Part Part, adv (part 5)

POLYPHYLETIC
Pol`y*phy*let"ic, a. Etym: [Poly- + Gr. (Biol.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or characterized by, descent from more than one root form, or from many different root forms; polygenetic; — opposed to Ant: monophyletic.

POLYPHYLLOUS
Po*lyph"yl*lous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Many-leaved; as, a polyphyllous calyx or perianth.

POLYPI
Pol"y*pi, n. pl. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The Anthozoa.

POLYPIDE
Pol"y*pide, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the ordinary zooids of the Bryozoa. [Spellt also polypid.]

POLYPIDOM
Po*lyp"i*dom, n. Etym: [Polypus + L. domus house.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A coral, or corallum; also, one of the coral-like structure made by bryozoans and hydroids.

POLYPIER
Po`ly`pier", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A polypidom.

POLYPIFERA
Pol`y*pif"e*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The Anthozoa.

POLYPIFEROUS
Pol*y*pif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Polypus + -ferous.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Bearing polyps, or polypites.

POLYPIPAROUS
Pol`y*pip"a*rous, a. Etym: [Polypus + L. parere to produce.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Producing polyps.

POLYPITE
Pol"y*pite, n.

1. (Zoöl.) (a) One of the feeding zooids, or polyps, of a coral, hydroid, or siphonophore; a hydranth. See Illust. of Campanularian. (b) Sometimes, the manubrium of a hydroid medusa.

2. (Paleon.)

Defn: A fossil coral.

POLYPLACOPHORA
Pol`y*pla*coph"o*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Poly-, and Placophora.]
(Zoöl.)

Defn: See Placophora.

POLYPLASTIC
Pol`y*plas"tic, a. Etym: [Poly- + -plastic.] (Biol.)

Defn: Assuming, or having the power of assuming, many forms; as, a polyplastic element which does not preserve its original shape.

POLYPODE
Pol`y*pode, n. Etym: [Cf. F. polypode. See Polypody.] (Bot.)

Defn: A plant of the genus Polypodium; polypody. [Written also polypod.]

POLYPODE
Pol"y*pode, n. Etym: [Gr. polypode. See Polyp.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An animal having many feet; a myriapod.

POLYPODIUM
Pol"y*po`di*um, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. Polyp, and cf. 2d Polypode.]
(Bot.)

Defn: A genus of plants of the order Filices or ferns. The fructifications are in uncovered roundish points, called sori, scattered over the inferior surface of the frond or leaf. There are numerous species.

POLYPODY
Pol"y*po`dy, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Any plant of the genus Polypodium.

POLYPOID
Pol"y*poid, a. Etym: [Polyp + -oid.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like a polyp; having the nature of a polyp, but lacking the tentacles or other parts.

2. (Med.)

Defn: Resembling a polypus in appearance; having a character like that of a polypus.

POLYPOMEDUSAE
Pol`y*po*me*du"sæ, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Polyp, and Medusa.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Hydrozoa.

POLYPOROUS
Po*lyp"o*rous, a. Etym: [Poly- + porous.]

Defn: Having many pores. Wright.

POLYPORUS
Po*lyp"o*rus, n.; pl. Polypori. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of fungi having the under surface full of minute pores; also, any fungus of this genus.

Note: Polyporus fomentarius was formerly dried and cut in slices for tinder, called amadou. P. betulinus is common in America, and forms very large thick white semicircular excrescences on birch trees. Several species of Polyporous are considered edible.

POLYPOUS
Pol"y*pous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. polypeux. See Polyp.]

Defn: Of the nature of a polypus; having many feet or roots, like the polypus; affected with polypus.

POLYPRAGMATIC; POLYPRAGMATICAL Pol`y*prag*mat"ic, Pol`y*prag*mat"ic*al, a. Etym: [Poly- + pragmatic, -ical.]

Defn: Overbusy; officious. [R.] Heywood.

POLYPRAGMATY
Pol`y*prag"ma*ty, n. Etym: [Poly- + Gr.

Defn: The state of being overbusy. [R.]

POLYPROTODONTA
Pol`y*pro`to*don"ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of marsupials in which there are more fore incisor teeth in each jaw.

POLYPTEROIDEI
Po*lyp`te*roi"de*i, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Polypterus, and -oid.]
(Zoöl.)

Defn: A suborder of existing ganoid fishes having numerous fins along the back. The bichir, or Polypterus, is the type. See Illust. under Crossopterygian.

POLYPTERUS
Po*lyp`te*rus, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An African genus of ganoid fishes including the bichir.

POLYPTOTON
Pol`yp*to"ton, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Rhet.)

Defn: A figure by which a word is repeated in different forms, cases, numbers, genders, etc., as in Tennyson's line, — "My own heart's heart, and ownest own, farewell."

POLYPUS
Pol"y*pus, n.; pl. E. Polypuses, L. Polypi. Etym: [L. See Polyp.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Polyp.

2. (Med.)

Defn: A tumor, usually with a narrow base, somewhat resembling a pear, — found in the nose, uterus, etc., and produced by hypertrophy of some portion of the mucous membrane.

POLYRHIZOUS
Pol`y*rhi"zous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Having numerous roots, or rootlets.

POLYSCHEMATIST
Pol`y*sche"ma*tist, a. Etym: [Poly- + Gr.

Defn: Having, or existing in, many different forms or fashions; multiform.

POLYSCOPE
Pol"y*scope, n. Etym: [Gr. polyscope.]

1. (Opt.)

Defn: A glass which makes a single object appear as many; a multiplying glass. Hutton.

2. (Med.)

Defn: An apparatus for affording a view of the different cavities of the body.

POLYSEPALOUS
Pol`y*sep"al*ous, a. Etym: [Poly- + sepal.] (Bot.)

Defn: Having the sepals separate from each other.

POLYSILICIC
Pol`y*si*lic"ic, a. Etym: [Poly- + silicic.] (Chem.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to compounds formed by the condensation of two or more molecules of silicic acid. Polysilicic acid (Chem.), any one of a series of acids formed by the condensation of two or more molecules of silicic acid, with elimination of water.

POLYSPAST
Pol"y*spast, n. Etym: [L. polyspaston, fr. Gr. polyspaste.] (Surg.)

Defn: A machine consisting of many pulleys; specifically, an apparatus formerly used for reducing luxations.

POLYSPERMOUS
Pol`y*sper"mous, a. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Containing many seeds; as, a polyspermous capsule or berry.
Martyn.

POLYSPERMY
Pol"y*sper`my, n. (Biol.)

Defn: Fullness of sperm, or seed; the passage of more than one spermatozoön into the vitellus in the impregnation of the ovum.

POLYSPOROUS
Pol`y*spor"ous, a. Etym: [Poly- + spore.] (Bot.)

Defn: Containing many spores.

POLYSTOMATA
Pol`y*stom"a*ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL., from Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of trematode worms having more two suckers. Called also Polystomea and Polystoma.

POLYSTOME
Pol"y*stome, a. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having many mouths.

POLYSTOME
Pol"y*stome, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An animal having many mouths; — applied to Protozoa.

POLYSTYLE
Pol"y*style, a. Etym: [Gr. polystyle.] (Arch.)

Defn: Having many columns; — said of a building, especially of an interior part or court; as, a polystyle hall. — n.

Defn: A polystyle hall or edifice.

POLYSULPHIDE
Pol`y*sul"phide, n. Etym: [Poly- + sulphide.] (Chem.)

Defn: A sulphide having more than one atom of sulphur in the molecule; — contrasted with monosulphide.

POLYSULPHURET
Pol`y*sul"phu*ret, n. (Chem.)

Defn: A polysulphide. [Obsoles.]

POLYSYLLABIC; POLYSYLLABICAL
Pol`y*syl*lab"ic, Pol`y*syl*lab"ic*al, a. Etym: [Gr. polysyllabique.]

Defn: Pertaining to a polysyllable; containing, or characterized by, polysyllables; consisting of more than three syllables.

POLYSYLLABICISM
Pol`y*syl*lab"i*cism, n.

Defn: Polysyllabism.

POLYSYLLABICITY
Pol`y*syl`la*bic"i*ty, n.

Defn: Polysyllabism.

POLYSYLLABISM
Pol`y*syl"la*bism, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being polysyllabic.

POLYSYLLABLE
Pol"y*syl`la*ble, n. Etym: [Poly- + syllable.]

Defn: A word of many syllables, or consisting of more syllables than three; — words of less than four syllables being called monosyllables, dissyllables, and trisyllables.

POLYSYNDETIC
Pol`y*syn*det"ic, a.

Defn: Characterized by polysyndeton, or the multiplication of
conjunctions.
— Pol`y*syn*det"ic*al*ly, adv.

POLYSYNDETON
Pol`y*syn"de*ton, n. Etym: [NL., from Gr. (Rhet.)

Defn: A figure by which the conjunction is often repeated, as in the sentence, "We have ships and men and money and stores." Opposed to asyndeton.

POLYSYNTHESIS
Pol`y*syn"the*sis, n. Etym: [Poly- + synthesis.]

1. The act or process of combining many separate elements into a whole.

2. (Philol.)

Defn: The formation of a word by the combination of several simple words, as in the aboriginal languages of America; agglutination. Latham.

POLYSYNTHETIC
Pol`y*syn*thet"ic, a. Etym: [Poly- + synthetic.]

Defn: Characterized by polysynthesis; agglutinative. Polysynthetic twinning (Min.), repeated twinning, like that of the triclinic feldspar, producing fine parallel bands in alternately reversed positions.

POLYSYNTHETICISM
Pol`y*syn*thet"i*cism, n.

Defn: Polysynthesis.

POLYTECHNIC
Pol`y*tech"nic, a. Etym: [Gr. polytechnique.]

Defn: Comprehending, or relating to, many arts and sciences; — applied particularly to schools in which many branches of art and science are taught with especial reference to their practical application; also to exhibitions of machinery and industrial products.

POLYTECHNICAL
Pol`y*tech"nic*al, a.

Defn: Polytechnic.

POLYTECHNICS
Pol`y*tech"nics, n.

Defn: The science of the mechanic arts.

POLYTHALAMIA
Pol`y*tha*la"mi*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Polythalamous.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of Foraminifera including those having a manychambered shell.

POLYTHALAMOUS
Pol`y*thal"a*mous, a. Etym: [Poly- + Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Many-chambered; — applied to shells of Foraminifera and cephalopods. See Illust. of Nautilus.

POLYTHEISM
Pol"y*the*ism, n. Etym: [Poly- + Gr. polythéisme.]

Defn: The doctrine of, or belief in, a plurality of gods. In the Old Testament, the gradual development of polytheism from the primitive monotheism may be learned. Shaff-Herzog.

POLYTHEIST
Pol"y*the*ist, n. Etym: [Cf. F. polythéiste.]

Defn: One who believes in, or maintains the doctrine of, a plurality of gods.

POLYTHEISTIC; POLYTHEISTICAL
Pol`y*the*is"tic, Pol`y*the*is"tic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to polytheism; characterized by polytheism; professing or advocating polytheism; as, polytheistic worship; a polytheistic author, or nation. — Pol`y*the*is"tic*al*ly, adv.

POLYTHEIZE
Pol"y*the*ize, v. i.

Defn: To adhere to, advocate, or inculcate, the doctrine of polytheism. Milman.

POLYTHELISM
Pol`y*the"lism, n. Etym: [Poly- + Gr. qhlh` a nipple.] (Anat.)

Defn: The condition of having more than two teats, or nipples.

POLYTOCOUS
Po*lyt"o*cous, a. Etym: [Gr.

1. (Bot.)

Defn: Bearing fruit repeatedly, as most perennial plants; polycarpic.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Producing many or young.

POLYTOMOUS
Po*lyt"o*mous, a. Etym: [Poly- + Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Subdivided into many distinct subordinate parts, which, however, not being jointed to the petiole, are not true leaflets; — said of leaves. Henslow.

POLYTOMY
Po*lyt"o*my, n. (Logic)

Defn: A division into many members. F. Bowen.

POLYTUNGSTATE
Pol`y*tung"state, n.

Defn: A salt of polytungstic acid.

POLYTUNGSTIC
Pol`y*tung"stic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Containing several tungsten atoms or radicals; as, polytungstic acid. Polytungstic acid (Chem.), any one of several complex acids of tungsten containing more than one atom of tungsten.

POLYTYPE
Pol"y*type, n. Etym: [Poly- + -type.] (Print.)

Defn: A cast, or facsimile copy, of an engraved block, matter in type, etc. (see citation); as, a polytype in relief. By pressing the wood cut into semifluid metal, an intaglio matrix is produced: and from this matrix, in a similar way, a polytype in relief is obtained. Hansard.

POLYTYPE
Pol"y*type, a. (Print.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to polytypes; obtained by polytyping; as, a polytype plate.

POLYTYPE
Pol"y*type, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Polytyped; p. pr. & vb. n.
Polytyping.] (Print.)

Defn: To produce a polytype of; as, to polytype an engraving.

POLYURIA
Pol`y*u"ri*a, n. Etym: [NL. See Poly-, and Urine.] (Med.)

Defn: A persistently excessive flow of watery urine, with low specific gravity and without the presence of either albumin or sugar. It is generally accompanied with more or less thirst.

POLYVALENT
Po*lyv"a*lent, a. Etym: [Poly- + L. valens, p. pr. See Valent.]
(Chem.)

Defn: Multivalent.

POLYVE
Pol"yve, n. Etym: [See Polive.]

Defn: A pulley. [Obs.]

POLYZOA
Pol`y*zo"a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Bryozoa. See Illust. under Bryozoa, and Phylactolæmata.

POLYZOAN Pol`y*zo"an, n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any species of Polyzoa; one of the Polyzoa. (b) A polyzoön.

POLYZOARIUM
Pol`y*zo*a"ri*um, n.; pl. Polyzoaria. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Polyzoary.

POLYZOARY
Pol`y*zo"a*ry, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The compound organism of a polyzoan.

POLYZONAL
Pol`y*zon"al, a. Etym: [Poly- + zonal.]

Defn: Consisting of many zones or rings. Polyzonal lens (Opt.), a lens made up of pieces arranged zones or rings, — used in the lanterns of lighthouses.

POLYZOON; POLYZOOEN
Pol`y*zo"ön, n.; pl. Polyzoa. Etym: [NL. See Polyzoan.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the individual zooids forming the compound organism of a polyzoan.

POMACE Pom"ace, n. Etym: [L. ponum a fruit, LL., an apple: cf. LL. pomagium, pomacium.]

Defn: The substance of apples, or of similar fruit, crushed by grinding.

POMACENTROID
Po`ma*cen"troid, a. Etym: [Gr. -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Pertaining to the Pomacentridæ, a family of bright-colored tropical fishes having spiny opercula; — often called coral fishes.

POMACEOUS
Po*ma"ceous, a. Etym: [LL. ponum an apple.]

1. (Bot.) (a) Like an apple or pear; producing pomes. (b) Of or pertaining to a suborder (Pomeæ) of rosaceous plants, which includes the true thorn trees, the quinces, service berries, medlars, and loquats, as well as the apples, pears, crabs, etc.

2. Like pomace.

POMADE Po*made", n. Etym: [F. pommade pomatum, OF. pomade cider (cf. Sp. pomada, It. pomata, LL. pomata a drink made of apples), from L. pomum fruit, LL., an apple. Cf. Pomatum.]

1. Cider. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

2. Perfumed ointment; esp., a fragrant unguent for the hair; pomatum; — originally made from apples.

POMANDER Po*man"der, n. Etym: [Sp. poma.] (a) A perfume to be carried with one, often in the form of a ball. (b) A box to contain such perfume, formerly carried by ladies, as at the end of a chain; — more properly pomander box. [Obs.] Bacon.

POMARINE
Po"ma*rine, a. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the nostril covered with a scale. Pomarine jager (Zoöl.), a North Atlantic jager (Stercorarius pomarinus) having the elongated middle tail feathers obtuse. The adult is black.

POMATUM
Po*ma"tum, n. Etym: [See Pomade.]

Defn: A perfumed unguent or composition, chiefly used in dressing the hair; pomade. Wiseman.

POMATUM
Po*ma"tum, v. t.

Defn: To dress with pomatum.

POME
Pome, n. Etym: [L. pomum a fruit: cf. F. pomme apple. Cf. Pomade.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A fruit composed of several cartilaginous or bony carpels inclosed in an adherent fleshy mass, which is partly receptacle and partly calyx, as an apple, quince, or pear.

2. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: A ball of silver or other metal, which is filled with hot water, and used by the priest in cold weather to warm his hands during the service.

POME
Pome, v. i. Etym: [Cf. F. pommer. See Pome, n.]

Defn: To grow to a head, or form a head in growing. [Obs.]

POMEGRANATE Pome"gran`ate, n. Etym: [OE. pomgarnet, OF. pome de grenate, F. grenade, L. pomum a fruit + granatus grained, having many grains or seeds. See Pome, and Garnet, Grain.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The fruit of the tree Punica Granatum; also, the tree itself (see Balaustine), which is native in the Orient, but is successfully cultivated in many warm countries, and as a house plant in colder climates. The fruit is as large as an orange, and has a hard rind containing many rather large seeds, each one separately covered with crimson, acid pulp.

2. A carved or embroidered ornament resembling a pomegranate. Ex. xxviii. 33.

POMEL
Pom"el, n.

Defn: A pommel. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POMELO
Pom"e*lo, n. Etym: [Cf. Pompelmous.]

Defn: A variety of shaddock, called also grape fruit.

POMELY
Pome"ly, a. Etym: [OF. pomelé, F. pommelé. See Pome.]

Defn: Dappled. [Obs.] "Pomely gray." Chaucer.

POMERANIAN
Pom`e*ra"ni*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Pomerania, a province of Prussia on the Baltic Sea. — n.

Defn: A native or inhabitant of Pomerania. Pomeranian dog (Zoöl.), the loup-loup, or Spitz dog.

POMEWATER
Pome"wa`ter, n.

Defn: A kind of sweet, juicy apple. [Written also pomwater.] Shak.

POMEY Pom"ey, n.; pl. Pomeys. Etym: [F. pommé grown round, or like an apple, p. p. of pommer to pome.] (Her.)

Defn: A figure supposed to resemble an apple; a roundel, — always of a green color.

POMFRET Pom"fret, n. Etym: [Perhaps corrupt. fr. Pg. pampano a kind of fish.] (Zoöl.) (a) One of two or more species of marine food fishes of the genus Stromateus (S. niger, S. argenteus) native of Southern Europe and Asia. (b) A marine food fish of Bermuda (Brama Raji).

POMICULTURE
Po"mi*cul`ture, n. [L. pomum fruit + cultura culture.] (Hort.)

Defn: The culture of fruit; pomology as an art.

POMIFEROUS Po*mif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. pomifer; pomum fruit + ferre to bear: cf. F. pomifère.] (Bot.) (a) Bearing pomes, or applelike fruits. (b) Bearing fruits, or excrescences, more or less resembling an apple.

POMMAGE
Pom"mage (; 48), n.

Defn: See Pomage.

POMME
Pom`mé", a. Etym: [F. See Pomey.] (Her.)

Defn: Having the ends terminating in rounded protuberances or single balls; — said of a cross.

POMME BLANCHE
Pomme` blanche". Etym: [F., literally, white apple.]

Defn: The prairie turnip. See under Prairie.

POMMEL Pom"mel, n. Etym: [OE. pomel, OF. pomel, F. pommeau, LL. pomellus, fr. L. pomum fruit, LL. also, an apple. See Pome.]

Defn: A knob or ball; an object resembling a ball in form; as: (a) The knob on the hilt of a sword. Macaulay. (b) The knob or protuberant part of a saddlebow. (c) The top (of the head). Chaucer. (d) A knob forming the finial of a turret or pavilion.

POMMEL
Pom"mel, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pommeled or Pommelled; p. pr. & vb. n.
Pommeling or Pommelling.]

Defn: To beat soundly, as with the pommel of a sword, or with something knoblike; hence, to beat with the fists. [Written also pummel.]

POMMELION
Pom*mel"ion, n. Etym: [See Pommel: cf. LL. pomilio pygmy.] (Mil.)

Defn: The cascabel, or hindmost knob, of a cannon. [R.]

POMMETTE
Pom`met`té", a. Etym: [F.]

Defn: Having two balls or protuberances at each end; — said of a cross.

POMOLOGICAL
Po`mo*log"ic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. pomologique.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to pomology.

POMOLOGIST
Po*mol"o*gist, n.

Defn: One versed in pomology; one who culticvates fruit trees.

POMOLOGY
Po*mol"o*gy, n. Etym: [L. pomum fruit + -logy: cf. F. pomologie.]

Defn: The science of fruits; a treatise on fruits; the cultivation of fruits and fruit trees.

POMONA
Po*mo"na, n. Etym: [L., from pomum fruit.] (Class. Myth.)

Defn: The goddess of fruits and fruit trees.

POMP
Pomp, n. Etym: [OE. pompe, F. pompe, L. pompa, fr. Gr. Pump a shoe.]

1. A procession distinguished by ostentation and splendor; a pageant. "All the pomps of a Roman triumph." Addison.

2. Show of magnificence; parade; display; power.

Syn. — Display; parade; pageant; pageantry; splendor; state; magnificence; ostentation; grandeur; pride.

POMP
Pomp, v. i.

Defn: To make a pompons display; to conduct. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

POMPADOUR
Pom"pa*dour, n.

Defn: A crimson or pink color; also, a style of dress cut low and square in the neck; also, a mode of dressing the hair by drawing it straight back from the forehead over a roll; — so called after the Marchioness de Pompadour of France. Also much used adjectively.

POMPANO
Pom"pa*no, n. Etym: [Sp. pámpano.] [Written also pampano.] (Zoöl.)

1. Any one of several species of marine fishes of the genus Trachynotus, of which four species are found on the Atlantic coast of the United States; — called also palometa.

Note: They have a brilliant silvery or golden luster, and are highly esteemed as food fishes. The round pompano (T. thomboides) and the Carolina pompano (T. Carolinus) are the most common. Other species occur on the Pacific coast.

2. A California harvest fish (Stromateus simillimus), highly valued as a food fish. Pompano shell (Zoöl.), a small bivalve shell of the genus Donax; — so called because eaten by the pompano. [Florida]

POMPATIC
Pom*pat"ic, a. Etym: [L. pompaticus.]

Defn: Pompous. [Obs.] Barrow.

POMPEIAN
Pom*pe"ian, a. [L. Pompeianus.]

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, Pompeii, an ancient city of Italy, buried by an eruption of Vesuvius in 79 a. d., and partly uncovered by modern excavations.

POMPEIAN RED
Pompeian red. (Art)

Defn: A brownish red approaching maroon, supposed to be imitated from the color of the wall panels of houses in Pompeii, which were decorated during the last age of the Republic.

