. Placing.] Etym: [Cf. F. placer. See Place, n.]

1. To assign a place to; to put in a particular spot or place, or in a certain relative position; to direct to a particular place; to fix; to settle; to locate; as, to place a book on a shelf; to place balls in tennis. Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown. Shak.

2. To put or set in a particular rank, office, or position; to surround with particular circumstances or relations in life; to appoint to certain station or condition of life; as, in whatever sphere one is placed. Place such over them to be rulers. Ex. xviii. 21.

3. To put out at interest; to invest; to loan; as, to place money in a bank.

4. To set; to fix; to repose; as, to place confidence in a friend. "My resolution 's placed." Shak.

5. To attribute; to ascribe; to set down. Place it for her chief virtue. Shak. To place (a person), to identify him. [Colloq. U.S.]

Syn. -- See Put.

PLACEBO Pla*ce"bo, n. Etym: [L., I shall please, fut. of placere to please.]

1. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: The first antiphon of the vespers for the dead.

2. (Med.)

Defn: A prescription intended to humor or satisfy. To sing placebo, to agree with one in his opinion; to be complaisant to. Chaucer.

PLACEFUL Place"ful, a.

Defn: In the appointed place. [Obs.]

PLACE-KICK Place"-kick`, v. t. & i.

Defn: To make a place kick; to make (a goal) by a place kick. -- Place"-kick`er, n.

PLACELESS Place"less, a.

Defn: Having no place or office.

PLACEMAN Place"man, n.; pl. Placemen (.

Defn: One who holds or occupies a place; one who has office under government. Sir W. Scott.

PLACEMENT Place"ment, n. Etym: [Cf. F. placement.]

1. The act of placing, or the state of being placed.

2. Position; place.

PLACENTA Pla*cen"ta, n.; pl. L. Placentæ, E. Placentas. Etym: [L., a cake, Gr.

1. (Anat.)

Defn: The vascular appendage which connects the fetus with the parent, and is cast off in parturition with the afterbirth.

Note: In most mammals the placenta is principally developed from the allantois and chorion, and tufts of vascular villi on its surface penetrate the blood vessels of the parental uterus, and thus establish a nutritive and excretory connection between the blood of the fetus and that of the parent, though the blood itself does not flow from one to the other.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: The part of a pistil or fruit to which the ovules or seeds are attached.

PLACENTAL Pla*cen"tal, a.

1. Of or pertaining to the placenta; having, or characterized by having, a placenta; as, a placental mammal.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Placentalia.

PLACENTAL Pla*cen"tal, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Placentalia.

PLACENTALIA Plac`en*ta"li*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of Mammalia including those that have a placenta, or all the orders above the marsupials.

PLACENTARY Pla*cen"ta*ry, a.

Defn: Having reference to the placenta; as, the placentary system of classification.

PLACENTATION Plac`en*ta"tion, n.

1. (Anat.)

Defn: The mode of formation of the placenta in different animals; as, the placentation of mammals.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: The mode in which the placenta is arranged or composed; as, axile placentation; parietal placentation.

PLACENTIFEROUS Plac`en*tif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Placenta + -ferous.] (Bot. & Zoöl.)

Defn: Having or producing a placenta.

PLACENTIFORM Pla*cen"ti*form, a. Etym: [Placenta + -form.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having the shape of a placenta, or circular thickened disk somewhat thinner about the middle.

PLACENTIOUS Pla*cen"tious, a. Etym: [See Please.]

Defn: Pleasing; amiable. [Obs.] "A placentious person." Fuller.

PLACE-PROUD Place"-proud`, a.

Defn: Proud of rank or office. Beau. & Fl.

PLACER Pla"cer, n.

Defn: One who places or sets. Spenser.

PLACER Plac"er, n. Etym: [Sp.]

Defn: A deposit of earth, sand, or gravel, containing valuable mineral in particles, especially by the side of a river, or in the bed of a mountain torrent. [U.S.]

PLACET Pla"cet, n. Etym: [L. placet it pleases.]

1. A vote of assent, as of the governing body of a university, of an ecclesiastical council, etc.

2. The assent of the civil power to the promulgation of an ecclesiastical ordinance. Shipley. The king . . . annulled the royal placet. J. P. Peters.

PLACID Plac"id, a. Etym: [L. placidus, originally, pleasing, mild, from placere to please: cf. F. placide. See Please.]

Defn: Pleased; contented; unruffied; undisturbed; serene; peaceful; tranquil; quiet; gentle. "That placid aspect and meek regard." Milton. "Sleeping . . . the placid sleep of infancy." Macaulay.

PLACIDITY Pla*cid"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. placiditas: cf. F. placidité.]

Defn: The quality or state of being placid; calmness; serenity. Hawthorne.

PLACIDLY Plac"id*ly, adv.

Defn: In a placid manner.

PLACIDNESS Plac"id*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being placid.

PLACIT Plac"it, n. Etym: [L. placitum. See Plea.]

Defn: A decree or determination; a dictum. [Obs.] "The placits and opinions of other philosophers." Evelyn.

PLACITORY Plac"i*to*ry, a. Etym: [See Placit.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to pleas or pleading, in courts of law. [Obs.] Clayton.

PLACITUM Plac"i*tum, n.; pl. Placita. Etym: [LL. See Placit.]

1. A public court or assembly in the Middle Ages, over which the sovereign president when a consultation was held upon affairs of state. Brande & C.

2. (Old Eng. Law)

Defn: A court, or cause in court.

3. (Law)

Defn: A plea; a pleading; a judicial proceeding; a suit. Burrill.

PLACK Plack, n. Etym: [F. plaque a plate of metal. Cf. Plaque.]

Defn: A small copper coin formerly current in Scotland, worth less than a cent. With not a plack in the pocket of the poet. Prof. Wilson.

PLACKET Plack"et, n. Etym: [F. plaquer to lay or clap on. See Placard.]

1. A petticoat, esp. an under petticoat; hence, a cant term for a woman. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

2. The opening or slit left in a petticoat or skirt for convenience in putting it on; -- called also placket hole.

3. A woman's pocket.

PLACODERM Plac"o*derm, n. Etym: [Gr. (Paleon.)

Defn: One of the Placodermi.

PLACODERMAL Plac`o*der"mal, a. (Paleon.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the placoderms; like the placoderms.

PLACODERMATA Plac`o*der"ma*ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL.] (Paleon.)

Defn: Same as Placodermi.

PLACODERMI Plac`o*der"mi, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Paleon.)

Defn: An extinct group of fishes, supposed to be ganoids. The body and head were covered with large bony plates. See Illust. under Pterichthys, and Coccosteus.

PLACOGANOID Plac`o*ga"noid, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Pertaining to the Placoganoidei.

PLACOGANOIDEI Plac`o*ga*noi"de*i, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. ganoidei. See Ganoidei.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of ganoid fishes including those that have large external bony plates and a cartilaginous skeleton.

PLACOID Plac"oid, a. Etym: [Gr. -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Platelike; having irregular, platelike, bony scales, often bearing spines; pertaining to the placoids.

PLACOID Plac"oid, n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any fish having placoid scales, as the sharks. (b) One of the Placoides.

PLACOIDES Pla*coi"des, n. pl. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A group of fishes including the sharks and rays; the Elasmobranchii; -- called also Placoidei.

PLACOIDIAN Pla*coid"i*an, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the placoids.

PLACOPHORA Pla*coph"o*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL., from Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of gastropod Mollusca, including the chitons. The back is covered by eight shelly plates. Called also Polyplacophora. See Illust. under Chiton, and Isopleura.

PLAGA Pla"ga, n.; pl. Plagæ. Etym: [L. plaga a blow, a welt, a stripe.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A stripe of color.

PLAGAL Pla"gal, a. Etym: [F., from Gr. (Mus.)

Defn: Having a scale running from the dominant to its octave; -- said of certain old church modes or tunes, as opposed to those called authentic, which ran from the tonic to its octave. Plagal cadence, a cadence in which the final chord on the tonic is preceded by the chord on the subdominant.

PLAGATE Pla"gate, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having plagæ, or irregular enlongated color spots.

PLAGE Plage, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. plaga.]

Defn: A region; country. [Obs.] "The plages of the north." Chaucer.

PLAGIARISM Pla"gia*rism, n. Etym: [Cf. F. plagiarisme.]

1. The act or practice of plagiarizing.

2. That which plagiarized.

PLAGIARIST Pla"gia*rist, n.

Defn: One who plagiarizes; or purloins the words, writings, or ideas of another, and passes them off as his own; a literary thief; a plagiary.

PLAGIARIZE Pla"gia*rize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plagiarized; p. pr. & vb. n. Plagiarizing.]

Defn: To steal or purloin from the writings of another; to appropriate without due acknowledgement (the ideas or expressions of another).

PLAGIARY Pla"gia*ry, v. i.

Defn: To commit plagiarism.

PLAGIARY Pla"gia*ry, n.; pl. Plagiaries. Etym: [L. plagiarius a kidnaper, a literary thief, fr. plagium kidnaping; cf. plaga a net, perh. akin to E. plait: cf. F. plagiaire.]

1. A manstealer; a kidnaper. [Obs.]

2. One who purloins another's expressions or ideas, and offers them as his own; a plagiarist. Dryden.

3. Plagiarism; literary thief. Milton.

PLAGIARY Pla"gia*ry, a.

1. Kidnaping. [Obs.] E. Browne.

2. Practicing plagiarism. Bp. Hall.

PLAGIHEDRAL Pla`gi*he"dral, a. Etym: [Gr. (Crystallog.)

Defn: Having an oblique spiral arrangement of planes, as levogyrate and dextrogyrate crystals.

PLAGIOCEPHALIC Pla`gi*o*ce*phal"ic, a. Etym: [Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: Having an oblique lateral deformity of the skull.

PLAGIOCEPHALY Pla`gi*o*ceph"a*ly, n. (Anat.)

Defn: Oblique lateral deformity of the skull.

PLAGIOCLASE Pla"gi*o*clase, n. Etym: [Gr. (Min.)

Defn: A general term used of any triclinic feldspar. See the Note under Feldspar.

PLAGIONITE Pla"gi*o*nite, n. Etym: [Gr. (Min.)

Defn: A sulphide of lead and antimony, of a blackish lead-gray color and metallic luster.

PLAGIOSTOMATOUS Pla`gi*o*stom"a*tous, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Plagiostomous.

PLAGIOSTOME Pla"gi*o*stome, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Plagiostomi.

PLAGIOSTOMI Pla`gi*os"to*mi, n. pl. Etym: [NL., from Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An order of fishes including the sharks and rays; -- called also Plagiostomata.

PLAGIOSTOMOUS Pla`gi*os"to*mous, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Plagiostomi.

PLAGIOTREMATA Pla`gi*o*trem"a*ta, n. pl.; Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Lepidosauria.