POMPELMOUS Pom"pel*mous, n.; pl. Pompelmouses. Etym: [D. pompelmoes; cf. G. pompelmuse, F. pamplemousse, and F. pompoléon.] (Bot.)

Defn: A shaddock, esp. one of large size.

POMPET
Pom"pet, n. Etym: [OF. pompette.] (Print.)

Defn: The ball formerly used to ink the type.

POMPHOLYX
Pom"pho*lyx, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr.

1. (Old Chem.)

Defn: Impure zinc oxide.

2. (Med.)

Defn: A skin disease in which there is an eruption of bullæ, without inflammation or fever.

POMPILLION
Pom*pil"lion, n.

Defn: An ointment or pomatum made of black poplar buds. [Obs.]
Cotgrave.

POMPION
Pom"pi*on, n. Etym: [OF. pompon. See Pumpkin.]

Defn: See Pumpion.

POMPIRE Pom"pire, n. Etym: [L. pomum a fruit, LL. also, an apple + pirum a pear.]

Defn: A pearmain. [Obs.]

POMPOLEON
Pom*po"le*on, n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Pompelmous.

POM-POM
Pom"-pom`, n. [Imitative.]

Defn: A Vickers-Maxim one-pounder automatic machine cannon using metallic ammunition fed from a lopped belt attached to the gun; — popularly so called from its peculiar drumming sound in action. Sometimes, any of other similar automatic cannons.

POMPON
Pom"pon, n. Etym: [F.]

1. Any trifling ornament for a woman's dress or bonnet.

2. (Mil.)

Defn: A tuft or ball of wool, or the like, sometimes worn by soldiers on the front of the hat, instead of a feather.

POMPOSITY
Pom*pos"i*ty, n.; pl. Pomposities (.

Defn: The quality or state of being pompous; pompousness. Thackeray.

POMPOSO
Pom*po"so, a. & adv. Etym: [It.] (Mus.)

Defn: Grand and dignified; in grand style.

POMPOUS
Pomp"ous, a. Etym: [F. pompeux, L. pomposus. See Pomp.]

1. Displaying pomp; stately; showy with grandeur; magnificent; as, a pompous procession.

2. Ostentatious; pretentious; boastful; vainlorious; as, pompous manners; a pompous style. "Pompous in high presumption." Chaucer. he pompous vanity of the old schoolmistress. Thackeray. — Pom"ous*ly, adv. — Pomp"ous*ness, n.

POMPTINE
Pomp"tine, a.

Defn: See Pontine.

POMWATER
Pom"wa`ter, n.

Defn: Same as Pomewater.

PONCELET
Ponce"let, n. [After Jean Victor Poncelet, French engineer.]
(Physics)

Defn: A unit of power, being the power obtained from an expenditure of one hundred kilogram-meters of energy per second. One poncelet equals g watts, when g is the value of the acceleration of gravity in centimeters.

PONCHO
Pon"cho, n.; pl. Ponchos (. Etym: [Sp.]

1. A kind of cloak worn by the Spanish Americans, having the form of a blanket, with a slit in the middle for the head to pass through. A kind of poncho made of rubber or painted cloth is used by the mounted troops in the United States service.

2. A trade name for camlets, or stout worsteds.

POND Pond, n. Etym: [Probably originally, an inclosed body of water, and the same word as pound. See Pound an inclosure.]

Defn: A body of water, naturally or artificially confined, and usually of less extent than a lake. "Through pond or pool." Milton. Pond hen (Zoöl.), the American coot. See Coot (a). — Pond lily (Bot.), the water lily. See under Water, and Illust. under Nymphæa. — Pond snail (Zoöl.), any gastropod living in fresh-water ponds or lakes. The most common kinds are air-breathing snails (Pulmonifera) belonging to Limnæa, Physa, Planorbis, and allied genera. The operculated species are pectinibranchs, belonging to Melantho, Valvata, and various other genera. — Pond spice (Bot.), an American shrub (Tetranthera geniculata) of the Laurel family, with small oval leaves, and axillary clusters of little yellow flowers. The whole plant is spicy. It grows in ponds and swamps from Virginia to Florida. — Pond tortoise, Pond turtle (Zoöl.), any freshwater tortoise of the family Emydidæ. Numerous species are found in North America.

POND
Pond, v. t.

Defn: To make into a pond; to collect, as water, in a pond by damming.

POND
Pond, v. t. Etym: [See Ponder.]

Defn: To ponder. [Obs.]
Pleaseth you, pond your suppliant's plaint. Spenser.

PONDER
Pon"der, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pondered; p. pr. & vb. n. Pondering.]
Etym: [L. ponderare, fr. pondus, ponderis, a weight, fr. pendere to
weigh: cf. F. pondérer. See Pendant, and cf. Pound a weight.]

1. To weigh. [Obs.]

2. To weigh in the mind; to view with deliberation; to examine carefully; to consider attentively. Ponder the path of thy feet. Prov. iv. 26.

Syn. — To Ponder, Consider, Muse. To consider means to view or contemplate with fixed thought. To ponder is to dwell upon with long and anxious attention, with a view to some practical result or decision. To muse is simply to think upon continuously with no definite object, or for the pleasure it gives. We consider any subject which is fairly brought before us; we ponder a concern involving great interests; we muse on the events of childhood.

PONDER
Pon"der, v. i.

Defn: To think; to deliberate; to muse; — usually followed by on or over. Longfellow.

PONDERABILITY
Pon`der*a*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. pondérabilité.]

Defn: The quality or state of being ponderable.

PONDERABLE
Pon"der*a*ble, a. Etym: [L. ponderabilis: cf. F. pondérable.]

Defn: Capable of being weighed; having appreciable weight.
— Pon"der*a*ble*ness, n.

PONDERAL
Pon"der*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. pondéral.]

Defn: Estimated or ascertained by weight; — distinguished from numeral; as, a ponderal drachma. [R.] Arbuthnot.

PONDERANCE Pon"der*ance, n. Etym: [L. ponderans, p. pr. of ponderare to weigh: cf. OF. ponderant of weight.]

Defn: Weight; gravity. [R.] Gregory.

PONDERARY
Pon"der*a*ry, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to weight; as, a ponderary system. [R.]
M'Culloch.

PONDERATE
Pon"der*ate, v. t. Etym: [L. ponderatus, p. p. of ponderare. See
Ponder.]

Defn: To consider; to ponder. [R.]

PONDERATE
Pon"der*ate, v. i.

Defn: To have weight or influence. [R.]

PONDERATION
Pon`der*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. ponderatio: cf. F. pondération.]

Defn: The act of weighing. [R.] Arbuthnot.

PONDERER
Pon"der*er, n.

Defn: One who ponders.

PONDERING
Pon"der*ing, a.

Defn: Deliberating.
— Pon"der*ing*ly, adv.

PONDEROSITY
Pon`der*os"i*ty, n.; pl. Ponderosities. Etym: [OF. ponderosité.]

Defn: The quality or state of being ponderous; weight; gravity; heaviness, ponderousness; as, the ponderosity of gold. Ray.

PONDEROUS Pon"der*ous, a. Etym: [L. ponderosus, from pondus, -eris, a weight: cf. F. pondéreux. See Ponder.]

1. Very heavy; weighty; as, a ponderous shield; a ponderous load; the ponderous elephant. The sepulcher . . . Hath oped his ponderous and marble jaws. Shak.

2. Important; momentous; forcible. "Your more ponderous and settled project." Shak.

3. Heavy; dull; wanting; lightless or spirit; as, a ponderous style; a ponderous joke. Ponderous spar (Min.), heavy spar, or barytes. See Barite.

PONDEROUSLY
Pon"der*ous*ly, adv.

Defn: In a ponderous manner.

PONDEROUSNESS
Pon"der*ous*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being ponderous; ponderosity.

PONDFISH
Pond"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of American fresh-water fishes belonging to the family Centrarchidæ; — called also pond perch, and sunfish.

Note: The common pondfish of New England (Lepomis gibbosus) is called also bream, pumpkin seed, and sunny. See Sunfish. The long-eared pondfish (Lepomis auritus) of the Eastern United States is distinguished by its very long opercular flap.

PONDWEED
Pond"weed`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Any aquatic plant of the genus Potamogeton, of which many species are found in ponds or slow-moving rivers. Choke pondweed, an American water weed (Anarcharis, or Elodea, Canadensis.) See Anacharis. — Horned pondweed, the Zannichellia palustris, a slender, branching aquatic plant, having pointed nutlets.

PONE
Pone, n. Etym: [Of Amer. Indian origin.]

Defn: A kind of johnnycake. [Written also paune.] [Southern U. S.]

PONENT Po"nent, a. Etym: [OF., fr. It. ponente, properly, setting (applied to the setting sun), fr. L. ponens, p. pr. of ponere to set, put.]

Defn: Western; occidental. [R.]
Forth rush the levant and the ponent winds. Milton.

PONGEE
Pon*gee", n. Etym: [Of East Indian origin.]

Defn: A fabric of undyed silk from India and China.

PONGHEE
Pon*ghee", n. Etym: [From the native name.]

Defn: A Buddhist priest of the higher orders in Burmah. Malcom.

PONGO
Pon"go, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any large ape; especially, the chimpanzee and the orang-outang.

PONIARD Pon"iard, n. Etym: [F. poignard (cf. It. pugnale, Sp. puñal), fr. L. pugio, -onis; probably akin to pugnus fist, or fr. pugnus fist, as held in the fist. See Pugnacious.]

Defn: A kind of dagger, — usually a slender one with a triangular or
square blade.
She speaks poniards, and every word stabs. Shak.

PONIARD
Pon"iard, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poniarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Poniarding.]

Defn: To pierce with a poniard; to stab. Cowper.

PONIBILITY
Po`ni*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. ponere to place.]

Defn: The capability of being placed or located. [Obs.] Barrow.

PONS
Pons, n.; pl. Pontes. Etym: [L., a bridge.] (Anat.)

Defn: A bridge; — applied to several parts which connect others, but especially to the pons Varolii, a prominent band of nervous tissue situated on the ventral side of the medulla oblongata and connected at each side with the hemispheres of the cerebellum; the mesocephalon. See Brain. Pons asinorum. Etym: [L., literally, bridge of asses.] See Asses' bridge, under Ass.

PONTAGE Pon"tage (; 48), n. Etym: [LL. pontagium, from L. pons, pontis, a bridge: cf. F. pontage.] (O. Eng. Law)

Defn: A duty or tax paid for repairing bridges. Ayliffe.

PONTEE
Pon*tee", n. Etym: [F. pontil, pontis.] (Glass Making)

Defn: An iron rod used by glass makers for manipulating the hot glass; — called also, puntil, puntel, punty, and ponty. See Fascet.

PONTIC
Pon"tic, a. Etym: [L. Ponticus, Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Pontus, Euxine, or Black Sea.

PONTIFEX
Pon"ti*fex, n.; pl. Pontifices. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A high priest; a pontiff.

PONTIFF
Pon"tiff, n. Etym: [F. pontife, L. pontifex, -ficis; pons, pontis, a
bridge (perhaps originally, a way, path) + facere to make. Cf.
Pontoon.]

Defn: A high priest. Especially: (a) One of the sacred college, in ancient Rome, which had the supreme jurisdiction over all matters of religion, at the head of which was the Pontifex Maximus. Dr. W. Smith. (b) (Jewish Antiq.) The chief priest. (c) (R. C. Ch.) The pope.

PONTIFIC
Pon*tif"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. L. pontificius.]

1. Relating to, or consisting of, pontiffs or priests. "The pontific college with their augurs and flamens." Milton.

2. Of or pertaining to the pope; papal. Shenstone.

PONTIFICAL
Pon*tif"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. pontificalis: cf. F. pontifical. See
Pontiff.]

1. Of or pertaining to a pontiff, or high priest; as, pontifical authority; hence, belonging to the pope; papal.

2. Of or pertaining to the building of bridges. [R.] Now had they brought the work by wondrous art Pontifical, a ridge of pendent rock Over the vexed abyss. Milton.

PONTIFICAL
Pon*tif"ic*al, n. Etym: [F.]

1. A book containing the offices, or formulas, used by a pontiff. South.

2. pl.

Defn: The dress and ornaments of a pontiff. "Dressed in full pontificals." Sir W. Scott.

PONTIFICALITY
Pon*tif`i*cal"i*ty, n.

Defn: The state and government of the pope; the papacy. [R.] Bacon.

PONTIFICALLY
Pon*tif"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a pontifical manner.

PONTIFICATE
Pon*tif"i*cate, n. Etym: [L. pontificatus: cf. F. pontificat. See
Pontiff.]

1. The state or dignity of a high priest; specifically, the office of the pope. Addison.

2. The term of office of a pontiff. Milman.

PONTIFICATE
Pon*tif"i*cate, v. i. (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: To perform the duty of a pontiff.

PONTIFICE
Pon"ti*fice, n. Etym: [L. pons, pontis, a bridge + facere to make.
Cf. Pontiff.]

Defn: Bridgework; structure or edifice of a bridge. [R.] Milton.

PONTIFICIAL
Pon`ti*fi"cial, a. Etym: [L. pontificius.]

Defn: Papal; pontifical. [Obs.] "Pontificial writers." Burton.

PONTIFICIAN
Pon`ti*fi"cian, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the pontiff or pope. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

PONTIFICIAN
Pon`ti*fi"cian, n.

Defn: One who adheres to the pope or papacy; a papist. [Obs.] Bp.
Montagu.

PONTIL
Pon"til, n.

Defn: Same as Pontee.

PONTILE
Pon"tile, a. Etym: [L. pontilis pertaining to a bridge.] (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the pons Varolii. See Pons.

PONTINE Pon"tine, a. Etym: [L. Pontinus or Pomptinus, an appellation given to a district in Latium, near Pometia.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to an extensive marshy district between Rome and Naples. [Written also Pomptine.]

PONTLEVIS
Pont"le*vis, n. Etym: [F., properly, a drawbridge.] (Man.)

Defn: The action of a horse in rearing repeatedly and dangerously.

PONTON
Pon*ton", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: See Pontoon.

PONTOON Pon*toon", n. Etym: [F. ponton (cf. It. pontone), from L. ponto, - onis, fr. pons, pontis, a bridge, perhaps originally, a way, path: cf. Gr. path, pathi, panthan. Cf. Punt a boat.]

1. (Mil.)

Defn: A wooden flat-bottomed boat, a metallic cylinder, or a frame covered with canvas, India rubber, etc., forming a portable float, used in building bridges quickly for the passage of troops.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: A low, flat vessel, resembling a barge, furnished with cranes, capstans, and other machinery, used in careening ships, raising weights, drawing piles, etc., chiefly in the Mediterranean; a lighter. Pontoon bridge, a bridge formed with pontoons. — Pontoon train, the carriages of the pontoons, and the materials they carry for making a pontoon bridge.

Note: The French spelling ponton often appears in scientific works, but pontoon is more common form.

PONTOONING
Pon*toon"ing, n.

Defn: The act, art, or process of constructing pontoon bridges. "Army instruction in pontooning." Gen. W. T. Shermah.

PONTVOLANT
Pont`vo*lant" (; F. ), n. Etym: [F. pont bridge + volant flying.]
(Mil.)

Defn: A kind of light bridge, used in sieges, for surprising a post or outwork which has but a narrow moat; a flying bridge.

PONTY
Pon"ty, n. (Class Making)

Defn: See Pontee.

PONY
Po"ny, n.; pl. Ponies (. [Written also poney.] Etym: [Gael. ponaidh.]

1. A small horse.

2. Twenty-five pounds sterling. [Slang, Eng.]

3. A translation or a key used to avoid study in getting lessons; a crib. [College Cant]

4. A small glass of beer. [Slang] Pony chaise, a light, low chaise, drawn by a pony or a pair of ponies. — Pony engine, a small locomotive for switching cars from one track to another. [U.S.] — Pony truck (Locomotive Engine), a truck which has only two wheels. — Pony truss (Bridge Building), a truss which has so little height that overhead bracing can not be used.

POOD
Pood, n. Etym: [Russ. pud'.]

Defn: A Russian weight, equal to forty Russian pounds or about thirty-six English pounds avoirdupois.

POODLE
Poo"dle, n. Etym: [G. pudel.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A breed of dogs having curly hair, and often showing remarkable intelligence in the performance of tricks.

POOH
Pooh, interj. Etym: [Of. imitative origin; cf. Icel. pu.]

Defn: Pshaw! pish! nonsense! — an expression of scorn, dislike, or contempt.

POOH-POOH
Pooh`-pooh", v. t.

Defn: To make light of; to treat with derision or contempt, as if by saying pooh! pooh! [Colloq.] Thackeray.

POOKOO
Poo"koo, n. Etym: [From the native name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A red African antelope (Kobus Vardoni) allied to the water buck.

POOL Pool, n. Etym: [AS. pol; akin to LG. pool, pohl, D. poel, G. pfuhl; cf. Icel. pollr, also W. pwll, Gael. poll.]

1. A small and rather deep collection of (usually) fresh water, as one supplied by a spring, or occurring in the course of a stream; a reservoir for water; as, the pools of Solomon. Wyclif. Charity will hardly water the ground where it must first fill a pool. Bacon. The sleepy pool above the dam. Tennyson.

2. A small body of standing or stagnant water; a puddle. "The filthy mantled pool beyond your cell." Shak.

POOL Pool, n. Etym: [F. poule, properly, a hen. See Pullet.] [Written also poule.]

1. The stake played for in certain games of cards, billiards, etc.; an aggregated stake to which each player has contributed a snare; also, the receptacle for the stakes.

2. A game at billiards, in which each of the players stakes a certain sum, the winner taking the whole; also, in public billiard rooms, a game in which the loser pays the entrance fee for all who engage in the game; a game of skill in pocketing the balls on a pool table.

Note: This game is played variously, but commonly with fifteen balls,
besides one cue ball, the contest being to drive the most balls into
the pockets.
He plays pool at the billiard houses. Thackeray.

3. In rifle shooting, a contest in which each competitor pays a certain sum for every shot he makes, the net proceeds being divided among the winners.

4. Any gambling or commercial venture in which several persons join.

5. A combination of persons contributing money to be used for the purpose of increasing or depressing the market price of stocks, grain, or other commodities; also, the aggregate of the sums so contributed; as, the pool took all the wheat offered below the limit; he put $10,000 into the pool.

6. (Railroads)

Defn: A mutual arrangement between competing lines, by which the receipts of all are aggregated, and then distributed pro rata according to agreement.

7. (Law)

Defn: An aggregation of properties or rights, belonging to different people in a community, in a common fund, to be charged with common liabilities. Pin pool, a variety of the game of billiards in which small wooden pins are set up to be knocked down by the balls. — Pool ball, one of the colored ivory balls used in playing the game at billiards called pool. — Pool snipe (Zoöl.), the European redshank. [Prov. Eng.] — Pool table, a billiard table with pockets.

POOL
Pool, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pooled; p. pr. & vb. n. Pooling.]

Defn: To put together; to contribute to a common fund, on the basis of a mutual division of profits or losses; to make a common interest of; as, the companies pooled their traffic. Finally, it favors the poolingof all issues. U. S. Grant.

POOL
Pool, v. i.

Defn: To combine or contribute with others, as for a commercial, speculative, or gambling transaction.

POOLER
Pool"er, n.

Defn: A stick for stirring a tan vat.

POOLING
Pool"ing, n. (Law)

Defn: The act of uniting, or an agreement to unite, an aggregation of properties belonging to different persons, with a view to common liabilities or profits.

POON
Poon, n. Etym: [Canarese ponne.]

Defn: A name for several East Indian, or their wood, used for the masts and spars of vessels, as Calophyllum angustifolium, C. inophullum, and Sterculia foetida; — called also peon.

POONAC
Poo"nac, n.

Defn: A kind of oil cake prepared from the cocoanut. See Oil cake, under Cake.

POONAH PAINTING
Poo"nah paint`ing. [From Poona, in Bombay Province, India.]

Defn: A style of painting, popular in England in the 19th century, in which a thick opaque color is applied without background and with scarcely any shading, to thin paper, producing flowers, birds, etc., in imitation of Oriental work. Hence: Poonah brush, paper, painter, etc.

POONGA OIL
Poon"ga oil`.

Defn: A kind of oil used in India for lamps, and for boiling with dammar for pitching vessels. It is pressed from the seeds of a leguminous tree (Pongamia glabra).

POOP
Poop, n. (Arch.)

Defn: See 2d Poppy.

POOP
Poop, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pooped; p. pr. & vb. n. Pooping.] Etym:
[Cf. D. poepen. See Pop.]

Defn: To make a noise; to pop; also, to break wind.

POOP Poop, n. Etym: [F. poupe; cf. Sp. & Pg. popa, It. poppa; all fr. L. puppis.] (Naut.)

Defn: A deck raised above the after part of a vessel; the hindmost or
after part of a vessel's hull; also, a cabin covered by such a deck.
See Poop deck, under Deck. See also Roundhouse.
With wind in poop, the vessel plows the sea. Dryden.
The poop was beaten gold. Shak.

POOP Poop, v. t. (Naut.) (a) To break over the poop or stern, as a wave. "A sea which he thought was going to poop her." Lord Dufferin. (b) To strike in the stern, as by collision.

POOPED Pooped, p. p. & a. (Naut.) (a) Having a poop; furnished with a poop. (b) Struck on the poop.

POOPING
Poop"ing, n. (Naut.)

Defn: The act or shock of striking a vessel's stern by a following wave or vessel.

POOR Poor, a. [Compar. Poorer (; 254); superl. Poorest.] Etym: [OE. poure or povre, OF. povre, F. pauvre, L. pauper; the first syllable of which is probably akin to paucus few (see Paucity, Few), and the second to parare to prepare, procure. See Few, and cf. Parade, Pauper, Poverty.]

1. Destitute of property; wanting in material riches or goods; needy; indigent.

Note: It is often synonymous with indigent and with necessitous denoting extreme want. It is also applied to persons who are not entirely destitute of property, but who are not rich; as, a poor man or woman; poor people.

2. (Law)

Defn: So completely destitute of property as to be entitled to maintenance from the public.

3. Hence, in very various applications:

Defn: Destitute of such qualities as are desirable, or might naturally be expected; as: (a) Wanting in fat, plumpness, or fleshiness; lean; emaciated; meager; as, a poor horse, ox, dog, etc. "Seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill-favored and lean-fleshed." Gen. xli. 19. (b) Wanting in strength or vigor; feeble; dejected; as, poor health; poor spirits. "His genius . . . poor and cowardly." Bacon. (c) Of little value or worth; not good; inferior; shabby; mean; as, poor clothes; poor lodgings. "A poor vessel." Clarendon. (d) Destitute of fertility; exhausted; barren; sterile; — said of land; as, poor soil. (e) Destitute of beauty, fitness, or merit; as, a poor discourse; a poor picture. (f) Without prosperous conditions or good results; unfavorable; unfortunate; unconformable; as, a poor business; the sick man had a poor night. (g) Inadequate; insufficient; insignificant; as, a poor excuse. That I have wronged no man will be a poor plea or apology at the last day. Calamy.