PLAGIOTROPIC Pla`gi*o*trop"ic, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Having the longer axis inclined away from the vertical line.

PLAGIUM Pla"gi*um, n. Etym: [L.] (Civil Law)

Defn: Manstealing; kidnaping.

PLAGOSE Pla*gose", a. Etym: [L. plagosus. See Plague.]

Defn: Fond of flogging; as, a plagose master. [R.]

PLAGUE Plague, n. Etym: [L. plaga a blow, stroke, plague; akin to Gr. plangere to strike, beat. Cf. Plaint.]

1. That which smites, wounds, or troubles; a blow; a calamity; any afflictive evil or torment; a great trail or vexation. Shak. And men blasphemed God for the plague of hail. Wyclif. The different plague of each calamity. Shak.

2. (Med.)

Defn: An acute malignant contagious fever, that often prevails in Egypt, Syria, and Turkey, and has at times visited the large cities of Europe with frightful mortality; hence, any pestilence; as, the great London plague. "A plague upon the people fell." Tennyson. Cattle plague. See Rinderpest. -- Plague mark, Plague spot, a spot or mark of the plague; hence, a token of something incurable.

PLAGUE Plague, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plagued; p. pr. & vb. n. Plaguing.]

1. To infest or afflict with disease, calamity, or natural evil of any kind. Thus were they plagued And worn with famine. Milton.

2. Fig.: To vex; to tease; to harass. She will plague the man that loves her most. Spenser.

Syn. -- To vex; torment; distress; afflict; harass; annoy; tease; tantalize; trouble; molest; embarrass; perplex.

PLAGUEFUL Plague"ful, a.

Defn: Abounding, or infecting, with plagues; pestilential; as, plagueful exhalations.

PLAGUELESS Plague"less, a.

Defn: Free from plagues or the plague.

PLAGUER Pla"guer, n.

Defn: One who plagues or annoys.

PLAGUILY Pla"gui*ly, adv.

Defn: In a plaguing manner; vexatiously; extremely. [Colloq.] "Ronsard is so plaguily stiff and stately." Landor.

PLAGUY Pla"guy, a.

Defn: Vexatious; troublesome; tormenting; as, a plaguy horse. [Colloq.] Also used adverbially; as, "He is so plaguy proud." Shak.

PLAICE Plaice, n. Etym: [F. plaise, plais, prob. fr. L. platessa flatish, plaice. See Place.] (Zoöl.) (a) A European food fish (Pleuronectes platessa), allied to the flounder, and growing to the weight of eight or ten pounds or more. (b) A large American flounder (Paralichthys dentatus; called also brail, puckermouth, and summer flounder. The name is sometimes applied to other allied species. [Written also plaise.] Plaice mouth, a mouth like that of a plaice; a small or wry mouth. [R.] B. Jonson.

PLAID Plaid, n. Etym: [Gael. plaide a blanket or plaid, contr. fr. peallaid a sheepskin, fr. peall a skin or hide. CF. Pillion.]

1. A rectangular garment or piece of cloth, usually made of the checkered material called tartan, but sometimes of plain gray, or gray with black stripes. It is worn by both sexes in Scotland.

2. Goods of any quality or material of the pattern of a plaid or tartan; a checkered cloth or pattern.

PLAID Plaid, a.

Defn: Having a pattern or colors which resemble a Scotch plaid; checkered or marked with bars or stripes at right angles to one another; as, plaid muslin.

PLAIDED Plaid"ed, a.

1. Of the material of which plaids are made; tartan. "In plaided vest." Wordsworth.

2. Wearing a plaid. Campbell.

PLAIDING Plaid"ing, n.

Defn: Plaid cloth.

PLAIN Plain, v. i. Etym: [OE. playne, pleyne, fr. F. plaindre. See Plaint.]

Defn: To lament; to bewail; to complain. [Archaic & Poetic] Milton. We with piteous heart unto you pleyne. Chaucer.

PLAIN Plain, v. t.

Defn: To lament; to mourn over; as, to plain a loss. [Archaic & Poetic] Sir J. Harrington.

PLAIN Plain, a. [Compar. Plainer; superl. Plainest.] Etym: [F., level, flat, fr. L. planus, perhaps akin to E. floor. Cf. Llano, Piano, Plan, Plane level, a level surface.]

1. Without elevations or depressions; flat; level; smooth; even. See Plane. The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. Isa. xl. 4.

2. Open; clear; unencumbered; equal; fair. Our troops beat an army in plain fight. Felton.

3. Not intricate or difficult; evident; manifest; obvious; clear; unmistakable. "'T is a plain case." Shak.

4. (a) Void of extraneous beauty or ornament; without conspicious embellishment; not rich; simple. (b) Not highly cultivated; unsophisticated; free from show or pretension; simple; natural; homely; common. "Plain yet pious Christians." Hammond. "The plain people." A. Lincoln. (c) Free from affectation or disguise; candid; sincere; artless; honest; frank. "An honest mind, and plain." Shak. (d) Not luxurious; not highly seasoned; simple; as, plain food. (e) Without beauty; not handsome; homely; as, a plain woman. (f) Not variegated, dyed, or figured; as, plain muslin. (g) Not much varied by modulations; as, a plain tune. Plain battle, open battle; pitched battle. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- Plain chant (Mus.) Same as Plain song, below. -- Plain chart (Naut.), a chart laid down on Mercator's projection. -- Plain dealer. (a) One who practices plain dealing. (b) A simpleton. [Obs.] Shak. -- Plain dealing. See under Dealing. -- Plain molding (Join.), molding of which the surfaces are plain figures. -- Plain sewing, sewing of seams by simple and common stitches, in distinct from fancy work, embroidery, etc.; -- distinguished also from designing and fitting garments. -- Plain song. (a) The Gregorian chant, or canto fermo; the prescribed melody of the Roman Catholic service, sung in unison, in tones of equal length, and rarely extending beyond the compass of an octave. (b) A simple melody. -- Plain speaking, plainness or bluntness of speech.