4. Worthy of pity or sympathy; — used also sometimes as a term of endearment, or as an expression of modesty, and sometimes as a word of contempt. And for mine own poor part, Look you, I'll go pray. Shak. Poor, little, pretty, fluttering thing. Prior.

5. Free from self-assertion; not proud or arrogant; meek. "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Matt. v. 3. Poor law, a law providing for, or regulating, the relief or support of the poor. — Poor man's treacle (Bot.), garlic; — so called because it was thought to be an antidote to animal poison. [Eng] Dr. Prior. — Poor man's weatherglass (Bot.), the red-flowered pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), which opens its blossoms only in fair weather. — Poor rate, an assessment or tax, as in an English parish, for the relief or support of the poor. — Poor soldier (Zoöl.), the friar bird. — The poor, those who are destitute of property; the indigent; the needy. In a legal sense, those who depend on charity or maintenance by the public. "I have observed the more public provisions are made for the poor, the less they provide for themselves." Franklin.

POOR
Poor, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European codfish (Gadus minutus); — called also power cod.

POORBOX
Poor"box`, n.

Defn: A receptacle in which money given for the poor is placed.

POORHOUSE
Poor"house`, n.

Defn: A dwelling for a number of paupers maintained at public expense; an almshouse; a workhouse.

POOR-JOHN
Poor"-john`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European fish, similar to the cod, but of inferior
quality.
Poor-john and apple pies are all our fare. Sir J. Harrington.

POORLINESS
Poor"li*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being poorly; ill health.

POORLY
Poor"ly, adv.

1. In a poor manner or condition; without plenty, or sufficiency, or suitable provision for comfort; as, to live poorly.

2. With little or no success; indifferently; with little profit or advantage; as, to do poorly in business.

3. Meanly; without spirit. Nor is their courage or their wealth so low, That from his wars they poorly would retire. Dryden.

4. Without skill or merit; as, he performs poorly. Poorly off, not well off; not rich.

POORLY
Poor"ly, a.

Defn: Somewhat ill; indisposed; not in health. "Having been poorly in health." T. Scott.

POORNESS
Poor"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being poor (in any of the senses of the adjective). Bacon.

POOR-SPIRITED
Poor"-spir`it*ed, a.

Defn: Of a mean spirit; cowardly; base.
— Poor"-spir`it*ed*ness, n.

POOR-WILL
Poor"-will`, n. Etym: [So called in imitation of its note.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A bird of the Western United States (Phalænoptilus Nutalli) allied to the whip-poor-will.

POOR-WILLIE
Poor"-wil`lie, n. Etym: [So called in imitation of its note.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The bar-tailed godwit. [Prov. Eng.]

POP
Pop, n. Etym: [Of imitative origin. Cf. Poop.]

1. A small, sharp, quick explosive sound or report; as, to go off with a pop. Addison.

2. An unintoxicating beverage which expels the cork with a pop from the bottle containing it; as, ginger pop; lemon pop, etc. Hood.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European redwing. [Prov. Eng.] Pop corn. (a) Corn, or maize, of peculiar excellence for popping; especially, a kind the grains of which are small and compact. (b) Popped corn; which has been popped.

POP
Pop, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Popped; p. pr. & vb. n. Popping.]

1. To make a pop, or sharp, quick sound; as, the muskets popped away on all sides.

2. To enter, or issue forth, with a quick, sudden movement; to move from place to place suddenly; to dart; — with in, out, upon, off, etc. He that killed my king . . . Popp'd in between the election and my hopes. Shak. A trick of popping up and down every moment. Swift.

3. To burst open with a pop, when heated over a fire; as, this corn pops well.

POP
Pop, v. t.

1. To thrust or push suddenly; to offer suddenly; to bring suddenly and unexpectedly to notice; as, to pop one's head in at the door. He popped a paper into his hand. Milton.

2. To cause to pop; to cause to burst open by heat, as grains of Indian corn; as, to pop corn or chestnuts. To pop off, to thrust away, or put off promptly; as, to pop one off with a denial. Locke. — To pop the question, to make an offer of marriage to a lady. [Colloq.] Dickens.

POP
Pop, adv.

Defn: Like a pop; suddenly; unexpectedly. "Pop goes his plate." Beau. & Fl.

POPE
Pope, n. Etym: [AS. papa, L. papa father, bishop. Cf. Papa, Papal.]

1. Any ecclesiastic, esp. a bishop. [Obs.] Foxe.

2. The bishop of Rome, the head of the Roman Catholic Church. See Note under Cardinal.

3. A parish priest, or a chaplain, of the Greek Church.

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A fish; the ruff. Pope Joan, a game at cards played on a round
board with compartments.
— Pope's eye, the gland surrounded with fat in the middle of the
thigh of an ox or sheep. R. D. Blackmore.
— Pope's nose, the rump, or uropygium, of a bird. See Uropygium.

POPEDOM
Pope"dom, n. Etym: [AS. papedom.]

1. The place, office, or dignity of the pope; papal dignity. Shak.

2. The jurisdiction of the pope.

POPELING
Pope"ling, n.

1. A petty or deputy pope.

2. An adherent of the pope. [R.] Marlowe.

POPELOTE
Pop"e*lote, n.

Defn: A word variously explained as "a little puppet," "a little doll," or "a young butterfly." Cf. Popet. [Obs.] So gay a popelote, so sweet a wench. Chaucer.

POPERY
Pop"er*y, n.

Defn: The religion of the Roman Catholic Church, comprehending doctrines and practices; — generally used in an opprobrious sense.

POPE'S HEAD
Pope's head.

Defn: A long-handled brush for dusting ceilings, etc., also for washing windows. [Cant]

POPET
Pop"et, n.

Defn: A puppet. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POPGUN
Pop"gun`, n.

Defn: A child's gun; a tube and rammer for shooting pellets, with a popping noise, by compression of air.

POPINJAY Pop"in*jay, n. Etym: [OE. popingay, papejay, OF. papegai, papegaut; cf. Pr. papagai, Sp. & Pg. papagayo, It. pappagallo, LGr. gallus cock, or the same word as E. jay, F. geai. Cf. Papagay.]

1. (Zoöl.) (a) The green woodpecker. (b) A parrot. The pye and popyngay speak they know not what. Tyndale.

2. A target in the form of a parrot. [Scot.]

3. A trifling, chattering, fop or coxcomb. "To be so pestered with a popinjay." Shak.

POPISH
Pop"ish, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the pope; taught or ordained by the pope;
hence, of or pertaining to the Roman Catholic Church; — often used
opprobriously.
— Pop"ish*ly, adv.
— Pop"ish*ness, n.

POPLAR Pop"lar, n. Etym: [OE. popler, OF. poplier, F. peuplier, fr. L. populus poplar.] (Bot.)

1. Any tree of the genus Populus; also, the timber, which is soft, and capable of many uses.

Note: The aspen poplar is Populus tremula and P. tremuloides; Balsam poplar is P. balsamifera; Lombardy poplar (P. dilatata) is a tall, spiry tree; white poplar is Populus alba.

2. The timber of the tulip tree; — called also white poplar. [U.S.]

POPLEXY
Po*plex"y, n.

Defn: Apoplexy. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POPLIN
Pop"lin, n. Etym: [F. popeline, papeline.]

Defn: A fabric of many varieties, usually made of silk and worsted, - - used especially for women's dresses. Irish poplin, a fabric with silk warp and worsted weft, made in Ireland.

POPLITEAL
Pop*lit"e*al, a. Etym: [From L. poples, -itis, the ham.] (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the ham; in the region of the ham, or behind the knee joint; as, the popliteal space.

POPLITIC
Pop*lit"ic, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Popliteal.

POPOVTSY
Po*pov"tsy, n. pl. [Russ., prop., those having popes or priests.]

Defn: See Raskolnik.

POPPER
Pop"per, n.

Defn: A utensil for popping corn, usually a wire basket with a long handle.

POPPER
Pop"per, n.

Defn: A dagger. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POPPET
Pop"pet, n.

1. See Puppet.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: One of certain upright timbers on the bilge ways, used to support a vessel in launching. Totten.

3. (Mach.)

Defn: An upright support or guide fastened at the bottom only. Poppet head, Puppet head. See Headstock (a).

POPPIED
Pop"pied, a. Etym: [See 1st Poppy.]

1. Mingled or interspersed with poppies. "Poppied corn." Keats.

2. Affected with poppy juice; hence, figuratively, drugged; drowsy; listless; inactive. [R.] The poppied sails doze on the yard. Lowell.

POPPING
Pop"ping,

Defn: a. & n. from Pop. Popping crease. (Cricket) See under Crease.

POPPLE
Pop"ple, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Pop.]

Defn: To move quickly up and down; to bob up and down, as a cork on rough water; also, to bubble. Cotton.

POPPLE
Pop"ple, n.

1. The poplar. [Prov. Eng. & Local, U. S.]

2. Tares. [Obs.] "To sow popple among wheat." Bale.

POPPY
Pop"py, n.; pl. Poppies. Etym: [OE. popy, AS. popig, L. papaver.]
(Bot.)

Defn: Any plant or species of the genus Papaver, herbs with showy polypetalous flowers and a milky juice. From one species (Papaver somniferum) opium is obtained, though all the species contain it to some extent; also, a flower of the plant. See Illust. of Capsule. California poppy (Bot.), any yellow-flowered plant of the genus Eschscholtzia. — Corn poppy. See under Corn. — Horn, or Horned, poppy. See under Horn. — Poppy bee (Zoöl.), a leaf-cutting bee (Anthocopa papaveris) which uses pieces cut from poppy petals for the lining of its cells; — called also upholsterer bee. — Prickly poppy (Bot.), Argemone Mexicana, a yellow-flowered plant of the Poppy family, but as prickly as a thistle. — Poppy seed, the seed the opium poppy (P. somniferum). — Spatling poppy (Bot.), a species of Silene (S. inflata). See Catchfly.

POPPY; POPPYHEAD
Pop"py, Pop"py*head`, n. Etym: [F. poupée doll, puppet. See Puppet.]
(Arch.)

Defn: A raised ornament frequently having the form of a final. It is generally used on the tops of the upright ends or elbows which terminate seats, etc., in Gothic churches.

POPULACE Pop"u*lace, n. Etym: [F. populace, fr. It. popolaccio, popolazzo, fr. popolo people, L. populus. See People.]

Defn: The common people; the vulgar; the multitude, — comprehending
all persons not distinguished by rank, office, education, or
profession. Pope.
To . . . calm the peers and please the populace. Daniel.
They . . . call us Britain's barbarous populaces. Tennyson.

Syn.
— Mob; people; commonalty.

POPULACY
Pop"u*la*cy, n.

Defn: Populace. [Obs.] Feltham.

POPULAR Pop"u*lar, a. Etym: [L. popularis, fr. populus people: cf. F. populaire. See People.]

1. Of or pertaining to the common people, or to the whole body of the people, as distinguished from a select portion; as, the popular voice; popular elections. "Popular states." Bacon. "So the popular vote inclines." Milton. The commonly held in popular estimation are greatest at a distance. J. H. Newman.

2. Suitable to common people; easy to be comprehended; not abstruse; familiar; plain. Homilies are plain popular instructions. Hooker.

3. Adapted to the means of the common people; possessed or obtainable by the many; hence, cheap; common; ordinary; inferior; as, popular prices; popular amusements. The smallest figs, called popular figs, . . . are, of all others, the basest and of least account. Holland.

4. Beloved or approved by the people; pleasing to people in general, or to many people; as, a popular preacher; a popular law; a popular administration.

5. Devoted to the common people; studious of the favor of the populace. [R.] Such popular humanity is treason. Addison.

6. Prevailing among the people; epidemic; as, a popular disease. [Obs.] Johnson. Popular action (Law), an action in which any person may sue for penalty imposed by statute. Blackstone.

POPULARES
Pop`u*la"res, n. pl. Etym: [L.]

Defn: The people or the people's party, in ancient Rome, as opposed to the optimates.

POPULARITY Pop`u*lar"i*ty, n.; pl. Popularities. Etym: [L. popularitas an effort to please the people: cf. F. popularité.]

1. The quality or state of being popular; especially, the state of being esteemed by, or of being in favor with, the people at large; good will or favor proceeding from the people; as, the popularity of a law, statesman, or a book. A popularity which has lasted down to our time. Macaulay.

2. The quality or state of being adapted or pleasing to common, poor, or vulgar people; hence, cheapness; inferiority; vulgarity. This gallant laboring to avoid popularity falls into a habit of affectation. B. Jonson.

3. Something which obtains, or is intended to obtain, the favor of the vulgar; claptrap. Popularities, and circumstances which . . . sway the ordinary judgment. Bacon.

4. The act of courting the favor of the people. [Obs.] "Indicted . . . for popularity and ambition." Holland.

5. Public sentiment; general passion. [R.] A little time be allowed for the madness of popularity to cease. Bancroft.

POPULARIZATION
Pop`u*lar*i*za"tion, n.

Defn: The act of making popular, or of introducing among the people.

POPULARIZE
Pop"u*lar*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Popularized; p. pr. & vb. n.
Popularizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. populariser.]

Defn: To make popular; to make suitable or acceptable to the common people; to make generally known; as, to popularize philosophy. "The popularizing of religious teaching." Milman.

POPULARIZER
Pop"u*lar*i`zer, n.

Defn: One who popularizes.

POPULARLY
Pop"u*lar*ly, adv.

Defn: In a popular manner; so as to be generally favored or accepted
by the people; commonly; currently; as, the story was popularity
reported.
The victor knight, Bareheaded, popularly low had bowed. Dryden.

POPULARNESS
Pop"u*lar*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being popular; popularity. Coleridge.

POPULATE
Pop"u*late, a. Etym: [L. populus people. See People.]

Defn: Populous. [Obs.] Bacon.

POPULATE
Pop"u*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Populated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Populating.]

Defn: To furnish with inhabitants, either by natural increase or by immigration or colonization; to cause to be inhabited; to people.

POPULATE
Pop"u*late, v. i.

Defn: To propagate. [Obs.]
Great shoals of people which go on to populate. Bacon.

POPULATION
Pop`u*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. populatio: cf. F. population.]

1. The act or process of populating; multiplication of inhabitants.

2. The whole number of people, or inhabitants, in a country, or portion of a country; as, a population of ten millions.

POPULATOR
Pop"u*la`tor, n.

Defn: One who populates.

POPULICIDE
Pop"u*li*cide`, n. Etym: [L. populus people + caedere to kill.]

Defn: Slaughter of the people. [R.]

POPULIN
Pop"u*lin, n. Etym: [L. populus poplar: cf. F. populine.] (Chem.)

Defn: A glycoside, related to salicin, found in the bark of certain species of the poplar (Populus), and extracted as a sweet white crystalline substance.

POPULISM
Pop"u*lism, n. (U. S. Politics)

Defn: The political doctrines advocated by the People's party.

POPULIST
Pop"u*list, n. [L. populus people + -ist.] (U. S. Politics)

Defn: A member of the People's party. — Pop`u*lis"tic (#), a.

POPULOSITY
Pop`u*los"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. populositas: cf. F. populosité.]

Defn: Populousness.[Obs.]

POPULOUS Pop"u*lous, a. Etym: [L. populosus, fr. populus people: cf. F. populeux.]

1. Abounding in people; full of inhabitants; containing many inhabitants in proportion to the extent of the country. Heaven, yet populous, retains Number sufficient to possess her realms. Milton.

2. Popular; famous. [Obs.] J. Webster.

3. Common; vulgar. [Obs.] Arden of Feversham.

4. Numerous; in large number. [Obs.] "The dust . . . raised by your
populous troops." Shak.
— Pop"u*lous*ly, adv.
— Pop"u*lous*ness, n.

PORAILLE
Po*raille", n. Etym: [OF. pouraille. See Poor.]

Defn: Poor people; the poor. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PORBEAGLE
Por"bea`gle, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A species of shark (Lamna cornubica), about eight feet long, having a pointed nose and a crescent-shaped tail; — called also mackerel shark. [Written also probeagle.]

PORCATE
Por"cate, a. Etym: [L. porca a ridge between two furrows.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having grooves or furrows broader than the intervening ridges; furrowed.

PORCELAIN
Por"ce*lain, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Purslain. [Obs.]

PORCELAIN Por"ce*lain (277), n. Etym: [F. porcelaine, It. porcellana, orig., the porcelain shell, or Venus shell (Cypræa porcellana), from a dim. fr. L. porcus pig, probably from the resemblance of the shell in shape to a pig's back. Porcelain was called after this shell, either on account of its smoothness and whiteness, or because it was believed to be made from it. See Pork.]

Defn: A fine translucent or semitransculent kind of earthenware, made first in China and Japan, but now also in Europe and America; — called also China, or China ware. Porcelain, by being pure, is apt to break. Dryden. Ivory porcelain, porcelain with a surface like ivory, produced by depolishing. See Depolishing. — Porcelain clay. See under Clay. — Porcelain crab (Zoöl.), any crab of the genus Porcellana and allied genera (family Porcellanidæ). They have a smooth, polished carapace. — Porcelain jasper. (Min.) See Porcelanite. — Porcelain printing, the transferring of an impression of an engraving to porcelain. — Porcelain shell (Zoöl.), a cowry.

PORCELAINIZED
Por"ce*lain*ized, a. (Geol.)

Defn: Baked like potter's lay; — applied to clay shales that have been converted by heat into a substance resembling porcelain.

PORCELANEOUS; PORCELLANEOUS
Por`ce*la"ne*ous, Por`cel*la"ne*ous, a.

1. Of or pertaining to porcelain; resembling porcelain; as, porcelaneous shells.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a smooth, compact shell without pores; — said of certain Foraminifera.

PORCELANITE
Por"ce*la*nite, n. Etym: [Cf. F. porcelanite.] (Min.)

Defn: A semivitrified clay or shale, somewhat resembling jasper; — called also porcelain jasper.

PORCELANOUS; PORCELLANOUS
Por"ce*la`nous, Por"cel*la`nous, a.

Defn: Porcelaneous. Ure.

PORCH Porch, n. Etym: [F. porche, L. porticus, fr. porta a gate, entrance, or passage. See Port a gate, and cf. Portico.]

1. (Arch.)

Defn: A covered and inclosed entrance to a building, whether taken from the interior, and forming a sort of vestibule within the main wall, or projecting without and with a separate roof. Sometimes the porch is large enough to serve as a covered walk. See also Carriage porch, under Carriage, and Loggia. The graceless Helen in the porch I spied Of Vesta's temple. Dryden.

2. A portico; a covered walk. [Obs.] Repair to Pompey's porch, where you shall find find us. Shak. The Porch, a public portico, or great hall, in Athens, where Zeno, the philosopher, taught his disciples; hence, sometimes used as equivalent to the school of the Stoics. It was called "h poiki`lh stoa`. [See Poicile.]

PORCINE
Por"cine, a. Etym: [L. porcinus, from porcus a swine. See Pork.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to swine; characteristic of the hog. "Porcine cheeks." G. Eliot.

PORCUPINE Por"cu*pine, n. Etym: [OE. porkepyn, porpentine, OF. porc-espi, F. porc-épic (cf. It. porco spino, porco spinoso, Sp. puerco espino, puerco espin, fr. L. porcus swine + spina thorn, spine). The last part of the French word is perhaps a corruption from the It. or Sp.; cf. F. épi ear, a spike of grain, L. spica. See Pork, Spike a large nail, Spine.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any Old Word rodent of the genus Hystrix, having the back covered with long, sharp, erectile spines or quills, sometimes a foot long. The common species of Europe and Asia (Hystrix cristata) is the best known.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any species of Erethizon and related genera, native of America. They are related to the true porcupines, but have shorter spines, and are arboreal in their habits. The Canada porcupine (Erethizon dorsatus) is a well known species. Porcupine ant-eater (Zoöl.), the echidna. — Porcupine crab (Zoöl.), a large spiny Japanese crab (Acantholithodes hystrix). — Porcupine disease (Med.). See Ichthyosis. — Porcupine fish (Zoöl.), any plectognath fish having the body covered with spines which become erect when the body is inflated. See Diodon, and Globefish. — Porcupine grass (Bot.), a grass (Stipa spartea) with grains bearing a stout twisted awn, which, by coiling and uncoiling through changes in moisture, propels the sharp-pointed and barbellate grain into the wool and flesh of sheep. It is found from Illinois westward. See Illustration in Appendix. — Porcupine wood (Bot.), the hard outer wood of the cocoa palm; — so called because, when cut horizontally, the markings of the wood resemble the quills of a porcupine.

PORE
Pore, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. porus, Gr. Fare, v.]

1. One of the minute orifices in an animal or vegetable membrane, for transpiration, absorption, etc.

2. A minute opening or passageway; an interstice between the constituent particles or molecules of a body; as, the pores of stones.

PORE Pore, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pored; p. pr. & vb. n. Poring.] Etym: [OE. poren, of uncertain origin; cf. D. porren to poke, thrust, Gael. purr.]

Defn: To look or gaze steadily in reading or studying; to fix the attention; to be absorbed; — often with on or upon, and now usually with over."Painfully to pore upon a book." Shak. The eye grows weary with poring perpetually on the same thing. Dryden.

POREBLIND
Pore"blind`, a. Etym: [Probably influenced by pore, v. See Purblind.]

Defn: Nearsighted; shortsighted; purblind. [Obs.] Bacon.

PORER
Por"er, n.

Defn: One who pores.

PORGY Por"gy, n.; pl. Porgies. Etym: [See Paugie.] (Zoöl.) (a) The scup. (b) The sailor's choice, or pinfish. (c) The margate fish. (d) The spadefish. (e) Any one of several species of embiotocoids, or surf fishes, of the Pacific coast. The name is also given locally to several other fishes, as the bur fish. [Written also porgee, porgie, and paugy.]

PORIFERA
Po*rif"e*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. L. porus pore + ferre to bear.]
(Zoöl.)

Defn: A grand division of the Invertebrata, including the sponges; — called also Spongiæ, Spongida, and Spongiozoa. The principal divisions are Calcispongiæ, Keratosa or Fibrospongiæ, and Silicea.

PORIFERAN
Po*rif"er*an, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the Polifera.

PORIFERATA
Po*rif`e*ra"ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL.]

Defn: The Polifera.

PORIFORM
Po"ri*form, a. Etym: [L. porus pore + -form: cf. F. poriforme.]

Defn: Resembling a pore, or small puncture.

PORIME
Po"rime, n. Etym: [Gr. (Math.)

Defn: A theorem or proposition so easy of demonstration as to be almost self-evident. [R.] Crabb.

PORINESS
Por"i*ness, n.

Defn: Porosity. Wiseman.

PORISM
Po"rism, n. Etym: [Gr. porisme.]

1. (Geom.)

Defn: A proposition affirming the possibility of finding such conditions as will render a certain determinate problem indeterminate or capable of innumerable solutions. Playfair.

2. (Gr. Geom.)

Defn: A corollary. Brande & C.

Note: Three books of porisms of Euclid have been lost, but several attempts to determine the nature of these propositions and to restore them have been made by modern geometers.

PORISMATIC; PORISMATICAL
Po`ris*mat"ic, Po`ris*mat"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a porism; poristic.

PORISTIC; PORISTICAL
Po*ris"tic, Po*ris"tic*al, a.Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a porism; of the nature of a porism.

PORITE
Po"rite, n. Etym: [Cf. F. porite. See Pore, n.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any coral of the genus Porites, or family Poritidæ.

PORITES
Po*ri"tes, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An important genus of reef-building corals having small twelve- rayed calicles, and a very porous coral. Some species are branched, others grow in large massive or globular forms.

PORK Pork, n. Etym: [F. porc, L. porcus hog, pig. See Farrow a litter of pigs, and cf. Porcelain, Porpoise.]

Defn: The flesh of swine, fresh or salted, used for food.

PORKER
Pork"er, n.

Defn: A hog. Pope.

PORKET
Pork"et, n. Etym: [Dim. of F. porc. See Pork.]

Defn: A young hog; a pig. [R.] Dryden. W. Howitt.

PORKLING
Pork"ling, n.

Defn: A pig; a porket. Tusser.

PORKWOOD
Pork"wood`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The coarse-grained brownish yellow wood of a small tree (Pisonia obtusata) of Florida and the West Indies. Also called pigeon wood, beefwood, and corkwood.

PORNERASTIC
Por`ne*ras"tic, a. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: Lascivious; licentious. [R.] F. Harrison.

PORNOGRAPHIC
Por`no*graph"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to pornography; lascivious; licentious; as, pornographic writing.

PORNOGRAPHY
Por*nog"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Gr. -graphy.]

1. Licentious painting or literature; especially, the painting anciently employed to decorate the walls of rooms devoted to bacchanalian orgies.

2. (Med.)

Defn: A treatise on prostitutes, or prostitution.

POROSITY
Po*ros"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. porosité.]

Defn: The quality or state of being porous; — opposed to density.

POROTIC
Po*rot"ic, n. Etym: [Gr. (Med.)

Defn: A medicine supposed to promote the formation of callus.

POROTYPE
Po"ro*type, n. [See Pore, n., and -type.]

Defn: A copy of a print, writing, etc., made by placing it upon a chemically prepared paper which is acted upon by a gas which permeates the paper of the print, writing, etc.

POROUS
Por"ous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. poreux. See Pore, n.]

Defn: Full of pores; having interstices in the skin or in the substance of the body; having spiracles or passages for fluids; permeable by liquids; as, a porous skin; porous wood. "The veins of porous earth." Milton.

POROUSLY
Por"ous*ly, adv.

Defn: In a porous manner.

POROUSNESS
Por"ous*ness, n.

1. The quality of being porous.

2. The open parts; the interstices of anything. [R.] They will forcibly get into the porousness of it. Sir K. Digby.

PORPENTINE
Por"pen*tine, n.

Defn: Porcupine. [Obs.] Shak.

PORPESSE
Por"pesse, n.

Defn: A porpoise. [Obs.]

PORPHYRACEOUS
Por`phy*ra"ceous, a.

Defn: Porphyritic.

PORPHYRE
Por"phyre, n.

Defn: Porphyry. [Obs.] Locke.

PORPHYRITE
Por"phy*rite, n. (Min.)

Defn: A rock with a porphyritic structure; as, augite porphyrite.

PORPHYRITIC
Por`phy*rit"ic, a. Etym: [Cf. F. porphyritique.] (Min.)

Defn: Relating to, or resembling, porphyry, that is, characterized by the presence of distinct crystals, as of feldspar, quartz, or augite, in a relatively fine-grained base, often aphanitic or cryptocrystalline.

PORPHYRIZATION
Por`phy*ri*za"tion, n.

Defn: The act of porphyrizing, or the state of being porphyrized.

PORPHYRIZE
Por`phy*rize, v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. porphyriser, Gr.

Defn: To cause to resemble porphyry; to make spotted in composition, like porphyry.

PORPHYROGENITISM
Por`phy*ro*gen"i*tism, n. Etym: [LL. porphyro genitus, fr. Gr.

Defn: The principle of succession in royal families, especially among the Eastern Roman emperors, by which a younger son, if born after the accession of his father to the throne, was preferred to an elder son who was not so born. Sir T. Palgrave.

PORPHYRY Por"phy*ry, n.; pl. Porphyries. Etym: [F. porphyre, L. porphyrites, fr. Gr. Purple.] (Geol.)

Defn: A term used somewhat loosely to designate a rock consisting of a fine-grained base (usually feldspathic) through which crystals, as of feldspar or quartz, are disseminated. There are red, purple, and green varieties, which are highly esteemed as marbles. Porphyry shell (Zoöl.), a handsome marine gastropod shell (Oliva porphyria), having a dark red or brown polished surface, marked with light spots, like porphyry.

PORPITA
Por"pi*ta, n. Etym: [NL., from Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of bright-colored Siphonophora found floating in the warmer parts of the ocean. The individuals are round and disk-shaped, with a large zooid in the center of the under side, surrounded by smaller nutritive and reproductive zooids, and by slender dactylozooids near the margin. The disk contains a central float, or pneumatocyst.

PORPOISE Por"poise, n. Etym: [OE. porpeys, OF. porpeis, literally, hog fish, from L. porcus swine + piscis fish. See Pork, and Fish.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any small cetacean of the genus Phocæna, especially P. communis, or P. phocæna, of Europe, and the closely allied American species (P. Americana). The color is dusky or blackish above, paler beneath. They are closely allied to the dolphins, but have a shorter snout. Called also harbor porpoise, herring hag, puffing pig, and snuffer.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A true dolphin (Delphinus); — often so called by sailors.
Skunk porpoise, or Bay porpoise (Zoöl.), a North American porpoise
(Lagenorhynchus acutus), larger than the common species, and with
broad stripes of white and yellow on the sides. See Illustration in
Appendix.

PORPORINO
Por`po*ri"no, n. Etym: [It.]

Defn: A composition of quicksilver, tin, and sulphur, forming a yellow powder, sometimes used by mediæval artists, for the sake of economy, instead of gold. Fairholt.

PORPUS
Por"pus, n.

Defn: A porpoise. [Obs.] Swift.

PORRACEOUS
Por*ra"ceous, a. Etym: [L. porraceus, from porrum, porrus, a leek.]

Defn: Resembling the leek in color; greenish. [R.] "Porraceous vomiting." Wiseman.

PORRECT Por*rect", a. Etym: [L. porrectus, p. p. of porrigere to stretch out before one's self, to but forth.]

Defn: Extended horizontally; stretched out.

PORRECTION
Por*rec"tion, n. Etym: [L. porrectio: cf. F. porrection.]

Defn: The act of stretching forth.

PORRET
Por"ret, n. Etym: [F. porrette, fr. L. porrum, porrus, leek. See
Porraceous.]

Defn: A scallion; a leek or small onion. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

PORRIDGE Por"ridge, n. Etym: [Probably corrupted fr. pottage; perh. influenced by OE. porree a kind of pottage, OF. porrée, fr. L. porrum, porrus, leek. See Pottage, and cf. Porringer.]

Defn: A food made by boiling some leguminous or farinaceous substance, or the meal of it, in water or in milk, making of broth or thin pudding; as, barley porridge, milk porridge, bean porridge, etc.

PORRINGER Por"rin*ger, n. Etym: [OE. pottanger, for pottager; cf. F. potager a soup basin. See Porridge.]

Defn: A porridge dish; esp., a bowl or cup from which children eat or are fed; as, a silver porringer. Wordsworth.

PORT
Port, n. Etym: [From Oporto, in Portugal, i. e., the port, L. portus.
See Port harbor.]

Defn: A dark red or purple astringent wine made in Portugal. It contains a large percentage of alcohol.

PORT Port, n. Etym: [AS. port, L. portus: cf. F. port. See Farm, v., Ford, and 1st, 3d, & 4h Port.]

1. A place where ships may ride secure from storms; a sheltered inlet, bay, or cove; a harbor; a haven. Used also figuratively.

Peering in maps for ports and piers and roads. Shak.
We are in port if we have Thee. Keble.

2. In law and commercial usage, a harbor where vessels are admitted to discharge and receive cargoes, from whence they depart and where they finish their voyages. Free port. See under Free. — Port bar. (Naut,) (a) A boom. See Boom, 4, also Bar, 3. (b) A bar, as of sand, at the mouth of, or in, a port. — Port charges (Com.), charges, as wharfage, etc., to which a ship or its cargo is subjected in a harbor. — Port of entry, a harbor where a customhouse is established for the legal entry of merchandise. — Port toll (Law), a payment made for the privilege of bringing goods into port. — Port warden, the officer in charge of a port; a harbor master.

PORT Port, n. Etym: [F. porte, L. porta, akin to portus; cf. AS. porte, fr. L. porta. See Port a harbor, and cf. Porte.]

1. A passageway; an opening or entrance to an inclosed place; a gate; a door; a portal. [Archaic] Him I accuse The city ports by this hath entered. Shak. Form their ivory port the cherubim Forth issuing. Milton.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: An opening in the side of a vessel; an embrasure through which
cannon may be discharged; a porthole; also, the shutters which close
such an opening.
Her ports being within sixteen inches of the water. Sir W. Raleigh.

3. (Mach.)

Defn: A passageway in a machine, through which a fluid, as steam, water, etc., may pass, as from a valve to the interior of the cylinder of a steam engine; an opening in a valve seat, or valve face. Air port, Bridle port, etc. See under Air, Bridle, etc. — Port bar (Naut.), a bar to secure the ports of a ship in a gale. — Port lid (Naut.), a lid or hanging for closing the portholes of a vessel. — Steam port, and Exhaust port (Steam Engine), the ports of the cylinder communicating with the valve or valves, for the entrance or exit of the steam, respectively.

PORT Port, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ported; p. pr. & vb. n. Porting.] Etym: [F. porter, L. portare to carry. See Port demeanor.]

1. To carry; to bear; to transport. [Obs.] They are easily ported by boat into other shires. Fuller.

2. (Mil.)

Defn: To throw, as a musket, diagonally across the body, with the lock in front, the right hand grasping the small of the stock, and the barrel sloping upward and crossing the point of the left shoulder; as, to port arms. Began to hem him round with ported spears. Milton. Port arms, a position in the manual of arms, executed as above.

PORT Port, n. Etym: [F. port, fr. porter to carry, L. portare, prob. akin to E. fare, v. See Port harbor, and cf. Comport, Export, Sport.]

Defn: The manner in which a person bears himself; deportment;
carriage; bearing; demeanor; hence, manner or style of living; as, a
proud port. Spenser.
And of his port as meek as is a maid. Chaucer.
The necessities of pomp, grandeur, and a suitable port in the world.
South.

PORT
Port, n. Etym: [Etymology uncertain.] (Naut.)

Defn: The larboard or left side of a ship (looking from the stern toward the bow); as, a vessel heels to port. See Note under Larboard. Also used adjectively.

PORT
Port, v. t. (Naut.)

Defn: To turn or put to the left or larboard side of a ship; — said of the helm, and used chiefly in the imperative, as a command; as, port your helm.

PORTA Por"ta, n.; pl. Portæ. Etym: [L., a gate. See Port a hole.] (Anat.) (a) The part of the liver or other organ where its vessels and nerves enter; the hilus. (b) The foramen of Monro. B. G. Wilder.

PORTABILITY
Port`a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being portable; fitness to be carried.

PORTABLE Port"a*ble, a. Etym: [L. portabilis, fr. portare to carry: cf. F. portable. See Port demeanor.]

1. Capable of being borne or carried; easily transported; conveyed without difficulty; as, a portable bed, desk, engine. South.

2. Possible to be endured; supportable. [Obs.]
How light and portable my pain seems now! Shak.
Portable forge. See under Forge.
— Portable steam engine. See under Steam engine.

PORTABLENESS
Port"a*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being portable; portability.

PORTACE
Por"tace (; 48), n.

Defn: See Portass. [Obs.]

PORTAGE Port"age (; 48), n. Etym: [From 2d Port.] (Naut.) (a) A sailor's wages when in port. (b) The amount of a sailor's wages for a voyage.

PORTAGE
Port"age, n. Etym: [3d Port.]

Defn: A porthole. [Obs.] Shak.

PORTAGE
Por"tage, n. Etym: [F., from porter to carry. See Port to carry.]

1. The act of carrying or transporting.

2. The price of carriage; porterage. Bp. Fell.

3. Capacity for carrying; tonnage. [Obs.] Hakluyt.

4. A carry between navigable waters. See 3d Carry.

PORTAGE
Por"tage, v. t. & i.

Defn: To carry (goods, boats, etc.) overland between navigable waters.

PORTAGE GROUP
Por"tage group`. Etym: [So called from the township of Portage in New
York.] (Geol.)

Defn: A subdivision of the Chemung period in American geology. See
Chart of Geology.

PORTAGUE
Por"ta*gue, n. Etym: [See Portuguese.]

Defn: A Portuguese gold coin formerly current, and variously estimated to be worth from three and one half to four and one half pounds sterling. [Obs.] [Written also portegue and portigue.] Ten thousand portagues, besides great pearls. Marlowe.

PORTAL Por"tal, n. Etym: [OF. portal, F. portail, LL. portale, fr. L. porta a gate. See Port a gate.]

1. A door or gate; hence, a way of entrance or exit, especially one that is grand and imposing. Thick with sparkling orient gems The portal shone. Milton. From out the fiery portal of the east. Shak.

2. (Arch.) (a) The lesser gate, where there are two of different dimensions. (b) Formerly, a small square corner in a room separated from the rest of the apartment by wainscoting, forming a short passage to another apartment. (c) By analogy with the French portail, used by recent writers for the whole architectural composition which surrounds and includes the doorways and porches of a church.

3. (Bridge Building)

Defn: The space, at one end, between opposite trusses when these are terminated by inclined braces.

4. A prayer book or breviary; a portass. [Obs.] Portal bracing (Bridge Building), a combination of struts and ties which lie in the plane of the inclined braces at a portal, serving to transfer wind pressure from the upper parts of the trusses to an abutment or pier of the bridge.

PORTAL
Por"tal, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a porta, especially the porta of the liver; as, the portal vein, which enters the liver at the porta, and divides into capillaries after the manner of an artery.

Note: Portal is applied to other veins which break up into capillaries; as, the renal portal veins in the frog.

PORTAMENTO
Por`ta*men"to, n. Etym: [It., fr. portare to carry.] (Mus.)

Defn: In singing, or in the use of the bow, a gradual carrying or lifting of the voice or sound very smoothly from one note to another; a gliding from tone to tone.

PORTANCE
Por"tance, n.

Defn: See Port, carriage, demeanor. [Obs.] Spenser. Shak.

PORTASS Por"tass, n. Etym: [OF. porte-hors a kind of prayer book, so called from being portable; cf. LL. portiforium.]

Defn: A breviary; a prayer book. [Written variously portace,
portasse, portesse, portise, porthose, portos, portus, portuse, etc.]
[Obs.] Spenser. Camden.
By God and by this porthors I you swear. Chaucer.

PORTATE
Por"tate, a. Etym: [L. portatus, p. p. of portare to carry.] (Her.)

Defn: Borne not erect, but diagonally athwart an escutcheon; as, a cross portate.

PORTATIVE
Por"ta*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. portatif.]

1. Portable. [Obs.]

2. (Physics)

Defn: Capable of holding up or carrying; as, the portative force of a magnet, of atmospheric pressure, or of capillarity.

PORTCLUSE
Port"cluse, n.

Defn: A portcullis. [Obs.]

PORTCRAYON Port`cray"on, n. Etym: [F. porte-crayon; porter to carry + crayon a crayon.]

Defn: A metallic handle with a clasp for holding a crayon.

PORTCULLIS
Port*cul"lis, n. Etym: [OF. porte coulisse, coleïce, a sliding door,
fr. L. colare, colatum, to filter, to strain: cf. F. couler to glide.
See Port a gate, and cf. Cullis, Colander.]

1. (Fort.)

Defn: A grating of iron or of timbers pointed with iron, hung over the gateway of a fortress, to be let down to prevent the entrance of an enemy. "Let the portcullis fall." Sir W. Scott. She . . . the huge portcullis high updrew. Milton.

2. An English coin of the reign of Elizabeth, struck for the use of the East India Company; — so called from its bearing the figure of a portcullis on the reverse.

PORTCULLIS
Port*cul"lis, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Portcullised; p. pr. & vb. n.
Portcullising.]

Defn: To obstruct with, or as with, a portcullis; to shut; to bar.
[R.] Shak.

PORTE
Porte, n. Etym: [F. porte a gate, L. porta. See Port a gate.]

Defn: The Ottoman court; the government of the Turkish empire, officially called the Sublime Porte, from the gate (port) of the sultan's palace at which justice was administered.

PORTE-COCHERE
Porte"-co`chère", n. Etym: [F. See Port a gate, and Coach.] (Arch.)

Defn: A large doorway allowing vehicles to drive into or through a building. It is common to have the entrance door open upon the passage of the porte-cochère. Also, a porch over a driveway before an entrance door.

PORTED
Port"ed, a.

Defn: Having gates. [Obs.]
We took the sevenfold-ported Thebes. Chapman.

PORTEGUE
Por"te*gue, n.

Defn: See Portague. [Obs.]

PORTEMONNAIE
Porte"mon*naie`, n. Etym: [F., fr. porter to carry + monnaie money.]

Defn: A small pocketbook or wallet for carrying money.

PORTEND Por*tend", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Portended; p. pr. & vb. n. Portending.] Etym: [L. portendre, portentum, to foretell, to predict, to impend, from an old preposition used in comp. + tendere to stretch. See Position, Tend.]

1. To indicate (events, misfortunes, etc.) as in future; to foreshow; to foretoken; to bode; — now used esp. of unpropitious signs. Bacon. Many signs portended a dark and stormy day. Macaulay.

2. To stretch out before. [R.] "Doomed to feel the great Idomeneus' portended steel." Pope.

Syn. — To foreshow; foretoken; betoken; forebode; augur; presage; foreshadow; threaten.

PORTENSION
Por*ten"sion, n.

Defn: The act of foreshowing; foreboding. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

PORTENT
Por*tent", n. Etym: [L. portentum. See Portend.]

Defn: That which portends, or foretoken; esp., that which portends evil; a sign of coming calamity; an omen; a sign. Shak. My loss by dire portents the god foretold. Dryden.

PORTENTIVE
Por*tent"ive, a.

Defn: Presaging; foreshadowing.

PORTENTOUS
Por*tent"ous, a. Etym: [L. portentosus.]

1. Of the nature of a portent; containing portents; foreschadowing, esp. foreschadowing ill; ominous. For, I believe, they are portentous things. Shak. Victories of strange and almost portentous splendor. Macaulay.

2. Hence: Monstrous; prodigious; wonderful; dreadful; as, a beast of
portentous size. Roscommon.
— Por*tent"ous*ly, adv.
— Por*tent"ous*ness, n.

PORTER
Por"ter, n. Etym: [F. portier, L. portarius, from porta a gate, door.
See Port a gate.]

Defn: A man who has charge of a door or gate; a doorkeeper; one who waits at the door to receive messages. Shak. To him the porter openeth. John x. 3.

PORTER
Por"ter, n. Etym: [F. porteur, fr. porter to carry, L. portare. See
Port to carry.]

1. A carrier; one who carries or conveys burdens, luggage, etc.; for hire.

2. (Forging)

Defn: A bar of iron or steel at the end of which a forging is made; esp., a long, large bar, to the end of which a heavy forging is attached, and by means of which the forging is lifted and handled is hammering and heating; — called also porter bar.

3. A malt liquor, of a dark color and moderately bitter taste, possessing tonic and intoxicating qualities.

Note: Porter is said to be so called as having been first used chiefly by the London porters, and this application of the word is supposed to be not older than 1750.

PORTERAGE
Por"ter*age, n.

1. The work of a porter; the occupation of a carrier or of a doorkeeper.

2. Money charged or paid for the carriage of burdens or parcels by a porter.

PORTERESS
Por"ter*ess, n.

Defn: See Portress.

PORTERHOUSE
Por"ter*house, n.

Defn: A house where porter is sold. Porterhouse steak, a steak cut from a sirloin of beet, including the upper and under part.

PORTESSE
Por"tesse, n.

Defn: See Porteass. [Obs.] Tyndale.

PORTFIRE
Port"fire`, n.

Defn: A case of strong paper filled with a composition of niter, sulphur, and mealed powder, — used principally to ignite the priming in proving guns, and as an incendiary material in shells.

PORTFOLIO Port*fol"io, n. Etym: [F. portefeuille; porter to carry + feuille a leaf. See Port to carry, and Folio.]

1. A portable case for holding loose papers, prints, drawings, etc.

2. Hence: The office and functions of a minister of state or member of the cabinet; as, to receive the portfolio of war; to resign the portfolio.

PORTGLAVE Port"glave, n. Etym: [F. porte-glaive; porter to carry + glaive a sword.]

Defn: A sword bearer. [Obs.]

PORTGREVE; PORTGRAVE Port"greve`, Port"grave`,Etym: [AS. portgerefa; port a harbor + gerefa a reeve or sheriff. See Reeve a steward, and cf. Portreeve.]

Defn: In old English law, the chief magistrate of a port or maritime town.; a portreeve. [Obs.] Fabyan.

PORTHOLE
Port"hole`, n. (Naut.)

Defn: An embrasure in a ship's side. See 3d Port.

PORTHOOK
Port"hook`, n. (Naut.)

Defn: One of the iron hooks to which the port hinges are attached. J.
Knowles.

PORTHORS
Port"hors`, n.

Defn: See Portass. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PORTICO
Por"ti*co, n.; pl. Porticoes or Porticos. Etym: [It., L. porticus.
See Porch.] (Arch.)

Defn: A colonnade or covered ambulatory, especially in classical styles of architecture; usually, a colonnade at the entrance of a building.

PORTICOED
Por"ti*coed, a.

Defn: Furnished with a portico.

PORTIERE
Por`tière"", n. Etym: [F., fr. porte gate, door. See Port a gate.]

Defn: A curtain hanging across a doorway.

PORTIGUE
Por"ti*gue, n.

Defn: See Portague. Beau. & Fl.

PORTINGAL
Por"tin*gal, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Portugal; Portuguese. [Obs.] — n.

Defn: A Portuguese. [Obs.]

PORTION
Por"tion, n. Etym: [F., from L. portio, akin to pars, partis, a part.
See Part, n.]