Syn. -- Level; flat; smooth; open; artless; unaffected; undisguised; frank; sincere; honest; candid; ingenuous; unembellished; downright; blunt; clear; simple; distinct; manifest; obvious; apparent. See Manifest.

PLAIN Plain, adv.

Defn: In a plain manner; plainly. "To speak short and pleyn." Chaucer. "To tell you plain." Shak.

PLAIN Plain, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. plaigne, F. plaine. See Plain, a.]

1. Level land; usually, an open field or a broad stretch of land with an even surface, or a surface little varied by inequalities; as, the plain of Jordan; the American plains, or prairies. Descending fro the mountain into playn. Chaucer. Him the Ammonite Worshiped in Rabba and her watery plain. Milton.

2. A field of battle. [Obs.] Arbuthnot. Lead forth my soldiers to the plain. Shak.

PLAIN Plain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plained (; p. pr. & vb. n. Plaining.] Etym: [Cf. Plane, v.]

1. To plane or level; to make plain or even on the surface. [R.] We would rake Europe rather, plain the East. Wither.

2. To make plain or manifest; to explain. What's dumb in show, I'll plain in speech. Shak.

PLAINANT Plain"ant, n. Etym: [See 1st Plain.] (Law)

Defn: One who makes complaint; the plaintiff. [Obs.]

PLAIN-DEALING Plain"-deal`ing, a.

Defn: Practicing plain dealing; artless. See Plain dealing, under Dealing. Shak.

PLAIN-HEARTED Plain"-heart`ed, a.

Defn: Frank; sincere; artless. Milton. -- Plain"-heart`ed*ness, n.

PLAINING Plain"ing, n.

Defn: Complaint. [Poetic] Shak.

PLAINING Plain"ing, a.

Defn: Complaining. [Poetic] Bryant.

PLAIN-LAID Plain"-laid`, a. (Naut.)

Defn: Consisting of strands twisted together in the ordinary way; as, a plain-laid rope. See Illust. of Cordage.

PLAINLY Plain"ly, adv.

Defn: In a plain manner; clearly.

PLAINNESS Plain"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being plain.

PLAINSMAN Plains"man, n.; pl. -men (.

Defn: One who lives in the plains.

PLAIN-SPOKEN Plain"-spo`ken, a.

Defn: Speaking with plain, unreserved sincerity; also, spoken sincerely; as, plain-spoken words. Dryden.

PLAINT Plaint, n. Etym: [OE. plainte, pleynte, F. plainte, fr. L. plangere, planctum (plancta, fem. p.p.), to beat, beat the breast, lament. Cf. Complain, Plague, Plangent.]

1. Audible expression of sorrow; lamentation; complaint; hence, a mournful song; a lament. Chaucer."The Psalmist's mournful plaint." Wordsworth.

2. An accusation or protest on account of an injury. There are three just grounds of war with Spain: one of plaint, two upon defense. Bacon.

3. (Law)

Defn: A private memorial tendered to a court, in which a person sets forth his cause of action; the exhibiting of an action in writing. Blackstone.

PLAINTFUL Plaint"ful, a.

Defn: Containing a plaint; complaining; expressing sorrow with an audible voice. "My plaintful tongue." Sir P. Sidney.

PLAINTIFF Plain"tiff, n. Etym: [F. plaintif making complaint, plaintive; in Old French equiv. to plaignant complainant, prosecutor, fr. plaindre. See Plaint, and cf. Plaintive.] (Law)

Defn: One who commences a personal action or suit to obtain a remedy for an injury to his rights; -- opposed to Ant: defendant.

PLAINTIFF Plain"tiff, a.

Defn: See Plaintive. [Obs.] Prior.

PLAINTIVE Plain"tive, a. Etym: [F. plaintif. See Plaintiff, n.]

1. Repining; complaining; lamenting. Dryden.

2. Expressive of sorrow or melancholy; mournful; sad. "The most plaintive ditty." Landor. -- Plain"tive*ly, adv. -- Plain"tive*ness, n.

PLAINTLESS Plaint"less, a.

Defn: Without complaint; unrepining. "Plaintless patience." Savage.

PLAISANCE Plai`sance", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: See Pleasance.

PLAISE Plaise, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Plaice. [Obs.]

PLAISTER Plais"ter, n. [Obs.]

Defn: See Plaster.

PLAIT Plait, n. Etym: [OE. playte, OF. pleit, L. plicatum, plicitum, p.p. of plicare to fold, akin to plectere to plait. See Ply, and cf. Plat to weave, Pleat, Plight fold.]

1. A flat fold; a doubling, as of cloth; a pleat; as, a box plait. The plaits and foldings of the drapery. Addison.

2. A braid, as of hair or straw; a plat. Polish plait. (Med.) Same as Plica.

PLAIT Plait, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Plaited; p. pr. & vb. n. Plaiting.]

1. To fold; to double in narrow folds; to pleat; as, to plait a ruffle.

2. To interweave the strands or locks of; to braid; to plat; as, to plait hair; to plait rope.

PLAITED Plait"ed, a.