1. That which is divided off or separated, as a part from a whole; a separated part of anything.

2. A part considered by itself, though not actually cut off or separated from the whole. These are parts of his ways; but how little a portion is heard of him! Job xxvi. 14. Portions and parcels of the dreadful past. Tennyson.

3. A part assigned; allotment; share; fate. The lord of that servant . . . will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. Luke xii. 46. Man's portion is to die and rise again. Keble.

4. The part of an estate given to a child or heir, or descending to him by law, and distributed to him in the settlement of the estate; an inheritance. Give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. Luke xv. 12.

5. A wife's fortune; a dowry. Shak.

Syn. — Division; share; parcel; quantity; allotment; dividend. — Portion, Part. Part is generic, having a simple reference to some whole. Portion has the additional idea of such a division as bears reference to an individual, or is allotted to some object; as, a portion of one's time; a portion of Scripture.

PORTION
Por"tion, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Portioned; p. pr. & vb. n. Portioning.]

1. To separate or divide into portions or shares; to parcel; to distribute. And portion to his tribes the wide domain. Pope.

2. To endow with a portion or inheritance. Him portioned maids, apprenticed orphans, blest. Pope.

PORTIONER
Por"tion*er, n.

1. One who portions.

2. (Eccl.)

Defn: See Portionist, 2.

PORTIONIST
Por"tion*ist, n.

1. A scholar at Merton College, Oxford, who has a certain academical allowance or portion; — corrupted into postmaster. Shipley.

2. (Eccl.)

Defn: One of the incumbents of a benefice which has two or more rectors or vicars.

PORTIONLESS
Por"tion*less, a.

Defn: Having no portion.

PORTISE
Por"tise, n.

Defn: See Portass. [Obs.]

PORTLAND CEMENT
Port"land ce*ment".

Defn: A cement having the color of the Portland stone of England, made by calcining an artificial mixture of carbonate of lime and clay, or sometimes certain natural limestones or chalky clays. It contains a large proportion of clay, and hardens under water.

PORTLAND STONE
Port"land stone".

Defn: A yellowish-white calcareous freestone from the Isle of
Portland in England, much used in building.

PORTLAND VASE
Port"land vase`.

Defn: A celebrated cinerary urn or vase found in the tomb of the Emperor Alexander Severus. It is owned by the Duke of Portland, and kept in the British Museum.

PORTLAST
Port"last, n. (Naut.)

Defn: The portoise. See Portoise.

PORTLINESS
Port"li*ness, n.

1. The quality or state of being portly; dignity of mien or of personal appearance; stateliness. Such pride is praise; such portliness is honor. Spenser.

2. Bulkiness; corpulence.

PORTLY
Port"ly, a. Etym: [From Port demeanor.]

1. Having a dignified port or mien; of a noble appearance; imposing.

2. Bulky; corpulent. "A portly personage." Dickens.

PORTMAN
Port"man, n.; pl. Portmen (.

Defn: An inhabitant or burgess of a port, esp. of one of the Cinque
Ports.

PORTMANTEAU Port*man"teau, n.; pl. Portmanteaus. Etym: [F. porte-manteau; porter to carry + manteau a cloak, mantle. See Port to carry, and Mantle.]

Defn: A bag or case, usually of leather, for carrying wearing apparel, etc., on journeys. Thackeray.

PORTMANTLE
Port*man"tle, n.

Defn: A portmanteau. [Obs.]

PORTMOTE
Port"mote`, n.

Defn: In old English law, a court, or mote, held in a port town.
[Obs.] Blackstone.

PORTOIR
Por"toir, n. Etym: [OF., fr. porter to bear.]

Defn: One who, or that which, bears; hence, one who, or that which,
produces. [Obs.]
Branches . . . which were portoirs, and bare grapes. Holland.

PORTOISE
Por"toise, n. Etym: [Perhaps fr. OF. porteis portative, portable.]
(Naut.)

Defn: The gunwale of a ship. To lower the yards a-portoise, to lower
them to the gunwale.
— To ride a portoise, to ride an anchor with the lower yards and
topmasts struck or lowered, as in a gale of wind.

PORTOS
Por"tos, n.

Defn: See Portass. [Obs.]

PORTPANE Port"pane, n. Etym: [From L. portare to carry + panis bread; prob. through French.]

Defn: A cloth for carrying bread, so as not to touch it with the hands. [Obs.]

PORTRAIT
Por"trait, n. Etym: [F., originally p. p. of portraire to portray.
See Portray.]

1. The likeness of a person, painted, drawn, or engraved; commonly, a representation of the human face painted from real life. In portraits, the grace, and, we may add, the likeness, consists more in the general air than in the exact similitude of every feature. Sir J. Reynolds.

Note: The meaning of the word is sometimes extended so as to include a photographic likeness.

2. Hence, any graphic or vivid delineation or description of a person; as, a portrait in words. Portrait bust, or Portrait statue, a bust or statue representing the actual features or person of an individual; — in distinction from an ideal bust or statue.

PORTRAIT
Por"trait, v. t.

Defn: To portray; to draw. [Obs.] Spenser.

PORTRAITIST
Por"trait*ist, n.

Defn: A portrait painter. [R.] Hamerton.

PORTRAITURE
Por"trai*ture, n. Etym: [F. portraiture.]

1. A portrait; a likeness; a painted resemblance; hence, that which is copied from some example or model. For, by the image of my cause, I see The portraiture of his. Shak. Divinity maketh the love of ourselves the pattern; the love of our neighbors but the portraiture. Bacon.

2. Pictures, collectively; painting. [Obs.] Chaucer.

3. The art or practice of making portraits. Walpole.

PORTRAITURE
Por"trai*ture, v. t.

Defn: To represent by a portrait, or as by a portrait; to portray.
[R.] Shaftesbury.

PORTRAY Por*tray", v. t. [Written also pourtray.] [imp. & p. p. portrayed (; p. pr. & vb. n. Portraying.] Etym: [OE. pourtraien, OF. portraire, pourtraire, F. portraire, fr. L. protrahere, protractum, to draw or drag forth; pro forward, forth + trahere to draw. See Trace, v. t., and cf. Protract.]

1. To paint or draw the likeness of; as, to portray a king on horseback. Take a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem. Ezek. iv. 1.

2. Hence, figuratively, to describe in words.

3. To adorn with pictures. [R.] Spear and helmets thronged, and shields Various with boastful arguments potrayed. Milton.

PORTRAYAL
Por*tray"al, n.

Defn: The act or process of portraying; description; delineation.

PORTRAYER
Por*tray"er, n.

Defn: One who portrays. Chaucer.

PORTREEVE
Port"reeve`, n.

Defn: A port warden.

PORTRESS
Por"tress, n.

Defn: A female porter. Milton.

PORT-ROYALIST
Port-roy"al*ist, n. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: One of the dwellers in the Cistercian convent of Port Royal des Champs, near Paris, when it was the home of the Jansenists in the 17th century, among them being Arnauld, Pascal, and other famous scholars. Cf. Jansenist.

PORTSALE
Port"sale`, n. Etym: [Port gate + sale.]

Defn: Public or open sale; auction. [Obs.] Holland.

PORTUARY
Por"tu*a*ry, n. Etym: [Cf. Portass.] (R. C. Ch.)

Defn: A breviary. [Eng.]

PORTUGUESE Por"tu*guese, a. Etym: [Cf. F. portugais, Sp. portugues, Pg. portuguez.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to Portugal, or its inhabitants.
— n. sing. & pl.

Defn: A native or inhabitant of Portugal; people of Portugal.
Portuguese man-of-war. (Zoöl.) See Physalia.

PORTULACA
Por`tu*la"ca, n. Etym: [L., purslane.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of polypetalous plants; also, any plant of the genus.

Note: Portulaca oleracea is the common purslane. P. grandiflora is a South American herb, widely cultivated for its showy crimson, scarlet, yellow, or white, ephemeral blossoms.

PORTULACACEOUS
Por`tu*la*ca"ceous, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a natural order of plants (Portulacaceæ), of which Portulaca is the type, and which includes also the spring beauty (Claytonia) and other genera.

PORWIGLE
Por"wi`gle, n.

Defn: See Polliwig.

PORY
Por"y, a.

Defn: Porous; as, pory stone. [R.] Dryden.

POSE
Po`sé", a. Etym: [F., placed, posed.] (Her.)

Defn: Standing still, with all the feet on the ground; — said of the attitude of a lion, horse, or other beast.

POSE
Pose, n. Etym: [AS. gepose; of uncertain origin; cf. W. pas a cough,
Skr. kas to cough, and E. wheeze.]

Defn: A cold in the head; catarrh. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POSE
Pose, n. Etym: [F. pose, fr. poser. See Pose, v. t.]

Defn: The attitude or position of a person; the position of the body or of any member of the body; especially, a position formally assumed for the sake of effect; an artificial position; as, the pose of an actor; the pose of an artist's model or of a statue.

POSE Pose, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Posed; p. pr. & vb. n. Posing.] Etym: [F. poser to place, to put, L. pausare to pause, in LL. also, to place, put, fr. L. pausa a pause, Gr. few. In compounds, this word appears corresponding to L. ponere to put, place, the substitution in French having been probably due to confusion of this word with L. positio position, fr. ponere. See Few, and cf. Appose, Dispose, Oppose, Pause, Repose, Position.]

Defn: To place in an attitude or fixed position, for the sake of effect; to arrange the posture and drapery of (a person) in a studied manner; as, to pose a model for a picture; to pose a sitter for a portrait.

POSE
Pose, v. i.

Defn: To assume and maintain a studied attitude, with studied arrangement of drapery; to strike an attitude; to attitudinize; figuratively, to assume or affect a certain character; as, she poses as a prude. He . . . posed before her as a hero. Thackeray.

POSE
Pose, v. t. Etym: [Shortened from appose, for oppose. See 2d Appose,
Oppose.]

1. To interrogate; to question. [Obs.] "She . . . posed him and sifted him." Bacon.

2. To question with a view to puzzling; to embarrass by questioning or scrutiny; to bring to a stand. A question wherewith a learned Pharisee thought to pose and puzzle him. Barrow.

POSED
Posed, a.

Defn: Firm; determined; fixed. "A most posed . . . and grave behavior." [Obs.] Urquhart.

POSER
Pos"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, puzzles; a difficult or inexplicable question or fact. Bacon.

POSEUR; POSEUSE
Po`seur", n. masc.; pl. Poseurs, Po`seuse", n. fem.; pl. Poseuses,
[F.]

Defn: A person who poses or attitudizes, esp. mentally.

POSIED
Po"sied, a.

Defn: Inscribed with a posy.
In poised lockets bribe the fair. Gay.

POSINGLY
Pos"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: So as to pose or puzzle.

POSIT
Pos"it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Posited; p. pr. & vb. n. Positing.] Etym:
[L. ponere, positum, to place. See Position.]

1. To dispose or set firmly or fixedly; to place or dispose in relation to other objects. Sir M. Hale.

2. (Logic)

Defn: To assume as real or conceded; as, to posit a principle. Sir W.
Hamilton.

POSITION Po*si"tion, n. Etym: [F. position, L. positio, fr. ponere, positum, to put, place; prob. for posino, fr. an old preposition used only in comp. (akin to Gr. sinere to leave, let, permit, place. See Site, and cf. Composite, Compound, v., Depone, Deposit, Expound, Impostor, Opposite, Propound, Pose, v., Posit, Post, n.]

1. The state of being posited, or placed; the manner in which anything is placed; attitude; condition; as, a firm, an inclined, or an upright position. We have different prospects of the same thing, according to our different positions to it. Locke.

2. The spot where a person or thing is placed or takes a place; site; place; station; situation; as, the position of man in creation; the fleet changed its position.

3. Hence: The ground which any one takes in an argument or controversy; the point of view from which any one proceeds to a discussion; also, a principle laid down as the basis of reasoning; a proposition; a thesis; as, to define one's position; to appear in a false position. Let not the proof of any position depend on the positions that follow, but always on those which go before. I. Watts.

4. Relative place or standing; social or official rank; as, a person of position; hence, office; post; as, to lose one's position.

5. (Arith.)

Defn: A method of solving a problem by one or two suppositions; — called also the rule of trial and error. Angle of position (Astron.), the angle which any line (as that joining two stars) makes with another fixed line, specifically with a circle of declination. — Double position (Arith.), the method of solving problems by proceeding with each of two assumed numbers, according to the conditions of the problem, and by comparing the difference of the results with those of the numbers, deducing the correction to be applied to one of them to obtain the true result. — Guns of position (Mil.), heavy fieldpieces, not designed for quick movements. — Position finder (Mil.), a range finder. See under Range. — Position micrometer, a micrometer applied to the tube of an astronomical telescope for measuring angles of position in the field of view. — Single position (Arith.), the method of solving problems, in which the result obtained by operating with an assumed number is to the true result as the number assumed is to the number required. — Strategic position (Mil.), a position taken up by an army or a large detachment of troops for the purpose of checking or observing an opposing force.

Syn. — Situation; station; place; condition; attitude; posture; proposition; assertion; thesis.

POSITION
Po*si"tion, v. t.

Defn: To indicate the position of; to place. [R.] Encyc. Brit.

POSITIONAL
Po*si"tion*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to position.
Ascribing unto plants positional operations. Sir T. Browne.

POSITIVE
Pos"i*tive, a. Etym: [OE. positif, F. positif, L. positivus. See
Position.]

1. Having a real position, existence, or energy; existing in fact; real; actual; — opposed to negative. "Positive good." Bacon.

2. Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations; absolute; — opposed to relative; as, the idea of beauty is not positive, but depends on the different tastes individuals.

3. Definitely laid down; explicitly stated; clearly expressed; — opposed to implied; as, a positive declaration or promise. Positive words, that he would not bear arms against King Edward's son. Bacon.

4. Hence: Not admitting of any doubt, condition, qualification, or discretion; not dependent on circumstances or probabilities; not speculative; compelling assent or obedience; peremptory; indisputable; decisive; as, positive instructions; positive truth; positive proof. "'T is positive 'gainst all exceptions." Shak.

5. Prescribed by express enactment or institution; settled by arbitrary appointment; said of laws. In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so. Hooker.

6. Fully assured; confident; certain; sometimes, overconfident; dogmatic; overbearing; — said of persons. Some positive, persisting fops we know, That, if once wrong, will needs be always. Pope.

7. Having the power of direct action or influence; as, a positive voice in legislation. Swift.

8. (Photog.)

Defn: Corresponding with the original in respect to the position of lights and shades, instead of having the lights and shades reversed; as, a positive picture.

9. (Chem.) (a) Electro-positive. (b) Hence, basic; metallic; not acid; — opposed to negative, and said of metals, bases, and basic radicals. Positive crystals (Opt.), a doubly refracting crystal in which the index of refraction for the extraordinary ray is greater than for the ordinary ray, and the former is refracted nearer to the axis than the latter, as quartz and ice; — opposed to negative crystal, or one in which this characteristic is reversed, as Iceland spar, tourmaline, etc. — Positive degree (Gram.), that state of an adjective or adverb which denotes simple quality, without comparison or relation to increase or diminution; as, wise, noble. — Positive electricity (Elec), the kind of electricity which is developed when glass is rubbed with silk, or which appears at that pole of a voltaic battery attached to the plate that is not attacked by the exciting liquid; — formerly called vitreous electricity; — opposed to Ant: negative electricity. — Positive eyepiece. See under Eyepiece. — Positive law. See Municipal law, under Law. — Positive motion (Mach.), motion which is derived from a driver through unyielding intermediate pieces, or by direct contact, and not through elastic connections, nor by means of friction, gravity, etc.; definite motion. — Positive philosophy. See Positivism. — Positive pole. (a) (Elec.) The pole of a battery or pile which yields positive or vitreous electricity; — opposed to Ant: negative pole. (b) (Magnetism) The north pole. [R.] — Positive quantity (Alg.), an affirmative quantity, or one affected by the sign plus [+]. — Positive rotation (Mech.), left-handed rotation. — Positive sign (Math.), the sign [+] denoting plus, or more, or addition.

POSITIVE
Pos"i*tive, n.

1. That which is capable of being affirmed; reality. South.

2. That which settles by absolute appointment.

3. (Gram.)

Defn: The positive degree or form.

4. (Photog.)

Defn: A picture in which the lights and shades correspond in position with those of the original, instead of being reversed, as in a negative. R. Hunt.

5. (Elec.)

Defn: The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.

POSITIVELY
Pos"i*tive*ly, adv.

Defn: In a positive manner; absolutely; really; expressly; with certainty; indubitably; peremptorily; dogmatically; — opposed to negatively. Good and evil which is removed may be esteemed good or evil comparatively, and positively simply. Bacon. Give me some breath, some little pause, my lord, Before I positively speak herein. Shak. I would ask . . . whether . . . the divine law does not positively require humility and meekness. Sprat. Positively charged or electrified (Elec.), having a charge of positive electricity; — opposed to Ant: negatively electrified.

POSITIVENESS
Pos"i*tive*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being positive; reality; actualness; certainty; confidence; peremptoriness; dogmatism. See Positive, a. Positiveness, pedantry, and ill manners. Swift. The positiveness of sins of commission lies both in the habitude of the will and in the executed act too; the positiveness of sins of omission is in the habitude of the will only. Norris.

POSITIVISM
Pos"i*tiv*ism, n.

Defn: A system of philosophy originated by M. Auguste Comte, which deals only with positives. It excludes from philosophy everything but the natural phenomena or properties of knowable things, together with their invariable relations of coexistence and succession, as occurring in time and space. Such relations are denominated laws, which are to be discovered by observation, experiment, and comparison. This philosophy holds all inquiry into causes, both efficient and final, to be useless and unprofitable.

POSITIVIST
Pos"i*tiv*ist, n.

Defn: A believer in positivism.
— a.

Defn: Relating to positivism.

POSITIVITY
Pos`i*tiv"i*ty, n.

Defn: Positiveness. J. Morley.

POSITURE
Pos"i*ture, n.

Defn: See Posture. [Obs.]

POSNET
Pos"net, n. Etym: [OF. poçonet, dim. of poçon a pot, a vessel.]

Defn: A little basin; a porringer; a skillet.

POSOLOGIC; POSOLOGICAL
Pos`o*log"ic, Pos`o*log"ic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. posologique.]

Defn: Pertaining to posology.

POSOLOGY
Po*sol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Gr. -logy: cf. F. posologie.] (Med.)

Defn: The science or doctrine of doses; dosology.

POSPOLITE Pos"po*lite, n. Etym: [Pol. pospolite ruszenie a general summons to arms, an arriere-ban; pospolity general + ruszenie a stirring.]

Defn: A kind of militia in Poland, consisting of the gentry, which, in case of invasion, was summoned to the defense of the country.

POSS
Poss, v. t. Etym: [See Push.]

Defn: To push; to dash; to throw. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
A cat . . . possed them [the rats] about. Piers Plowman.

POSSE
Pos"se, n.

Defn: See Posse comitatus. In posse. See In posse in the Vocabulary.

POSSE COMITATUS
Pos"se com`i*ta"tus. Etym: [L. posse to be able, to have power + LL.
comitatus a county, from comes, comitis, a count. See County, and
Power.]

1. (Law)

Defn: The power of the county, or the citizens who may be summoned by the sheriff to assist the authorities in suppressing a riot, or executing any legal precept which is forcibly opposed. Blackstone.

2. A collection of people; a throng; a rabble. [Colloq.]

Note: The word comitatus is often omitted, and posse alone used. "A whole posse of enthusiasts." Carlyle. As if the passion that rules were the sheriff of the place, and came off with all the posse. Locke.

POSSESS
Pos*sess", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Possessed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Possessing.] Etym: [L. possessus, p. p. of possidere to have,
possess, from an inseparable prep. (cf. Position) + sedere to sit.
See Sit.]

1. To occupy in person; to hold or actually have in one's own keeping; to have and to hold. Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land. Jer. xxxii. 15. Yet beauty, though injurious, hath strange power, After offense returning, to regain Love once possessed. Milton.

2. To have the legal title to; to have a just right to; to be master of; to own; to have; as, to possess property, an estate, a book. I am yours, and all that I possess. Shak.

3. To obtain occupation or possession of; to accomplish; to gain; to seize. How . . . to possess the purpose they desired. Spenser.

4. To enter into and influence; to control the will of; to fill; to affect; — said especially of evil spirits, passions, etc. "Weakness possesseth me." Shak. Those which were possessed with devils. Matt. iv. 24. For ten inspired, ten thousand are possessed. Roscommon.

5. To put in possession; to make the owner or holder of property, power, knowledge, etc.; to acquaint; to inform; — followed by of or with before the thing possessed, and now commonly used reflexively. I have possessed your grace of what I purpose. Shak. Record a gift . . . of all he dies possessed Unto his son. Shak. We possessed our selves of the kingdom of Naples. Addison. To possess our minds with an habitual good intention. Addison.

Syn. — To have; hold; occupy; control; own. — Possess, Have. Have is the more general word. To possess denotes to have as a property. It usually implies more permanence or definiteness of control or ownership than is involved in having. A man does not possess his wife and children: they are (so to speak) part of himself. For the same reason, we have the faculties of reason, understanding, will, sound judgment, etc.: they are exercises of the mind, not possessions.

POSSESSION
Pos*ses"sion, n. Etym: [F. possession, L. possessio.]

1. The act or state of possessing, or holding as one's own.

2. (Law)

Defn: The having, holding, or detention of property in one's power or command; actual seizin or occupancy; ownership, whether rightful or wrongful.

Note: Possession may be either actual or constructive; actual, when a party has the immediate occupancy; constructive, when he has only the right to such occupancy.

3. The thing possessed; that which any one occupies, owns, or controls; in the plural, property in the aggregate; wealth; dominion; as, foreign possessions. When the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Matt. xix. 22. Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. Acts v. 1. The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Ob. 17.

4. The state of being possessed or controlled, as by an evil spirit, or violent passions; madness; frenzy; as, demoniacal possession. How long hath this possession held the man Shak. To give possession, to put in another's power or occupancy. — To put in possession. (a) To invest with ownership or occupancy; to provide or furnish with; as, to put one in possession of facts or information. (b) (Law) To place one in charge of property recovered in ejectment or writ of entry. — To take possession, to enter upon, or to bring within one's power or occupancy. — Writ of possession (Law), a precept directing a sheriff to put a person in peaceable possession of property recovered in ejectment or writ of entry.

POSSESSION
Pos*ses"sion, v. t.

Defn: To invest with property. [Obs.]

POSSESSIONARY
Pos*ses"sion*a*ry, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to possession; arising from possession.

POSSESSIONER
Pos*ses"sion*er, n.

1. A possessor; a property holder. [Obs.] "Possessioners of riches." E. Hall. Having been of old freemen and possessioners. Sir P. Sidney.

2. An invidious name for a member of any religious community endowed with property in lands, buildings, etc., as contrasted with mendicant friars. [Obs.] Wyclif.

POSSESSIVAL
Pos`ses*si"val, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the possessive case; as, a possessival termination. Earle.

POSSESSIVE
Pos*sess"ive, a. Etym: [L. possessivus: cf. F. possessif.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to possession; having or indicating possession. Possessive case (Eng. Gram.), the genitive case; the case of nouns and pronouns which expresses ownership, origin, or some possessive relation of one thing to another; as, Homer's admirers; the pear's flavor; the dog's faithfulness. — Possessive pronoun, a pronoun denoting ownership; as, his name; her home; my book.

POSSESSIVE
Pos*sess"ive, n.

1. (Gram.)

Defn: The possessive case.

2. (Gram.)

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

POSSESSIVELY
Pos*sess"ive*ly, adv.

Defn: In a possessive manner.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Syn.
— Practicable; likely. See Practicable.

POSSIBLY
Pos"si*bly, adv.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. (Bookkeeping)

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

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

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

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

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

2. (Man.)

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

POST
Post, adv.

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

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

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

POSTABLE
Post"a*ble, a.

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

POSTACT
Post"act`, n.

Defn: An act done afterward.

POSTAGE
Post"age, n.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POSTBOY
Post"boy`, n.

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

2. A boy who carries letters from the post.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: The concluding portion of the communion service.

2. (R. C. Ch.)

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

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

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

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

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

2. To affix a date to after the event.

POSTDATE
Post"date`, a.

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

POSTDATE
Post"date`, n.

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

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

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

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

Defn: One who lived after the flood.

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

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

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

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

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

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

POSTEL
Pos"tel, n.

Defn: Apostle. [Obs.] Chaucer.

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

Defn: The metencephalon.

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

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

2. (Bookkeeping)

Defn: An additional or subsequent entry.

POSTER
Post"er, n.

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

2. One who posts bills; a billposter.

POSTER
Post"er, n.

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

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

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

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

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

3. (Anat.)

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

4. (Bot.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. (Fort.)

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

POSTERN
Pos"tern, a.

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

POSTERO
Pos"te*ro

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

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

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

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

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

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

POSTEXISTENCE
Post`ex*ist"ence, n.

Defn: Subsequent existence.

POSTEXISTENT
Post`ex*ist"ent, a.

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

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

Defn: Relating to a fact that occurs after another.

POSTFACT
Post"fact`, n.

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

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

Defn: Same as Postfact.

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

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

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

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

POSTFIX
Post*fix", v. t.

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

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

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

Defn: A postfrontal bone.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: A student who pursues such studies.

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

POSTHASTE
Post`haste", n.

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

POSTHASTE
Post`haste, adv.

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

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

Defn: Circumcision. Dunglison.

POSTHOUSE
Post"house`, n.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POSTHUMOUSLY
Post"hu*mous*ly, adv.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POSTILLATE
Pos"til*late, v. i.

1. To write postils; to comment.

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

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

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

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

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

POSTILLER
Post"il*ler, n.

Defn: See Postiler.

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

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

POSTING
Post"ing, n.

1. The act of traveling post.

2. (Bookkeeping)

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. (Rom. Antiq.)

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

2. (Internat. Law)

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

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

Defn: A voluntary at the end of a service.

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

1. A post or courier; a letter carrier.

2. (Eng. Law)

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

POSTMARK
Post"mark`, n.

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

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

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

POSTMASTER
Post"mas`ter, n.

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

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

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

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

POSTMASTERSHIP
Post"mas`ter*ship, n.

Defn: The office of postmaster.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: The posterior nares. See Nares.

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

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

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

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

POST NOTE
Post" note`. (Com.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: Same as Postorbital.

POST OFFICE
Post" of`fice, n.

Defn: See under 4th Post.

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

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

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

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

Defn: A postorbital bone or scale.

POSTPAID
Post"paid`, a.

Defn: Having the postage prepaid, as a letter.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POSTPONEMENT
Post*pone"ment, n.

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

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

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

POSTPONER
Post*pon"er, n.

Defn: One who postpones.

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

Defn: To postpone. [Obs.] Fuller.

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

Defn: To postpone. [Obs.] Feltham.

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

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

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

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

Defn: Of or pertaining to postposition.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: More remote in subsequent time or order.

POSTRIDER
Post"rid`er, n.

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

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

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

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

Defn: Of or pertaining to the postscapula; infraspinous.

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

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

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

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

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

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

POSTSCRIPTED
Post"script*ed, a.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: A post-temporal bone.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. (Geom.)

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

POSTULATE
Pos"tu*late, a.

Defn: Postulated. [Obs.] Hudibras.

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

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

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

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

POSTULATED
Pos"tu*la`ted, a.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: A postulate. Addison.

POSTUMOUS
Pos"tu*mous, a.

Defn: See Posthumous. [R.]

POSTURAL
Pos"tur*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to posture.

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

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

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

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

Syn.
— Attitude; position. See Attitude.

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

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

POSTURE
Pos"ture, v. i.

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

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

POSTURER
Pos`tur*er, n.

Defn: One who postures.

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

Defn: A posterior zygapophysis.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. A perforated cask for draining sugar. Knight.

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

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

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

POT
Pot, v. i.

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

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

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

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

POTABLENESS
Po"ta*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being drinkable.

POTAGE
Pot"age (; 48), n.

Defn: See Pottage.

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

Defn: A porringer. [Obs.] Grew.

POTAGRO
Po*tag"ro, n.

Defn: See Potargo.

POTALE
Pot"ale`, n.

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

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

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

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

Defn: An account or description of rivers; potamology.

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

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

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

Defn: The fresh-water sponges. See Spongilla.

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

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

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

Defn: A kind of sauce or pickle. King.

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

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

Defn: Potash. [Obs.]

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

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

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

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

Defn: Pertaining to, or containing, potassium.

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. The act of drinking. Jer. Taylor.

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

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

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

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

Defn: A drinker. [R.] Southey.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: A protuberant belly.

POTBOILER
Pot"boil`er, n.

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

POTBOY
Pot"boy`, n.

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

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

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

POTCH
Potch, v. t.

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

POTCHER
Potch"er, n.

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

POTECARY
Pot"e*ca*ry, n.

Defn: An apothecary. [Obs.]

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

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

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

Defn: Molybdenum sulphide.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POTENT
Po"tent, n.

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

2. Etym: [See Potence.]

Defn: A staff or crutch. [Obs.]

3. (Her.)

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

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

Defn: Sovereignty. [Obs.]

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

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

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

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

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

POTENTIAL
Po*ten"tial, n.

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

2. (Math.)

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

3. (Elec.)

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

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

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

POTENTIALLY
Po*ten"tial*ly, adv.

1. With power; potently. [Obs.]

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

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

Defn: To render active or potent. Coleridge.

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

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

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

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

POTENTLY
Po"tent*ly, adv.

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

POTENTNESS
Po"tent*ness, n.

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

POTESTATE
Po"tes*tate, n.

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

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

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

POTGUN
Pot"gun`, n.

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

2. A popgun. [Obs.] Swift.

POTHECARY
Poth"e*ca*ry, n.

Defn: An apothecary. [Obs.]

POTHEEN
Po*theen", n.

Defn: See Poteen.

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

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

POTHER
Poth"er, v. i.

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

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

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

POTHOLE
Pot"hole`, n.

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

POTHOOK
Pot"hook`, n.

1. An

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

POTHOUSE
Pot"house`, n.

Defn: An alehouse. T. Warton.

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

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

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

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

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

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

POTION
Po"tion, v. t.

Defn: To drug. [Obs.] Speed.

POT LACE
Pot lace.

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

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

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

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

POT LEAD
Pot lead.

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

POTLID
Pot"lid`, n.

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

POTLUCK
Pot"luck`, n.

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

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

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

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

POTOO
Po*too", n. (Zoöl.)

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

POTOROO
Po`to*roo", n. (Zoöl.)

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

POTPIE
Pot"pie`, n.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: A potsherd. [Obs.] Spenser.

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

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

POT SHOT
Pot shot.

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

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

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

POTSURE
Pot"*sure`, a.

Defn: Made confident by drink. [Obs.]

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

Defn: Made confident by drink. [Obs.]

POTT
Pott, n.

Defn: A size of paper. See under Paper.

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

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

POTTAIN
Pot"tain, n.

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

POTTEEN
Pot*teen", n.

Defn: See Poteen.

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

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

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

3. One who pots meats or other eatables.

4. (Zoöl.)

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

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

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

2. To walk lazily or idly; to saunter.

POTTER
Pot"ter, v. t.

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

POTTERN
Pot"tern, a.

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

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

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

2. The place where earthen vessels are made.

POTTING
Pot"ting, n.

1. Tippling. [Obs.] Shak.

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

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

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

1. A liquid measure of four pints.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Nearly drunk; tipsy. [Obs.]

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

Defn: Having the courage given by drink. Smollett.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. To put or take into a pouch.

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

3. To pout. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

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

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

POUCHET BOX
Pou"chet box`.

Defn: See Pouncet box.

POUCH-MOUTHED
Pouch"-mouthed`, a.

Defn: Having a pouch mouth; blobber-lipped.

POUCHONG
Pou*chong", n.

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

POUCH-SHELL
Pouch"-shell`, n. (Zoöl.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: A long pointed shoe. See Cracowes.

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

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

POULDAVIS
Poul"da`vis, n.

Defn: Same as Poledavy. [Obs.]

POULDER
Poul"der, n. & v.

Defn: Powder. [Obs.]

POULDRON
Poul"dron, n.

Defn: See Pauldron.

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: A poulterer. [Obs.] Shak.

POULTERER
Poul"ter*er, n.

Defn: One who deals in poultry.

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

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

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

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

POULTIVE
Poul"tive, n.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POUNCE
Pounce, v. t.

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

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

POUNCE
Pounce, v. i.

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

POUNCED
Pounced, a.

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

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

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

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

POUNCING
Poun"cing, n.

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

2. Decorative perforation of cloth. [Obs.]

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

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

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

POUND
Pound, v. i.

1. To strike heavy blows; to beat.

2. (Mach.)

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

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

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

2. A level stretch in a canal between locks.

3. (Fishing)

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

POUND
Pound, v. t.

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

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

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

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

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

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

POUNDAGE
Pound"age, n.

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

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

3. (Law)

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

POUNDAGE
Pound"age, v. t.

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

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

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

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

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

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

POUND-BREACH
Pound"-breach`, n.

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

POUNDCAKE
Pound"cake`, n.

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

POUNDER
Pound"er, n.

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

2. An instrument used for pounding; a pestle.

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

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

POUNDING
Pound"ing, n.

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

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

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

Defn: The keeper of a pound.

POUNDRATE
Pound"*rate`, n.

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

POUP
Poup, v. i.

Defn: See Powp. [Obs.] Chaucer.

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

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

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

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

POUR
Pour, a.

Defn: Poor. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POUR
Pour, v. i.

Defn: To pore. [Obs.] Chaucer.

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

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

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

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

POUR
Pour, v. i.

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

POUR
Pour, n.

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

POURELICHE
Poure"liche`, adv.

Defn: Poorly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

POURER
Pour"er, n.

Defn: One who pours.

POURLIEU
Pour"lieu, n.

Defn: See Purlieu.

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

Defn: A consultation preliminary to a treaty.

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: See Purpresture.

POURSUIVANT
Pour"sui*vant, n.

Defn: See Pursuivant.

POURTRAY
Pour*tray", v. t.

Defn: See Portray.

POURVEYANCE
Pour*vey"ance, n.

Defn: See Purveyance.

POUSSE
Pousse, n.

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

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

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

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

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

POUSSETTE
Pous*sette", v. i.

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

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

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

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

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

POUT
Pout, v. i.

Defn: To shoot pouts. [Scot.]

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

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

2 2

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

POUT
Pout, n.

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

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

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

POUTER
Pout"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, pouts.

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

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

POUTING
Pout"ing, n.

Defn: Childish sullenness.

POUTINGLY
Pout"ing*ly, adv.

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

POVERT
Pov"ert, n.

Defn: Poverty. [Obs.] Chaucer.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POWDER
Pow"der, v. i.

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

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

POWDERED
Pow"dered, a.

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

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

3. (Her.)

Defn: Same as Semé. Walpole.

POWDERFLASK
Pow"der*flask`, n.

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

POWDERHORN
Pow"der*horn`, n.

Defn: A horn in which gunpowder is carried.

POWDERING
Pow"der*ing,

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

POWDERMILL
Pow"der*mill`, n.

Defn: A mill in which gunpowder is made.

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

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

POWDERY
Pow"der*y, a.

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

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

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

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

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

POWDRY
Pow"dry, a.

Defn: See Powdery.

POWER
Pow"er, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Poor, the fish.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. (Math.)

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

10. ( (Metaph.)

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

11. (Optics)

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

12. (Law)

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

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

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

POWERABLE
Pow"er*a*ble, a.

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

2. Capable of exerting power; powerful. Camden.

POWERFUL
Pow"er*ful, a.

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

2. (Mining)

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

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

POWERLESS
Pow"er*less, a.

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

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

Defn: Same as Pauldron.

POWP
Powp, v. i.

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

POWTER
Pow"ter, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Pouter.

POWWOW
Pow"wow`, n.

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

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

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

POWWOW
Pow"wow`, v. i.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: To infect with the pox, or syphilis.

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

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

2. A ropedancer's balancing pole. Johnson.

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

POYNADO
Poy*na"do, n.

Defn: A poniard. [Obs.] Lyly.

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

Defn: See Poind, Poinder.

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

Defn: A bodkin. [Obs.]

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

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

POYOU
Poy"ou, n. (Zoöl.)

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

POZE
Poze, v. t.

Defn: See 5th Pose.

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

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

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

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

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

1. Practical.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Of or pertaining to practice or action.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PRACTICALLY
Prac"ti*cal*ly, adv.

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

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

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

PRACTICALNESS
Prac"ti*cal*ness, n.

Defn: Same as Practicality.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. (Math.)

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

9. (Law)

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

Syn.
— Custom; usage; habit; manner.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Used habitually; learned by practice.

PRACTICER
Prac"ti*cer, n. Etym: [Often written practiser.]

1. One who practices, or puts in practice; one who customarily performs certain acts. South.

2. One who exercises a profession; a practitioner.

3. One who uses art or stratagem. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

PRACTICIAN
Prac*ti"cian, n. Etym: [F. praticien, OF. also practicien.]

Defn: One who is acquainted with, or skilled in, anything by practice; a practitioner.

PRACTICK
Prac"tick, n.

Defn: Practice. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PRACTICO
Prac"ti*co, n.; pl. Practicos (#). [Sp., lit., experienced, skilled.
Cf. Practical.]

Defn: A guide. [Cuba & Phil. Islands] D. C. Worcester.

PRACTISANT
Prac"ti*sant, n.

Defn: An agent or confederate in treachery. [Obs.] Shak.

PRACTISE
Prac"tise, v. t. & i.

Defn: See Practice.

Note: The analogy of the English language requires that the noun and verb which are pronounced alike should agree in spelling. Thus we have notice (n. & v.), noticed, noticing, noticer; poultice (n. & v.); apprentice (n. & v.); office (n. & v.), officer (n.); lattice (n.), latticed (a.); benefice (n.), beneficed (a.), etc. Cf. sacrifice (surmise (promise (compromise (advice (advise (device (devise (

PRACTISOUR
Prac"ti*sour, n.

Defn: A practitioner. [Obs.]

PRACTITIONER
Prac*ti"tion*er, n. Etym: [From Practician.]

1. One who is engaged in the actual use or exercise of any art or profession, particularly that of law or medicine. Crabbe.

2. One who does anything customarily or habitually.

3. A sly or artful person. Whitgift. General practitioner. See under General, 2.

PRACTIVE
Prac"tive, a.

Defn: Doing; active. [Obs.] Sylvester.
— Prac"tive*ly, adv. [Obs.]
The preacher and the people both, Then practively did thrive. Warner.

PRAD
Prad, n. Etym: [Cf. D. paard.]

Defn: A horse. [Colloq. Eng.]

PRAE-
Præ-.

Defn: A prefix. See Pre-.

PRAECAVA
Præ"ca`va, n. Etym: [NL. See Pre-, and 1st Cave.] (Anat.)

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

PRAECIPE Præc"i*pe, n. Etym: [L., imperative of praecipere to give rules or precepts. See Precept.] (Law) (a) A writ commanding something to be done, or requiring a reason for neglecting it. (b) A paper containing the particulars of a writ, lodged in the office out of which the writ is to be issued. Wharton.

PRAECOCES
Præ"co*ces, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Precocious.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of birds including those whose young are able to run about when first hatched.

PRAECOCIAL
Præ*co"cial, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Præcoces.

PRAECOGNITA Præ*cog"ni*ta, n. pl. Etym: [L. praecognitus, p. p. of praecognoscere to foreknow. See Pre-, and Cognition.]

Defn: This previously known, or which should be known in order to understand something else.

PRAECOMMISSURE
Præ*com"mis*sure, n. Etym: [Pref. præ + commissure.] (Anat.)

Defn: A transverse commissure in the anterior part of the third ventricle of the brain; the anterior cerebral commissure.

PRAECORACOID
Præ*cor"a*coid, n. (Anat.)

Defn: See Precoracoid.

PRAECORDIA Præ*cor"di*a, n. Etym: [L., fr. prae before + cor, cordis, the heart.] (Anat.)

Defn: The front part of the thoracic region; the epigastrium.

PRAECORDIAL
Præ*cor"di*al, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Same as Precordial.

PRAECORNU
Præ*cor"nu, n.; pl. Præcornua. Etym: [NL. See Pre-, and Cornu.]
(Anat.)

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

PRAEDIAL
Præ"di*al, a.

Defn: See Predial.

PRAEFLORATION
Præ`flo*ra"tion, n.

Defn: Same as Prefloration. Gray.

PRAEFOLIATION
Præ*fo`li*a"tion, n.

Defn: Same as Prefoliation. Gray.

PRAEMAXILLA
Præ`max*il"la, n.

Defn: See Premaxilla.

PRAEMOLAR
Præ*mo"lar, a.

Defn: See Premolar.

PRAEMORSE
Præ*morse", a.

Defn: Same as Premorse.

PRAEMUNIRE Præm`u*ni"re, n. Etym: [Corrupted from L. praemonere to forewarn, cite. See Admonish.] (Eng. Law) (a) The offense of introducing foreign authority into England, the penalties for which were originally intended to depress the civil power of the pope in the kingdom. (b) The writ grounded on that offense. Wharton. (c) The penalty ascribed for the offense of præmunire. Wolsey incurred a præmunire, and forfeited his honor, estate, and life. South.

Note: The penalties of præmunire were subsequently applied to many other offenses; but prosecutions upon a præmunire are at this day unheard of in the English courts. Blackstone.

PRAEMUNIRE
Præm`u*ni"re, v. t.

1. The subject to the penalties of præmunire. [Obs.] T. Ward.

PRAEMUNITORY
Præ*mu"ni*to*ry, a.

Defn: See Premunitory.

PRAENARES
Præ*na"res, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Pre-, Nares.] (Anat.)

Defn: The anterior nares. See Nares. B. G. Wilder.

PRAENASAL
Præ*na"sal, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Same as Prenasal.

PRAENOMEN Præ*no"men, n.; pl. Prænomina. Etym: [L., fr. prae before + nomen name.] (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: The first name of a person, by which individuals of the same family were distinguished, answering to our Christian name, as Caius, Lucius, Marcus, etc.

PRAENOMINICAL
Præ`no*min"ic*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a prænomen. [Obs.] M. A. Lower.

PRAEOPERCULUM
Præ`o*per"cu*lum, n. Etym: [NL.] (Anat.)

Defn: Same as Preoperculum.
— Præ`o*per"cu*lar, a.

PRAEORAL; PRAEPUBIS; PRAESCAPULA; PRAESCUTUM; PRAESTERNUM
Præ*o"ral, n., Præ*pu"bis, n., Præ*scap"u*la, n., Præ*scu"tum, n.,
Præ*ster"num, n.

Defn: Same as Preoral, Prepubis, Prescapula, etc.

PRAETER-
Præ"ter-.

Defn: A prefix. See Preter-.

PRAETERIST
Præt"er*ist, n. (Theol.)

Defn: See Preterist.

PRAETERMIT
Præ`ter*mit", v. t.

Defn: See Pretermit.

PRAETEXTA Præ*tex"ta, n.; pl. Prætextæ, E. Prætextas. Etym: [L. (sc. toga), fr. praetextus, p. p. of praetexere to weave before, to fringe, border; prae before + texere to weave.] (Rom. Antiq.)

Defn: A white robe with a purple border, worn by a Roman boy before he was entitled to wear the toga virilis, or until about the completion of his fourteenth year, and by girls until their marriage. It was also worn by magistrates and priests.

PRAETOR
Præ"tor, n.

Defn: See Pretor.

PRAETORES
Præ*to"res, n. pl. Etym: [NL. See Pretor.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of butterflies including the satyrs.

PRAETORIAN
Præ*to"ri*an, a.

Defn: See Pretorian.

PRAETORIUM
Præ*to"ri*um, n.

Defn: See Pretorium.

PRAEZYGAPOPHYSIS
Præ*zyg`a*poph"y*sis, n. (Anat.)

Defn: Same as Prezygapophysis.

PRAGMATIC; PRAGMATICAL
Prag*mat"ic, Prag*mat"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. pragmaticus busy, active,
skilled in business, especially in law and state affairs, systematic,
Gr. pragmatique. See Practical.]

1. Of or pertaining to business or to affairs; of the nature of business; practical; material; businesslike in habit or manner. The next day . . . I began to be very pragmatical. Evelyn. We can not always be contemplative, diligent, or pragmatical, abroad; but have need of some delightful intermissions. Milton. Low, pragmatical, earthly views of the gospel. Hare.

2. Busy; specifically, busy in an objectionable way; officious; fussy and positive; meddlesome. "Pragmatical officers of justice." Sir W. Scott. The fellow grew so pragmatical that he took upon him the government of my whole family. Arbuthnot.

3. Philosophical; dealing with causes, reasons, and effects, rather than with details and circumstances; — said of literature. "Pragmatic history." Sir W. Hamilton. "Pragmatic poetry." M. Arnold. Pragmatic sanction, a solemn ordinance or decree issued by the head or legislature of a state upon weighty matters; — a term derived from the Byzantine empire. In European history, two decrees under this name are particularly celebrated. One of these, issued by Charles VII. of France, A. D. 1438, was the foundation of the liberties of the Gallican church; the other, issued by Charles VI. of Germany, A. D. 1724, settled his hereditary dominions on his eldest daughter, the Archduchess Maria Theresa.

PRAGMATIC
Prag*mat"ic, n.