Defn: Folded; doubled over; braided; figuratively, involved; intricate; artful. Time shall unfold what plaited cunning hides. Shak.

PLAITER Plait"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, plaits.

PLAN Plan, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. planus flat, level. See Plain, a.]

1. A draught or form; properly, a representation drawn on a plane, as a map or a chart; especially, a top view, as of a machine, or the representation or delineation of a horizontal section of anything, as of a building; a graphic representation; a diagram.

2. A scheme devised; a method of action or procedure expressed or described in language; a project; as, the plan of a constitution; the plan of an expedition. God's plans like lines pure and white unfold. M. R. Smith.

3. A method; a way of procedure; a custom. The simple plan, That they should take who have the power, And they should keep who can. Wordsworth. Body plan, Floor plan, etc. See under Body, Floor, etc.

Syn. -- Scheme; draught; delineation; plot; sketch; project; design; contrivance; device. See Scheme.

PLAN Plan, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Planned; p. pr. & vb. n. Planning.]

1. To form a delineation of; to draught; to represent, as by a diagram.

2. To scheme; to devise; to contrive; to form in design; as, to plan the conquest of a country. Even in penance, planning sins anew. Goldsmith.

PLANARIA Pla*na"ri*a, n.; pl. L. Planariæ, E. -rias. Etym: [NL. See Planary.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any species of turbellarian worms belonging to Planaria, and many allied genera. The body is usually flat, thin, and smooth. Some species, in warm countries, are terrestrial.

PLANARIAN Pla*na"ri*an, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Planarida, or Dendrocoela; any turbellarian worm. -- Pla*na"ri*an, a.

PLANARIDA Pla*nar"i*da, n. pl. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of Turbellaria; the Dendrocoela.

PLANARIOID Pla*na"ri*oid, a. Etym: [Planaria + -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like the planarians.

PLANARY Pla"na*ry, a. Etym: [L. planarius level. See Plane, a.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a plane. [R.]

PLANCH Planch, n. Etym: [F. planche.]

Defn: A plank. [Obs.] Ld. Berners.

PLANCH Planch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Planched; p. pr. & vb. n. Planching.] Etym: [F. planche a board, plank. See Plank.]

Defn: To make or cover with planks or boards; to plank. [Obs.] "To that vineyard is a planched gate." Shak.

PLANCHER Planch"er, n. Etym: [F., planche. See Planch.]

1. A floor of wood; also, a plank. [Obs.] Bacon.

2. (Arch.)

Defn: The under side of a cornice; a soffit.

PLANCHER Planch"er, v. t.

Defn: To form of planks. [Obs.] Golding.

PLANCHET Planch"et, n. Etym: [F. planchette a small board, dim. of planche. See Planch.]

Defn: A flat piece of metal; especially, a disk of metal ready to be stamped as a coin.

PLANCHETTE Plan`chette", n. Etym: [F. See Planchet.]

1. A circumferentor. See Circumferentor.

2. A small tablet of wood supported on casters and having a pencil attached. The characters produced by the pencil on paper, while the hand rests on the instrument and it is allowed to move, are sometimes translated as of oracular or supernatural import.

PLANCHING Planch"ing, n.

Defn: The laying of floors in a building; also, a floor of boards or planks.

PLANE Plane, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. platanus, Gr. Place, and cf. Platane, Plantain the tree.] (Bot.)

Defn: Any tree of the genus Platanus.

Note: The Oriental plane (Platanus orientalis) is a native of Asia. It rises with a straight, smooth, branching stem to a great height, with palmated leaves, and long pendulous peduncles, sustaining several heads of small close-sitting flowers. The seeds are downy, and collected into round, rough, hard balls. The Occidental plane (Platanus occidentalis), which grows to a great height, is a native of North America, where it is popularly called sycamore, buttonwood, and buttonball, names also applied to the California species (Platanus racemosa).

PLANE Plane, a. Etym: [L. planus: cf. F. plan. See Plan, a.]

Defn: Without elevations or depressions; even; level; flat; lying in, or constituting, a plane; as, a plane surface.

Note: In science, this word (instead of plain) is almost exclusively used to designate a flat or level surface. Plane angle, the angle included between two straight lines in a plane. -- Plane chart, Plane curve. See under Chart and Curve. -- Plane figure, a figure all points of which lie in the same plane. If bounded by straight lines it is a rectilinear plane figure, if by curved lines it is a curvilinear plane figure. -- Plane geometry, that part of geometry which treats of the relations and properties of plane figures. -- Plane problem, a problem which can be solved geometrically by the aid of the right line and circle only. -- Plane sailing (Naut.), the method of computing a ship's place and course on the supposition that the earth's surface is a plane. -- Plane scale (Naut.), a scale for the use of navigators, on which are graduated chords, sines, tangents, secants, rhumbs, geographical miles, etc. -- Plane surveying, surveying in which the curvature of the earth is disregarded; ordinary field and topographical surveying of tracts of moderate extent. -- Plane table, an instrument used for plotting the lines of a survey on paper in the field. -- Plane trigonometry, the branch of trigonometry in which its principles are applied to plane triangles.

PLANE Plane, n. Etym: [F. plane, L. plana. See Plane, v. & a.]

1. (Geom.)

Defn: A surface, real or imaginary, in which, if any two points are taken, the straight line which joins them lies wholly in that surface; or a surface, any section of which by a like surface is a straight line; a surface without curvature.

2. (Astron.)