1. One skilled in affairs. My attorney and solicitor too; a fine pragmatic. B. Jonson.

2. A solemn public ordinance or decree. A royal pragmatic was accordingly passed. Prescott.

PRAGMATICALLY
Prag*mat"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a pragmatical manner.

PRAGMATICALNESS
Prag*mat"ic*al*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being pragmatical.

PRAGMATISM
Prag"ma*tism, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being pragmatic; in literature, the pragmatic, or philosophical, method. The narration of this apparently trifling circumstance belongs to the pragmatism of the history. A. Murphy.

PRAGMATIST
Prag"ma*tist, n.

Defn: One who is pragmatic.

PRAGMATIZE
Prag"ma*tize, v. t.

Defn: To consider, represent, or embody (something unreal) as fact; to materialize. [R.] "A pragmatized metaphor." Tylor.

PRAIRIAL
Prai`ri`al", n. Etym: [F., fr. prairie meadow.]

Defn: The ninth month of the French Republican calendar, which dated from September 22, 1792. It began May, 20, and ended June 18. See Vendemiaire.

PRAIRIE Prai"rie, n. Etym: [F., an extensive meadow, OF. praerie, LL. prataria, fr. L. pratum a meadow.]

1. An extensive tract of level or rolling land, destitute of trees, covered with coarse grass, and usually characterized by a deep, fertile soil. They abound throughout the Mississippi valley, between the Alleghanies and the Rocky mountains. From the forests and the prairies, From the great lakes of the northland. Longfellow.

2. A meadow or tract of grass; especially, a so called natural meadow. Prairie chicken (Zoöl.), any American grouse of the genus Tympanuchus, especially T. Americanus (formerly T. cupido), which inhabits the prairies of the central United States. Applied also to the sharp-tailed grouse. — Prairie clover (Bot.), any plant of the leguminous genus Petalostemon, having small rosy or white flowers in dense terminal heads or spikes. Several species occur in the prairies of the United States. — Prairie dock (Bot.), a coarse composite plant (Silphium terebinthaceum) with large rough leaves and yellow flowers, found in the Western prairies. — Prairie dog (Zoöl.), a small American rodent (Cynomys Ludovicianus) allied to the marmots. It inhabits the plains west of the Mississippi. The prairie dogs burrow in the ground in large warrens, and have a sharp bark like that of a dog. Called also prairie marmot. — Prairie grouse. Same as Prairie chicken, above. — Prairie hare (Zoöl.), a large long-eared Western hare (Lepus campestris). See Jack rabbit, under 2d Jack. — Prairie hawk, Prairie falcon (Zoöl.), a falcon of Western North America (Falco Mexicanus). The upper parts are brown. The tail has transverse bands of white; the under parts, longitudinal streaks and spots of brown. — Prairie hen. (Zoöl.) Same as Prairie chicken, above. — Prairie itch (Med.), an affection of the skin attended with intense itching, which is observed in the Northern and Western United States; — also called swamp itch, winter itch. — Prairie marmot. (Zoöl.) Same as Prairie dog, above. — Prairie mole (Zoöl.), a large American mole (Scalops argentatus), native of the Western prairies. — Prairie pigeon, plover, or snipe (Zoöl.), the upland plover. See Plover, n., 2. — Prairie rattlesnake (Zoöl.), the massasauga. — Prairie snake (Zoöl.), a large harmless American snake (Masticophis flavigularis). It is pale yellow, tinged with brown above. — Prairie squirrel (Zoöl.), any American ground squirrel of the genus Spermophilus, inhabiting prairies; — called also gopher. — Prairie turnip (Bot.), the edible turnip-shaped farinaceous root of a leguminous plant (Psoralea esculenta) of the Upper Missouri region; also, the plant itself. Called also pomme blanche, and pomme de prairie. — Prairie warbler (Zoöl.), a bright-colored American warbler (Dendroica discolor). The back is olive yellow, with a group of reddish spots in the middle; the under parts and the parts around the eyes are bright yellow; the sides of the throat and spots along the sides, black; three outer tail feathers partly white. — Prairie wolf. (Zoöl.) See Coyote.

PRAIRIE STATE
Prai"rie State.

Defn: Illinois; — a nickname.

PRAISABLE
Prais"a*ble, a.

Defn: Fit to be praised; praise-worthy; laudable; commendable. Wyclif (2 Tim. ii. 15).

PRAISABLY
Prais"a*bly, adv.

Defn: In a praisable manner.

PRAISE
Praise, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Praised; p. pr. & vb. n. Praising.] Etym:
[OE. preisen, OF. preisier, prisier, F. priser, L. pretiare to prize,
fr. pretium price. See Price, n., and cf. Appreciate, Praise, n.,
Prize, v.]

1. To commend; to applaud; to express approbation of; to laud; — applied to a person or his acts. "I praise well thy wit." Chaucer. Let her own works praise her in the gates. Prov. xxxi. 31. We praise not Hector, though his name, we know, Is great in arms; 't is hard to praise a foe. Dryden.

2. To extol in words or song; to magnify; to glorify on account of perfections or excellent works; to do honor to; to display the excellence of; — applied especially to the Divine Being. Praise ye him, all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts! Ps. cxlviii. 2.

3. To value; to appraise. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

Syn. — To commend; laud; eulogize; celebrate; glorify; magnify. — To Praise, Applaud, Extol. To praise is to set at high price; to applaud is to greet with clapping; to extol is to bear aloft, to exalt. We may praise in the exercise of calm judgment; we usually applaud from impulse, and on account of some specific act; we extol under the influence of high admiration, and usually in strong, if not extravagant, language.

PRAISE Praise, n. Etym: [OE. preis, OF. preis price, worth, value, estimation. See Praise, v., Price.]

1. Commendation for worth; approval expressed; honor rendered because of excellence or worth; laudation; approbation. There are men who always confound the praise of goodness with the practice. Rambler.

Note: Praise may be expressed by an individual, and thus differs from fame, renown, and celebrity, which are always the expression of the approbation of numbers, or public commendation.

2. Especially, the joyful tribute of gratitude or homage rendered to the Divine Being; the act of glorifying or extolling the Creator; worship, particularly worship by song, distinction from prayer and other acts of worship; as, a service of praise.

3. The object, ground, or reason of praise. He is thy praise, and he is thy God. Deut. x.

Syn. — Encomium; honor; eulogy; panegyric; plaudit; applause; acclaim; eclat; commendation; laudation.

PRAISEFUL
Praise"ful, a.

Defn: Praiseworthy. [Obs.]

PRAISEFUL
Praise"ful, a.

Defn: Praiseworthy. [Obs.]

PRAISELESS
Praise"less, a.

Defn: Without praise or approbation.

PRAISE-MEETING
Praise"-meet`*ing, n.

Defn: A religious service mainly in song. [Local, U. S.]

PRAISEMENT
Praise"ment, n.

Defn: Appraisement. [Obs.]

PRAISER
Prais"er, n.

1. One who praises. "Praisers of men." Sir P. Sidney.

2. An appraiser; a valuator. [Obs.] Sir T. North.

PRAISEWORTHILY
Praise"wor`thi*ly, adv.

Defn: In a praiseworthy manner. Spenser.

PRAISEWORTHINESS
Praise"wor`thi*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being praiseworthy.

PRAISEWORTHY
Praise"wor`thy, a.

Defn: Worthy of praise or applause; commendable; as, praiseworthy action; he was praiseworthy. Arbuthnot.

PRAKRIT Pra"krit, n. Etym: [Skr. prakrsta original, natural, usual, common, vulgar.]

Defn: Any one of the popular dialects descended from, or akin to,
Sanskrit; — in distinction from the Sanskrit, which was used as a
literary and learned language when no longer spoken by the people.
Pali is one of the Prakrit dialects.

PRAKRITIC
Pra*krit"ic, a.

Defn: Pertaining to Prakrit.

PRALINE
Pra"line (prä"len), n. [F.]

Defn: A confection made of nut kernels, usually of almonds, roasted in boiling sugar until brown and crisp.

Bonbons, pralines, . . . saccharine, crystalline substances of all
kinds and colors.
Du Maurier.

PRALLTRILLER
Prall"tril`ler, n.; G. pl. -triller. [G.] (Music)

Defn: A melodic embellishment consisting of the quick alternation of a principal tone with an auxiliary tone above it, usually the next of the scale; —called also the inverted mordente.

PRAM; PRAME
Pram, Prame, n. (Naut.)

Defn: See Praam.

PRANCE
Prance, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pranced; p. pr. & vb. n. Prancing.] Etym:
[OE. prauncen; probably akin to prank, v. t. See Prank.]

1. To spring or bound, as a horse in high mettle. Now rule thy prancing steed. Gay.

2. To ride on a prancing horse; to ride in an ostentatious manner. The insulting tyrant prancing o'er the field. Addison.

3. To walk or strut about in a pompous, showy manner, or with warlike parade. Swift.

PRANCER
Pran"cer, n.

Defn: A horse which prances.
Then came the captain . . . upon a brave prancer. Evelyn.

PRANDIAL
Pran"di*al, a. Etym: [L. prandium a repast.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a repast, especially to dinner.

PRANGOS
Pran"gos, n. Etym: [From the native name in Afghanistan.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of umbelliferous plants, one species of which (P. pabularia), found in Thibet, Cashmere, Afghanistan, etc., has been used as fodder for cattle. It has decompound leaves with very long narrow divisions, and a highly fragrant smell resembling that of new clover hay.

PRANK
Prank, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pranked; p. pr. & vb. n. Pranking.] Etym:
[Cf. E. prink, also G. prangen, prunken, to shine, to make a show,
Dan. prange, prunke, Sw. prunka, D. pronken.]

Defn: To adorn in a showy manner; to dress or equip ostentatiously; - - often followed by up; as, to prank up the body. See Prink. In sumptuous tire she joyed herself to prank. Spenser.

PRANK
Prank, v. i.

Defn: To make ostentatious show.
White houses prank where once were huts. M. Arnold.

PRANK
Prank, n.

Defn: A gay or sportive action; a ludicrous, merry, or mischievous
trick; a caper; a frolic. Spenser.
The harpies . . . played their accustomed pranks. Sir W. Raleigh.
His pranks have been too broad to bear with. Shak.

PRANK
Prank, a.

Defn: Full of gambols or tricks. [Obs.]

PRANKER
Prank"er, n.

Defn: One who dresses showily; a prinker. "A pranker or a dancer."
Burton.

PRANKISH
Prank"ish, a.

Defn: Full of pranks; frolicsome.

PRASE
Prase, n. Etym: [L. prasius, fr. Gr. prase.] (Min.)

Defn: A variety of cryptocrystalline of a leek-green color.

PRASEO-
Pra"se*o-. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: A combining form signifying green; as, praseocobalt, a green variety of cobalt.

PRASEODYMIUM
Pra`se*o*dym"i*um, n. Etym: [Praseo- + didymium.] (Chem.)

Defn: An elementary substance, one of the constituents of didymium; - - so called from the green color of its salts. Symbol Ps. Atomic weight 143.6.

PRASEOLITE
Pra"se*o*lite, n. Etym: [Praseo- + -lite.] (Min.)

Defn: A variety of altered iolite of a green color and greasy luster.

PRASINOUS
Pras"i*nous, a. Etym: [L. prasinus, Gr.

Defn: Grass-green; clear, lively green, without any mixture. Lindley.

PRASOID
Pra"soid, a. Etym: [Gr. -oid.] (Min.)

Defn: Resembling prase.

PRATE
Prate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prated; p. pr. & vb. n. Prating.] Etym:
[Akin to LG. & D. praten, Dan. prate, Sw. & Icel. prata.]

Defn: To talk much and to little purpose; to be loquacious; to speak
foolishly; to babble.
To prate and talk for life and honor. Shak.
And make a fool presume to prate of love. Dryden.

PRATE
Prate, v. t.

Defn: To utter foolishly; to speak without reason or purpose; to
chatter, or babble.
What nonsense would the fool, thy master, prate, When thou, his
knave, canst talk at such a rate ! Dryden.

PRATE
Prate, n. Etym: [Akin to LG. & D. praat, Sw. prat.]

Defn: Talk to little purpose; trifling talk; unmeaning loquacity.
Sick of tops, and poetry, and prate. Pope.

PRATEFUL
Prate"ful, a.

Defn: Talkative. [R.] W. Taylor.

PRATER
Prat"er, n.

Defn: One who prates. Shak.

PRATIC
Prat"ic, n.

Defn: See Pratique.

PRATINCOLE
Pra"tin*cole, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any bird of the Old World genus Glareola, or family Glareolidæ, allied to the plovers. They have long, pointed wings and a forked tail.

PRATINGLY
Prat"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: With idle talk; with loquacity.

PRATIQUE
Prat"ique, n. Etym: [F.; cf. It. pratica, Sp. practica. See
Practice.]

1. (Com.)

Defn: Primarily, liberty of converse; intercourse; hence, a certificate, given after compliance with quarantine regulations, permitting a ship to land passengers and crew; — a term used particularly in the south of Europe.

2. Practice; habits. [Obs.] "One of English education and pratique." R. North.

PRATTLE
Prat"tle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prattled; p. pr. & vb. n. Prattling.]
Etym: [Freq. of prate.]

Defn: To talk much and idly; to prate; hence, to talk lightly and artlessly, like a child; to utter child's talk.

PRATTLE
Prat"tle, v. t.

Defn: To utter as prattle; to babble; as, to prattle treason.
Addison.

PRATTLE
Prat"tle, n.

Defn: Trifling or childish tattle; empty talk; loquacity on trivial subjects; prate; babble. Mere prattle, without practice. Shak.

PRATTLEMENT
Prat"tle*ment, n.

Defn: Prattle. [R.] Jeffrey.

PRATTLER
Prat"tler, n.

Defn: One who prattles. Herbert.

PRAVITY
Prav"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. pravitas, from pravus crooked, perverse.]

Defn: Deterioration; degeneracy; corruption; especially, moral crookedness; moral perversion; perverseness; depravity; as, the pravity of human nature. "The pravity of the will." South.

PRAWN Prawn, n. Etym: [OE. prane, of unknown origin; cf. L. perna a sea mussel.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of large shrimplike Crustacea having slender legs and long antennæ. They mostly belong to the genera Pandalus, Palæmon, Palæmonetes, and Peneus, and are much used as food. The common English prawn in Palæmon serratus.

Note: The name is often applied to any large shrimp.

PRAXINOSCOPE
Prax*in"o*scope, n. Etym: [Gr. -scope.] (Opt.)

Defn: An instrument, similar to the phenakistoscope, for presenting to view, or projecting upon a screen, images the natural motions of real objects.

PRAXIS
Prax"is, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. Practice.]

1. Use; practice; especially, exercise or discipline for a specific purpose or object. "The praxis and theory of music." Wood.

2. An example or form of exercise, or a collection of such examples, for practice.

PRAY
Pray, n. & v.

Defn: See Pry. [Obs.] Spenser.

PRAY Pray, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Prayed; p. pr. & vb. n. Praying.] Etym: [OE. preien, OF. preier, F. prier, L. precari, fr. prex, precis, a prayer, a request; akin to Skr. prach to ask, AS. frignan, frinan, fricgan, G. fragen, Goth. fraíhnan. Cf. Deprecate, Imprecate, Precarious.]

Defn: To make request with earnestness or zeal, as for something desired; to make entreaty or supplication; to offer prayer to a deity or divine being as a religious act; specifically, to address the Supreme Being with adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving. And to his goddess pitously he preyde. Chaucer. When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Matt. vi. 6. I pray, or (by ellipsis) Pray, I beg; I request; I entreat you; — used in asking a question, making a request, introducing a petition, etc.; as, Pray, allow me to go. I pray, sir. why am I beaten Shak.

Syn.
— To entreat; supplicate; beg; implore; invoke; beseech; petition.

PRAY
Pray, v. t.

1. To address earnest request to; to supplicate; to entreat; to
implore; to beseech.
And as this earl was preyed, so did he. Chaucer.
We pray you . . . by ye reconciled to God. 2 Cor. v. 20.

2. To ask earnestly for; to seek to obtain by supplication; to entreat for. I know not how to pray your patience. Shak.

3. To effect or accomplish by praying; as, to pray a soul out of purgatory. Milman. To pray in aid. (Law) (a) To call in as a helper one who has an interest in the cause. Bacon. (b) A phrase often used to signify claiming the benefit of an argument. See under Aid. Mozley & W.

PRAYER
Pray"er, n.

Defn: One who prays; a supplicant.

PRAYER Prayer (, n. Etym: [OE. preiere, OF. preiere, F. prière, fr. L. precarius obtained by prayer, fr. precari to pray. See Pray, v. i.]

1. The act of praying, or of asking a favor; earnest request or entreaty; hence, a petition or memorial addressed to a court or a legislative body. "Their meek preyere." Chaucer

2. The act of addressing supplication to a divinity, especially to the true God; the offering of adoration, confession, supplication, and thanksgiving to the Supreme Being; as, public prayer; secret prayer. As he is famed for mildness, peace, and prayer. Shak.

3. The form of words used in praying; a formula of supplication; an expressed petition; especially, a supplication addressed to God; as, a written or extemporaneous prayer; to repeat one's prayers. He made those excellent prayers which were published immediately after his death. Bp. Fell. Prayer book, a book containing devotional prayers. — Prayer meeting, a meeting or gathering for prayer to God.

Syn.
— Petition; orison; supplication; entreaty; suit.

PRAYERFUL
Prayer"ful, a.

Defn: Given to prayer; praying much or often; devotional. "The
prayerful man." J. S. Blackie.
— Prayer"ful*ly, adv.
— Prayer"ful*ness, n.

PRAYERLESS
Prayer"less, a.

Defn: Not using prayer; habitually neglecting prayer to God; without
prayer. "The next time you go prayerless to bed." Baxter.
— Prayer"less*ly, adv.
— Prayer"less*ness, n.

PRAYING
Pray"ing,

Defn: a. & n. from Pray, v. Praying insect, locust, or mantis (Zoöl.), a mantis, especially Mantis religiosa. See Mantis. — Praying machine, or Praying wheel, a wheel on which prayers are pasted by Buddhist priests, who then put the wheel in rapid revolution. Each turn in supposed to have the efficacy of an oral repetition of all the prayers on the wheel. Sometimes it is moved by a stream.

PRAYINGLY
Pray"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: With supplication to God.

PRE- Pre-. Etym: [L. prae, adv. & prep., before, akin to pro, and to E. for, prep.: cf. F. pré-. See Pro-, and cf. Prior.]

Defn: A prefix denoting priority (of time, place, or rank); as, precede, to go before; precursor, a forerunner; prefix, to fix or place before; preëminent eminent before or above others. Pre- is sometimes used intensively, as in prepotent, very potent. [Written also præ-.]

PREACCUSATION
Pre*ac`cu*sa"tion, n.

Defn: Previous accusation.

PREACE
Preace, v. & n.

Defn: Press. [Obs.] Spenser.

PREACH Preach, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Preached; p. pr. & vb. n. Preaching.] Etym: [OE. prechen, OF. preechier, F. prêcher, fr. L. praedicare to cry in public, to proclaim; prae before + dicare to make known, dicere to say; or perhaps from (assumed) LL. praedictare. See Diction, and cf. Predicate, Predict.]

1. To proclaim or publish tidings; specifically, to proclaim the gospel; to discourse publicly on a religious subject, or from a text of Scripture; to deliver a sermon. How shall they preach, except they be sent Rom. x. 15. From that time Jesus began to preach. Matt. iv. 17.

2. To give serious advice on morals or religion; to discourse in the manner of a preacher.

PREACH
Preach, v. t.

1. To proclaim by public discourse; to utter in a sermon or a formal religious harangue. That Cristes gospel truly wolde preche. Chaucer. The Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. Isa. lxi. 1.

2. To inculcate in public discourse; to urge with earnestness by public teaching. "I have preached righteousness in the great congregation." Ps. xl. 9.

3. To deliver or pronounce; as, to preach a sermon.

4. To teach or instruct by preaching; to inform by preaching. [R.] "As ye are preached." Southey.

5. To advise or recommend earnestly. My master preaches patience to him. Shak. To preach down, to oppress, or humiliate by preaching. Tennyson. — To preach up, to exalt by preaching; to preach in support of; as, to preach up equality.

PREACH
Preach, n. Etym: [Cf. F. prêche, fr. prêcher. See Preach, v.]

Defn: A religious discourse. [Obs.] Hooker.

PREACHER Preach"er, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. preeschierre, prescheur, F. prêcheur, L. praedicator.]

1. One who preaches; one who discourses publicly on religious subjects. How shall they hear without a preacher Rom. x. 14.

2. One who inculcates anything with earnestness. No preacher is listened to but Time. Swift. Preacher bird (Zoöl.), a toucan.

PREACHERSHIP
Preach"er*ship, n.

Defn: The office of a preacher. "The preachership of the Rolls."
Macaulay.

PREACHIFY
Preach"i*fy, v. i. Etym: [Preach + -fy.]

Defn: To discourse in the manner of a preacher. [Colloq.] Thackeray.

PREACHING
Preach"ing, n.

Defn: The act of delivering a religious discourse; the art of sermonizing; also, a sermon; a public religious discourse; serious, earnest advice. Milner. Preaching cross, a cross, sometimes surmounting a pulpit, erected out of doors to designate a preaching place. — Preaching friars. See Dominican.

PREACHMAN
Preach"man, n.; pl. Preachmen (.

Defn: A preacher; — so called in contempt. [Obs.] Howell.

PREACHMENT
Preach"ment, n.

Defn: A religious harangue; a sermon; — used derogatively. Shak.

PREACQUAINT
Pre`ac*quaint", v. t.

Defn: To acquaint previously or beforehand. Fielding.

PREACQUAINTANCE
Pre`ac*quaint"ance, n.

Defn: Previous acquaintance or knowledge. Harris.

PREACT
Pre*act", v. t.

Defn: To act beforehand; to perform previously.

PREACTION
Pre*ac"tion, n.

Defn: Previous action.

PREADAMIC
Pre`a*dam"ic, a.

Defn: Prior to Adam.

PREADAMITE
Pre*ad"am*ite, n. Etym: [Cf. F. préadamite.]

1. An inhabitant of the earth before Adam.

2. One who holds that men existed before Adam.

PREADAMITIC
Pre*ad`am*it"ic, a.

Defn: Existing or occurring before Adam; preadamic; as, preadamitic periods.

PREADJUSTMENT
Pre`ad*just"ment, n.

Defn: Previous adjustment.

PREADMINISTRATION
Pre`ad*min`is*tra"tion, n.

Defn: Previous administration. Bp. Pearson.

PREADMISSION
Pre`ad*mis"sion, n.

Defn: Lit., previous admission; specif. (Engin.),

Defn: admission, as of steam, to the engine cylinder before the back stroke is completed, thus increasing the cushioning.

PREADMONISH
Pre`ad*mon"ish, v. t.

Defn: To admonish previously.