Defn: An ideal surface, conceived as coinciding with, or containing, some designated astronomical line, circle, or other curve; as, the plane of an orbit; the plane of the ecliptic, or of the equator.

3. (Mech.)

Defn: A block or plate having a perfectly flat surface, used as a standard of flatness; a surface plate.

4. (Joinery)

Defn: A tool for smoothing boards or other surfaces of wood, for forming moldings, etc. It consists of a smooth-soled stock, usually of wood, from the under side or face of which projects slightly the steel cutting edge of a chisel, called the iron, which inclines backward, with an apperture in front for the escape of shavings; as, the jack plane; the smoothing plane; the molding plane, etc. Objective plane (Surv.), the horizontal plane upon which the object which is to be delineated, or whose place is to be determined, is supposed to stand. -- Perspective plane. See Perspective. -- Plane at infinity (Geom.), a plane in which points infinitely distant are conceived as situated. -- Plane iron, the cutting chisel of a joiner's plane. -- Plane of polarization. (Opt.) See Polarization. -- Plane of projection. (a) The plane on which the projection is made, corresponding to the perspective plane in perspective; -- called also principal plane. (b) (Descriptive Geom.) One of the planes to which points are referred for the purpose of determining their relative position in space. -- Plane of refraction or reflection (Opt.), the plane in which lie both the incident ray and the refracted or reflected ray.

PLANE Plane, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Planed; p. pr. & vb. n. Planing.] Etym: [Cf. F. planer, L. planare, fr. planus. See Plane, a., Plain, a., and cf. Planish.]

1. To make smooth; to level; to pare off the inequalities of the surface of, as of a board or other piece of wood, by the use of a plane; as, to plane a plank.

2. To efface or remove. He planed away the names . . . written on his tables. Chaucer.

3. Figuratively, to make plain or smooth. [R.] What student came but that you planed her path. Tennyson.

PLANE-PARALLEL Plane`-par"al*lel, a. (Optics)

Defn: Having opposite surfaces exactly plane and parallel, as a piece of glass.

PLANER Plan"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, planes; a planing machine; esp., a machine for planing wood or metals.

2. (Print.)

Defn: A wooden block used for forcing down the type in a form, and making the surface even. Hansard. Planer centers. See under Center.

PLANER TREE Plan"er tree`. Etym: [From J.S.Planer, a German botanist.] (Bot.)

Defn: A small-leaved North American tree (Planera aquatica) related to the elm, but having a wingless, nutlike fruit.

PLANET Plan"et, n. Etym: [OE. planete, F. planète, L. planeta, fr. Gr.

1. (Astron.)

Defn: A celestial body which revolves about the sun in an orbit of a moderate degree of eccentricity. It is distinguished from a comet by the absence of a coma, and by having a less eccentric orbit. See Solar system.

Note: The term planet was first used to distinguish those stars which have an apparent motion through the constellations from the fixed stars, which retain their relative places unchanged. The inferior planets are Mercury and Venus, which are nearer to the sun than is the earth; the superior planets are Mars, the asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, which are farther from the sun than is the earth. Primary planets are those which revolve about the sun; secondary planets, or moons, are those which revolve around the primary planets as satellites, and at the same time revolve with them about the sun.

2. A star, as influencing the fate of a men. There's some ill planet reigns. Shak. Planet gear. (Mach.) See Epicyclic train, under Epicyclic. -- Planet wheel, a gear wheel which revolves around the wheel with which it meshes, in an epicyclic train.

PLANE TABLE Plane" ta`ble.

Defn: See under Plane, a.

PLANETARIUM Plan`e*ta"ri*um, n. Etym: [NL.: cf. F. planétaire. See Planetary.]

Defn: An orrery. See Orrery.

PLANETARY Plan"et*a*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. L. planetarius an astrologer, F. planétaire planetary. See Planet.]

1. Of or pertaining to the planets; as, planetary inhabitants; planetary motions; planetary year.

2. Consisting of planets; as, a planetary system.

3. (Astrol.)

Defn: Under the dominion or influence of a planet. "Skilled in the planetary hours." Drayton.

4. Caused by planets. "A planetary plague." Shak.

5. Having the nature of a planet; erratic; revolving; wandering. "Erratical and planetary life." Fuller. Planetary days, the days of the week as shared among the planets known to the ancients, each having its day. Hutton. -- Planetary nebula, a nebula exhibiting a uniform disk, like that of a planet.

PLANETED Plan"et*ed, a.

Defn: Belonging to planets. [R.] Young.

PLANETIC; PLANETICAL Pla*net"ic, Pla*net"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. planeticus, Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to planets. Sir T. Browne.

PLANETOID Plan"et*oid, n. Etym: [Planet + -oid.] (Astron.)

Defn: A body resembling a planet; an asteroid.

PLANETOIDAL Plan"et*oid*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to a planetoid.

PLANE TREE Plane" tree`. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as 1st Plane.

PLANET-STRICKEN; PLANET-STRUCK Plan"et-strick`en, Plan"et-struck`, a.

Defn: Affected by the influence of planets; blasted. Milton. Like planet-stricken men of yore He trembles, smitten to the core By strong compunction and remorse. Wordsworth.

PLANETULE Plan"et*ule, n.

Defn: A little planet. [R.] Conybeare.

PLANGENCY Plan"gen*cy, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being plangent; a beating sound. [R.]

PLANGENT Plan"gent, a. Etym: [L. plangens, -entis, fr. plangere to beat. See Plaint.]

Defn: Beating; dashing, as a wave. [R.] "The plangent wave." H. Taylor.

PLANI-; PLANO- Plan"i-, Plan"o-. Etym: [L. planus. See Plane, a.]

Defn: Combining forms signifying flat, level, plane; as planifolious, planimetry, plano-concave.

PLANIFOLIOUS Plan`i*fo"li*ous, a. Etym: [Plani- + L. folium leaf.] (Bot.)

Defn: Flat-leaved.

PLANIFORM Plan"i*form, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Having a plane surface; as, a planiform, gliding, or arthrodial articulation.

PLANIMETER Pla*nim"e*ter, n. Etym: [Plani- + -meter. Cf. Planometer.]

Defn: An instrument for measuring the area of any plane figure, however irregular, by passing a tracer around the bounding line; a platometer.

PLANIMETRIC; PLANIMETRICAL Plan`i*met"ric, Plan`i*met"ric*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. planimétrique.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to planimetry.

PLANIMETRY Pla*nim"e*try, n. Etym: [Cf. F. planimétrie.]

Defn: The mensuration of plane surfaces; -- distinguished from stereometry, or the mensuration of volumes.

PLANING Plan"ing,

Defn: a. & vb. n. fr. Plane, v. t. Planing machine. (a) See Planer. (b) A complex machine for planing wood, especially boards, containing usually a rapidly revolving cutter, which chips off the surface in small shavings as the piece to be planed is passed under it by feeding apparatus.

PLANIPENNATE Pla`ni*pen"nate, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Planipennia.

PLANIPENNIA Pla`ni*pen"ni*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. L. planus plane + penna wing.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A suborder of Neuroptera, including those that have broad, flat wings, as the ant-lion, lacewing, etc. Called also Planipennes.

PLANIPETALOUS Plan`i*pet"al*ous, a. Etym: [Plani- + petal.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having flat petals.

PLANISH Plan"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Planished; p. pr. & vb. n. Planishing.] Etym: [OF. planir, F. planer. See Plane, v., and -ish.]

Defn: To make smooth or plane, as a metallic surface; to condense, toughen, and polish by light blows with a hammer.

PLANISHER Plan"ish*er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, planishes. Weale.

PLANISHING Plan"ish*ing,

Defn: a. & vb. n. from Planish, v. t. Planishing rolls (Coining), rolls between which metal strips are passed while cold, to bring them to exactly the required thickness.

PLANISPHERE Plan"i*sphere, n. Etym: [Plani- + sphere: cf. F. planisphère. See Plain, and Sphere.]

Defn: The representation of the circles of the sphere upon a plane; especially, a representation of the celestial sphere upon a plane with adjustable circles, or other appendages, for showing the position of the heavens, the time of rising and setting of stars, etc., for any given date or hour.

PLANISPHERIC Plan`i*spher"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a planisphere.

PLANK Plank, n. Etym: [OE. planke, OF. planque, planche, F. planche, fr. L. planca; cf. Gr. Planch.]

1. A broad piece of sawed timber, differing from a board only in being thicker. See Board.

2. Fig.: That which supports or upholds, as a board does a swimmer. His charity is a better plank than the faith of an intolerant and bitter-minded bigot. Southey.

3. One of the separate articles in a declaration of the principles of a party or cause; as, a plank in the national platform. [Cant] Plank road, or Plank way, a road surface formed of planks. [U.S.] -- To walk the plank, to walk along a plank laid across the bulwark of a ship, until one overbalances it and falls into the sea; -- a method of disposing of captives practiced by pirates.

PLANK Plank, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Planked; p. pr. & vb. n. Planking.]

1. To cover or lay with planks; as, to plank a floor or a ship. "Planked with pine." Dryden.

2. To lay down, as on a plank or table; to stake or pay cash; as, to plank money in a wager. [Colloq. U.S.]

3. To harden, as hat bodies, by felting.

4. (Wooden Manuf.)

Defn: To splice together the ends of slivers of wool, for subsequent drawing. Planked shad, shad split open, fastened to a plank, and roasted before a wood fire.

PLANKING Plank"ing, n.

1. The act of laying planks; also, planks, collectively; a series of planks in place, as the wooden covering of the frame of a vessel.

2. The act of splicing slivers. See Plank, v. t., 4.

PLANK-SHEER Plank"-sheer`, n. (Shipbuilding)

Defn: The course of plank laid horizontally over the timberheads of a vessel's frame.

PLANKTON Plank"ton (plank"ton), n. [NL., fr. Gr. plagto`n, neut. of plagto`s wandering, pla`zesqai to wander.] (Biol.)

Defn: All the animals and plants, taken collectively, which live at or near the surface of salt or fresh waters. --Plank*ton"ic (#), a.

PLANLESS Plan"less, a.

Defn: Having no plan.

PLANNER Plan"ner, n.

Defn: One who plans; a projector.

PLANO- Pla"no-.

Defn: See Plani-.

PLANOBLAST Plan"o*blast, n. Etym: [Gr. -blast.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any free-swimming gonophore of a hydroid; a hydroid medusa.

PLANO-CONCAVE Pla"no-con"cave, a. Etym: [Plano- + concave.]

Defn: Plane or flat on one side, and concave on the other; as, a plano-concave lens. See Lens.

PLANO-CONICAL Pla"no-con"ic*al, a. Etym: [Plano- + conical.]

Defn: Plane or flat on one side, and conical on the other. Grew.

PLANO-CONVEX Pla"no-con"vex, a. Etym: [Plano- + convex.]

Defn: Plane or flat on one side, and convex on the other; as, a plano-convex lens. See Convex, and Lens.

PLANOGAMETE Plan"o*ga*mete`, n. [Gr. wandering + E. gamete.] (Bot.)

Defn: One of the motile ciliated gametes, or zoögametes, found in isogamous plants, as many green algæ (Chlorophyceæ).

PLANO-HORIZONTAL Pla"no-hor`i*zon"tal, a. Etym: [Plano- + horizontal.]

Defn: Having a level horizontal surface or position. Lee.

PLANOMETER Pla*nom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Plano- + -meter. Cf. Planimeter.]

Defn: An instrument for gauging or testing a plane surface. See Surface gauge, under Surface.

PLANOMETRY Pla*nom"e*try, n. (Mech.)

Defn: The art or process of producing or gauging a plane surface.

PLANO-ORBICULAR Pla"no-or*bic"u*lar, a. Etym: [Plano- + orbicular.]

Defn: Plane or flat on one side, and spherical on the other.

PLANORBIS Pla*nor"bis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. planus flat + orbis a circle.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any fresh-water air-breathing mollusk belonging to Planorbis and other allied genera, having shells of a discoidal form.

PLANO-SUBULATE Pla"no-su"bu*late, a. Etym: [Plano- + subulate.]

Defn: Smooth and awl-shaped. See Subulate.

PLANT Plant, n. Etym: [AS. plante, L. planta.]

1. A vegetable; an organized living being, generally without feeling and voluntary motion, and having, when complete, a root, stem, and leaves, though consisting sometimes only of a single leafy expansion, or a series of cellules, or even a single cellule.

Note: Plants are divided by their structure and methods of reproduction into two series, phænogamous or flowering plants, which have true flowers and seeds, and cryptogamous or flowerless plants, which have no flowers, and reproduce by minute one-celled spores. In both series are minute and simple forms and others of great size and complexity. As to their mode of nutrition, plants may be considered as self-supporting and dependent. Self-supporting plants always contain chlorophyll, and subsist on air and moisture and the matter dissolved in moisture, and as a general rule they excrete oxygen, and use the carbonic acid to combine with water and form the material for their tissues. Dependent plants comprise all fungi and many flowering plants of a parasitic or saprophytic nature. As a rule, they have no chlorophyll, and subsist mainly or wholly on matter already organized, thus utilizing carbon compounds already existing, and not excreting oxygen. But there are plants which are partly dependent and partly self-supporting. The movements of climbing plants, of some insectivorous plants, of leaves, stamens, or pistils in certain plants, and the ciliary motion of zoöspores, etc., may be considered a kind of voluntary motion.

2. A bush, or young tree; a sapling; hence, a stick or staff. "A plant of stubborn oak." Dryden.

3. The sole of the foot. [R.] "Knotty legs and plants of clay." B. Jonson.

4. (Com.)

Defn: The whole machinery and apparatus employed in carrying on a trade or mechanical business; also, sometimes including real estate, and whatever represents investment of capital in the means of carrying on a business, but not including material worked upon or finished products; as, the plant of a foundry, a mill, or a railroad.

5. A plan; an artifice; a swindle; a trick. [Slang] It was n't a bad plant, that of mine, on Fikey. Dickens.

6. (Zoöl.) (a) An oyster which has been bedded, in distinction from one of natural growth. (b) A young oyster suitable for transplanting. [Local, U.S.] Plant bug (Zoöl.), any one of numerous hemipterous insects which injure the foliage of plants, as Lygus lineolaris, which damages wheat and trees. -- Plant cutter (Zoöl.), a South American passerine bird of the genus Phytotoma, family Phytotomidæ. It has a serrated bill with which it cuts off the young shoots and buds of plants, often doing much injury. -- Plant louse (Zoöl.), any small hemipterous insect which infests plants, especially those of the families Aphidæ and Psyllidæ; an aphid.

PLANT Plant, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Planted; p. pr. & vb. n. Planting.] Etym: [AS. plantian, L. plantare. See Plant, n.]

1. To put in the ground and cover, as seed for growth; as, to plant maize.

2. To set in the ground for growth, as a young tree, or a vegetable with roots. Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees. Deut. xvi. 21.

3. To furnish, or fit out, with plants; as, to plant a garden, an orchard, or a forest.

4. To engender; to generate; to set the germ of. It engenders choler, planteth anger. Shak.

5. To furnish with a fixed and organized population; to settle; to establish; as, to plant a colony. Planting of countries like planting of woods. Bacon.

6. To introduce and establish the principles or seeds of; as, to plant Christianity among the heathen.

7. To set firmly; to fix; to set and direct, or point; as, to plant cannon against a fort; to plant a standard in any place; to plant one's feet on solid ground; to plant one's fist in another's face.

8. To set up; to install; to instate. We will plant some other in the throne. Shak.

PLANT Plant, v. i.

Defn: To perform the act of planting. I have planted; Apollos watered. 1 Cor. iii. 6.

PLANTABLE Plant"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being planted; fit to be planted. B. Edwards.

PLANTAGE Plant"age, n.

Defn: A word used once by Shakespeare to designate plants in general, or anything that is planted. As true as steel, as plantage to the moon. Shak. (Troil. iii. sc. 2).

PLANTAIN Plan"tain, n. Etym: [Cf. F. plantain-arbre, plantanier, Sp. plántano, plátano; prob. same word as plane tree.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A treelike perennial herb (Musa paradisiaca) of tropical regions, bearing immense leaves and large clusters of the fruits called plantains. See Musa.