PREADMONITION
Pre*ad`mo*ni"tion, n.

Defn: Previous warning or admonition; forewarning.

PREADVERTISE
Pre*ad`ver*tise", v. t.

Defn: To advertise beforehand; to preannounce publicly.

PREAMBLE Pre"am`ble, n. Etym: [LL. praeambulum, from L. praeambulus walking before, fr. praeambulare to walk before; prae before + ambulare to walk: cf. F. préambule. See Amble.]

Defn: A introductory portion; an introduction or preface, as to a book, document, etc.; specifically, the introductory part of a statute, which states the reasons and intent of the law.

PREAMBLE
Pre"am`ble, v. t. & i.

Defn: To make a preamble to; to preface; to serve as a preamble. [R.]
Feltham. Milton.

PREAMBULARY
Pre*am"bu*la*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. OF. preambulaire.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a preamble; introductory; contained or provided for in a preamble. "A preambulary tax." [R.] Burke.

PREAMBULATE
Pre*am"bu*late, v. i. Etym: [L. praeambulare. See Preamble.]

Defn: To walk before. [R.] Jordan.

PREAMBULATION
Pre*am`bu*la"tion, n.

1. A walking or going before; precedence. [R.]

2. A preamble. [Obs.] Chaucer.

PREAMBULATORY
Pre*am"bu*la*to*ry, a.

Defn: Preceding; going before; introductory. [R.]
Simon Magus had preambulatory impieties. Jer. Taylor.

PREAMBULOUS
Pre*am"bu*lous, a. Etym: [See Preamble, n.]

Defn: See Perambulatory. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

PREANNOUNCE
Pre`an*nounce", v. t.

Defn: To announce beforehand. Coleridge.

PREANTENULTIMATE
Pre*an`te*nul"ti*mate, a.

Defn: Being or indicating the fourth syllable from the end of a word, or that before the antepenult.

PREAORTIC
Pre`a*or"tic, a. (Anat.)

Defn: In front, or on the ventral side, of the aorta.

PREAPPOINT
Pre`ap*point", v. t.

Defn: To appoint previously, or beforehand. Carlyle.

PREAPPOINTMENT
Pre`ap*point"ment, n.

Defn: Previous appointment.

PREAPPREHENSION
Pre*ap`pre*hen"sion, n.

Defn: An apprehension or opinion formed before examination or knowledge. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

PREARM
Pre*arm", v. t.

Defn: To forearm. [R.]

PREARRANGE
Pre`ar*range", v. t.

Defn: To arrange beforehand.

PREASE
Prease, v. t. & i.

Defn: To press; to crowd. [Obs.] — n.

Defn: A press; a crowd. [Obs.] Spenser.

PREASSURANCE
Pre`as*sur"ance, n.

Defn: Previous assurance. Coleridge.

PREATAXIC
Pre`a*tax"ic, a. (Med.)

Defn: Occurring before the symptom ataxia has developed; — applied to the early symptoms of locomotor ataxia.

PREAUDIENCE
Pre*au"di*ence, n. (Eng. Law)

Defn: Precedence of rank at the bar among lawyers. Blackstone.

PREAXIAL
Pre*ax"i*al, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Situated in front of any transverse axis in the body of an animal; anterior; cephalic; esp., in front, or on the anterior, or cephalic (that is, radial or tibial) side of the axis of a limb.

PREBEND Pre"bend, n. Etym: [F. prébende (cf. It. & Sp. prebenda), from L. praebenda, from L. praebere to hold forth, afford, contr. fr. praehibere; prae before + habere to have, hold. See Habit, and cf. Provender.]

1. A payment or stipend; esp., the stipend or maintenance granted to a prebendary out of the estate of a cathedral or collegiate, church with which he is connected. See Note under Benefice.

2. A prebendary. [Obs.] Bacon. Dignitary prebend, one having jurisdiction annexed to it. — Simple prebend, one without jurisdiction.

PREBENDAL
Pre*ben"dal, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a prebend; holding a prebend; as, a prebendal priest or stall. Chesterfield.

PREBENDARY
Preb"en*da*ry, n. Etym: [LL. praebendarius: cf. F. prébendaire. See
Prebend.]

1. A clergyman attached to a collegiate or cathedral church who enjoys a prebend in consideration of his officiating at stated times in the church. See Note under Benefice, n., 3. Hook.

2. A prebendaryship. [Obs.] Bailey.

PREBENDARYSHIP
Preb"en*da*ry*ship, n.

Defn: The office of a prebendary.

PREBENDATE
Preb"en*date, v. t. Etym: [LL. praebendatus, p. p. of praebendari.]

Defn: To invest with the office of prebendary; to present to a prebend. [Obs.] Grafton.

PREBENDSHIP
Preb"end*ship, n.

Defn: A prebendaryship. [Obs.] Foxe.

PREBRONCHIAL
Pre*bron"chi*al, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Situated in front of the bronchus; — applied especially to an air sac on either side of the esophagus of birds.

PRECALCULATE
Pre*cal"cu*late, v. t.

Defn: To calculate or determine beforehand; to prearrange. Masson.

PRECANT
Pre"cant, n. Etym: [L. precans, -antis, p. pr. of precari to pray.]

Defn: One who prays. [R.] Coleridge.

PRECARIOUS Pre*ca"ri*ous, a. Etym: [L. precarius obtained by begging or prayer, depending on request or on the will of another, fr. precari to pray, beg. See Pray.]

1. Depending on the will or pleasure of another; held by courtesy; liable to be changed or lost at the pleasure of another; as, precarious privileges. Addison.

2. Held by a doubtful tenure; depending on unknown causes or events; exposed to constant risk; not to be depended on for certainty or stability; uncertain; as, a precarious state of health; precarious fortunes. "Intervals of partial and precarious liberty." Macaulay.

Syn. — Uncertain; unsettled; unsteady; doubtful; dubious; equivocal. — Precarious, Uncertain. Precarious in stronger than uncertain. Derived originally from the Latin precari, it first signified "granted to entreaty," and, hence, "wholly dependent on the will of another." Thus it came to express the highest species of uncertainty, and is applied to such things as depend wholly on future casualties. — Pre*ca"ri*ous*ly, adv. — Pre*ca"ri*ous*ness, n.

PRECATION
Pre*ca"tion, n. Etym: [L. precatio.]

Defn: The act of praying; supplication; entreaty. Cotton.

PRECATIVE; PRECATORY Pre"ca*tive, Pre"ca*to*ry, a. Etym: [L. precativus, precatorius, fr. precari to pray. See Precarious.]

Defn: Suppliant; beseeching. Bp. Hopkins. Precatory words (Law), words of recommendation, request, entreaty, wish, or expectation, employed in wills, as distinguished from express directions; — in some cases creating a trust. Jarman.

PRECAUTION Pre*cau"tion, n. Etym: [F. précation, L. praecautio, fr. praecavere, praecautum, to guard against beforehand; prae before + cavere be on one's guard. See Pre-, and Caution.]

1. Previous caution or care; caution previously employed to prevent mischief or secure good; as, his life was saved by precaution. They [ancient philosophers] treasured up their supposed discoveries with miserable precaution. J. H. Newman.

2. A measure taken beforehand to ward off evil or secure good or success; a precautionary act; as, to take precautions against accident.

PRECAUTION
Pre*cau"tion, v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. précautionner.]

1. To warn or caution beforehand. Locke.

2. To take precaution against. [R.] Dryden.

PRECAUTIONAL
Pre*cau"tion*al, a.

Defn: Precautionary.

PRECAUTIONARY
Pre*cau"tion*a*ry, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to precaution, or precautions; as, precautionary signals.

PRECAUTIOUS
Pre*cau"tious, a.

Defn: Taking or using precaution; precautionary.
— Pre*cau"tious*ly, adv.
— Pre*cau"*tious*ness, n.

PRECEDANEOUS
Pre`ce*da"ne*ous, a.

Defn: Preceding; antecedent; previous. [Obs.] Hammond.

PRECEDE
Pre*cede", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Preceded; p. pr. & vb. n. Preceding.]
Etym: [L. praecedere, praecessum; prae before + cedere to go, to be
in motion: cf. F. préceder. See Pre-, and Cede.]

1. To go before in order of time; to occur first with relation to anything. "Harm precedes not sin." Milton.

2. To go before in place, rank, or importance.

3. To cause to be preceded; to preface; to introduce; — used with by or with before the instrumental object. [R.] It is usual to precede hostilities by a public declaration. Kent.

PRECEDENCE; PRECEDENCY
Pre*ced"ence, Pre*ced"en*cy, n. Etym: [Cf. F. précédence. See
Precede.]

1. The act or state of preceding or going before in order of time; priority; as, one event has precedence of another.

2. The act or state of going or being before in rank or dignity, or the place of honor; right to a more honorable place; superior rank; as, barons have precedence of commoners. Which of them [the different desires] has the precedency in determining the will to the next action Locke.

Syn.
— Antecedence; priority; preëminence; preference; superiority.

PRECEDENT Pre*ced"ent, a. Etym: [L. praecedens, -entis, p. pr. of praecedere: cf. F. précédent. See Precede.]

Defn: Going before; anterior; preceding; antecedent; as, precedent services. Shak. "A precedent injury." Bacon. Condition precedent (Law), a condition which precede the vesting of an estate, or the accruing of a right.

PRECEDENT
Prec"e*dent, n.

1. Something done or said that may serve as an example to authorize a subsequent act of the same kind; an authoritative example. Examples for cases can but direct as precedents only. Hooker.

2. A preceding circumstance or condition; an antecedent; hence, a prognostic; a token; a sign. [Obs.]

3. A rough draught of a writing which precedes a finished copy. [Obs.] Shak.

4. (Law)

Defn: A judicial decision which serves as a rule for future determinations in similar or analogous cases; an authority to be followed in courts of justice; forms of proceeding to be followed in similar cases. Wharton.

Syn. — Example; antecedent. — Precedent, Example. An example in a similar case which may serve as a rule or guide, but has no authority out of itself. A precedent is something which comes down to us from the past with the sanction of usage and of common consent. We quote examples in literature, and precedents in law.

PRECEDENTED
Prec"e*dent*ed, a.

Defn: Having a precedent; authorized or sanctioned by an example of a like kind. Walpole.

PRECEDENTIAL
Prec`e*den"tial, a.

Defn: Of the nature of a precedent; having force as an example for imitation; as, precedential transactions. All their actions in that time are not precedential to warrant posterity. Fuller.

PRECEDENTLY
Pre*ced"ent*ly, adv.

Defn: Beforehand; antecedently.

PRECEDING
Pre*ced"ing, a.

1. Going before; — opposed to following.

2. (Astron.)

Defn: In the direction toward which stars appear to move. See
Following, 2.

PRECEL
Pre*cel", v. t. & i. Etym: [See Precellence.]

Defn: To surpass; to excel; to exceed. [Obs.] Howell.

PRECELLENCE; PRECELLENCY Pre*cel"lence, Pre*cel"len*cy, n. Etym: [L. praecellentia, from praecellens, p. pr. of praecellere to excel, surpass: cf. OF. precellence.]

Defn: Excellence; superiority. [Obs.] Sheldon.

PRECELLENT
Pre*cel"lent, a. Etym: [L. praecellens, p. pr.]

Defn: Excellent; surpassing. [Obs.] Holland.

PRECENTOR Pre*cen"tor, n. Etym: [L. praecentor, fr. praecinere to sing before; prae before + canere to sing. See Chant.]

Defn: A leader of a choir; a directing singer. Specifically: (a) The leader of the choir in a cathedral; — called also the chanter or master of the choir. Hook. (b) The leader of the congregational singing in Scottish and other churches.

PRECENTORSHIP
Pre*cen"tor*ship, n.

Defn: The office of a precentor.

PRECEPT Pre"cept, n. Etym: [L. praeceptum, from praecipere to take beforehand, to instruct, teach; prae before + capere to take: cf. F. précepte. See Pre-, and Capacious.]

1. Any commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action; esp., a command respecting moral conduct; an injunction; a rule. For precept must be upon precept. Isa. xxviii. 10. No arts are without their precepts. Dryden.

2. (Law)

Defn: A command in writing; a species of writ or process. Burrill.

Syn. — Commandment; injunction; mandate; law; rule; direction; principle; maxim. See Doctrine.

PRECEPT
Pre"cept, v. t.

Defn: To teach by precepts. [Obs.] Bacon.

PRECEPTIAL
Pre*cep"tial, a.

Defn: Preceptive. [Obs.]
[Passion] would give preceptial medicine to rage. Shak.

PRECEPTION
Pre*cep"tion, n. Etym: [L. praeceptio.]

Defn: A precept. [R.] Bp. Hall.

PRECEPTIVE
Pre*cep"tive, a. Etym: [L. praeceptivus.]

Defn: Containing or giving precepts; of the nature of precepts; didactic; as, the preceptive parts of the Scriptures. The lesson given us here is preceptive to us. L'Estrange.

PRECEPTOR Pre*cep"tor, n. Etym: [L. praeceptor, fr. praecipere to teach: cf. F. précepteur. See Precept.]

1. One who gives commands, or makes rules; specifically, the master or principal of a school; a teacher; an instructor.

2. The head of a preceptory among the Knights Templars. Sir W. Scott.

PRECEPTORIAL
Pre`cep*to"ri*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a preceptor.

PRECEPTORY
Pre*cep"to*ry, a.

Defn: Preceptive. "A law preceptory." Anderson (1573).

PRECEPTORY Pre*cep"to*ry, n.; pl. Preceptories. Etym: [LL. praeceptoria an estate assigned to a preceptor, from L. praeceptor a commander, ruler, teacher, in LL., procurator, administrator among the Knights Templars. See Preceptor.]

Defn: A religious house of the Knights Templars, subordinate to the temple or principal house of the order in London. See Commandery, n., 2.

PRECEPTRESS
Pre*cep"tress, n.

Defn: A woman who is the principal of a school; a female teacher.

PRECESSION
Pre*ces"sion, n. Etym: [L. praecedere, praecessum, to go before: cf.
F. précession. See Precede.]

Defn: The act of going before, or forward. Lunisolar precession. (Astron.) See under Lunisolar. — Planetary precession, that part of the precession of the equinoxes which depends on the action of the planets alone. — Precession of the equinoxes (Astron.), the slow backward motion of the equinoctial points along the ecliptic, at the rate of 50.2" annually, caused by the action of the sun, moon, and planets, upon the protuberant matter about the earth's equator, in connection with its diurnal rotation; — so called because either equinox, owing to its westerly motion, comes to the meridian sooner each day than the point it would have occupied without the motion of precession, and thus precedes that point continually with reference to the time of transit and motion.

PRECESSIONAL
Pre*ces"sion*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to pression; as, the precessional movement of the equinoxes.

PRECESSOR
Pre*ces"sor, n. Etym: [L. praecessor.]

Defn: A predecessor. [Obs.] Fuller.

PRECIEUSE
Pré`cieuse", n.

Defn: An affected woman of polite society, esp. one of the literary women of the French salons of the 17th century.

PRECINCT Pre"cinct, n. Etym: [LL. praecinctum, fr. L. praecingere, praecinctum, to gird about, to encompass; prae before + cingere to gird, surround. See Pre-, and Cincture.]

1. The limit or exterior line encompassing a place; a boundary; a confine; limit of jurisdiction or authority; — often in the plural; as, the precincts of a state. "The precincts of light." Milton.

2. A district within certain boundaries; a minor territorial or jurisdictional division; as, an election precinct; a school precinct.

3. A parish or prescribed territory attached to a church, and taxed
for its support. [U.S.]
The parish, or precinct, shall proceed to a new choice. Laws of
Massachusetts.

PRECIOSITY
Pre`ci*os"i*ty, n.

Defn: Preciousness; something precious. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

PRECIOUS Pre"cious, a. Etym: [OF. precious, precius, precios, F. précieux, L. pretiosus, fr. pretium price, worth, value. See Price.]

1. Of great price; costly; as, a precious stone. "The precious bane." Milton.

2. Of great value or worth; very valuable; highly esteemed; dear; beloved; as, precious recollections. She is more precious than rules. Prov. iii. 15. Many things which are most precious are neglected only because the value of them lieth hid. Hooker.

Note: Also used ironically; as, a precious rascal.

3. Particular; fastidious; overnice. [Obs.]
Lest that precious folk be with me wroth. Chaucer.
Precious metals, the uncommon and highly valuable metals, esp. gold
and silver.
— Precious stones, gems; jewels.

PRECIOUSLY
Pre"cious*ly, adv.

Defn: In a precious manner; expensively; extremely; dearly. Also used ironically.

PRECIOUSNESS
Pre"cious*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being precious; costliness; dearness.

PRECIPE
Prec"i*pe, n. (Law)

Defn: See Præcipe, and Precept.

PRECIPICE Prec"i*pice, n. Etym: [F. précipice, L. praecipitium, fr. praeceps, - cipitis, headlong; prae before + caput, capitis, the head. See Pre-, and Chief.]

1. A sudden or headlong fall. [Obs.] Fuller.

2. A headlong steep; a very steep, perpendicular, or overhanging place; an abrupt declivity; a cliff. Where wealth like fruit on precipices grew. Dryden.

PRECIPIENT
Pre*cip"i*ent, a. Etym: [L. praecipiens, p. pr. See Precept.]

Defn: Commanding; directing.

PRECIPITABILITY
Pre*cip`i*ta*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being precipitable.

PRECIPITABLE
Pre*cip"i*ta*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being precipitated, or cast to the bottom, as a substance in solution. See Precipitate, n. (Chem.)

PRECIPITANCE; PRECIPITANCY
Pre*cip"i*tance, Pre*cip"i*tan*cy, n. Etym: [From Precipitant.]

Defn: The quality or state of being precipitant, or precipitate; headlong hurry; excessive or rash haste in resolving, forming an opinion, or executing a purpose; precipitation; as, the precipitancy of youth. "Precipitance of judgment." I. Watts.

PRECIPITANT Pre*cip"i*tant, a. Etym: [L. praecipitans, -antis, p. pr. of praecipitare: cf. F. précipitant. See Precipitate.]

1. Falling or rushing headlong; rushing swiftly, violently, or recklessly; moving precipitately. They leave their little lives Above the clouds, precipitant to earth. J. Philips. Should he return, that troop so blithe and bold, Precipitant in fear would wing their flight. Pope.

2. Unexpectedly or foolishly brought on or hastened; rashly hurried; hasty; sudden; reckless. Jer. Taylor. "Precipitant rebellion." Eikon Basilike.

PRECIPITANT
Pre*cip"i*tant, n. (Chem.)

Defn: Any force or reagent which causes the formation of a precipitate.

PRECIPITANTLY
Pre*cip"i*tant*ly, adv.

Defn: With rash or foolish haste; in headlong manner. Milton.

PRECIPITANTNESS
Pre*cip"i*tant*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being precipitant; precipitation.

PRECIPITATE Pre*cip"i*tate, a. Etym: [L. praecipitatus, p. p. of praecipitare to precipitate, fr. praeceps headlong. See Precipice.]

1. Overhasty; rash; as, the king was too precipitate in declaring war. Clarendon.

2. Lacking due deliberation or care; hurried; said or done before the time; as, a precipitate measure. "The rapidity of our too precipitate course." Landor.

3. Falling, flowing, or rushing, with steep descent; headlong. Precipitate the furious torrent flows. Prior.

4. Ending quickly in death; brief and fatal; as, a precipitate case of disease. [Obs.] Arbuthnot.

PRECIPITATE
Pre*cip"i*tate, n. Etym: [NL. praecipitatum: cf. F. précipité.]
(Chem.)

Defn: An insoluble substance separated from a solution in a concrete state by the action of some reagent added to the solution, or of some force, such as heat or cold. The precipitate may fall to the bottom (whence the name), may be diffused through the solution, or may float at or near the surface. Red precipitate (Old. Chem), mercuric oxide (HgO) a heavy red crystalline powder obtained by heating mercuric nitrate, or by heating mercury in the air. Prepared in the latter manner, it was the precipitate per se of the alchemists. — White precipitate (Old Chem.) (a) A heavy white amorphous powder (NH2.HgCl) obtained by adding ammonia to a solution of mercuric chloride or corrosive sublimate; — formerly called also infusible white precipitate, and now amido-mercuric chloride. (b) A white crystalline substance obtained by adding a solution of corrosive sublimate to a solution of sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride); — formerly called also fusible white precipitate.

PRECIPITATE
Pre*cip"i*tate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Precipitated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Precipitating.]

1. To throw headlong; to cast down from a precipice or height. She and her horse had been precipitated to the pebbled region of the river. W. Irving.

2. To urge or press on with eager haste or violence; to cause to happen, or come to a crisis, suddenly or too soon; as, precipitate a journey, or a conflict. Back to his sight precipitates her steps. Glover. If they be daring, it may precipitate their designs, and prove dangerous. Bacon.

3. (Chem.)

Defn: To separate from a solution, or other medium, in the form of a precipitate; as, water precipitates camphor when in solution with alcohol. The light vapor of the preceding evening had been precipitated by the cold. W. Irving.

PRECIPITATE
Pre*cip"i*tate, v. i.

1. To dash or fall headlong. [R.] So many fathom down precipitating. Shak.

2. To hasten without preparation. [R.]

3. (Chem.)

Defn: To separate from a solution as a precipitate. See Precipitate, n.

PRECIPITATELY
Pre*cip"i*tate*ly, adv.

Defn: In a precipitate manner; headlong; hastily; rashly. Swift.

PRECIPITATION
Pre*cip`i*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. praecipitatio: cf. F. précipitation.]

1. The act of precipitating, or the state of being precipitated, or thrown headlong. In peril of precipitation From off rock Tarpeian. Shak.

2. A falling, flowing, or rushing downward with violence and rapidity. The hurry, precipitation, and rapid motion of the water, returning . . . towards the sea. Woodward.

3. Great hurry; rash, tumultuous haste; impetuosity. "The precipitation of inexperience." Rambler.

4. (Chem.)

Defn: The act or process from a solution.

PRECIPITATOR
Pre*cip"i*ta`tor, n. Etym: [L. praecipitator an overthrower.]

Defn: One who precipitates, or urges on with vehemence or rashness.
Hammond.

PRECIPITIOUS
Prec`i*pi"tious, a.

Defn: Precipitous. [Obs.] — Prec`i*pi"tious*ly, adv. [Obs.] Dr. H.
More.

PRECIPITOUS
Pre*cip"i*tous, a. Etym: [L. praeceps, -cipitis: cf. OF. precipiteux.
See Precipice.]

1. Steep, like a precipice; as, a precipitous cliff or mountain.

2. Headlong; as, precipitous fall.

3. Hasty; rash; quick; sudden; precipitate; as, precipitous attempts.
Sir T. Browne. "Marian's low, precipitous `Hush!'" Mrs. Browning.
— Pre*cip"i*tous*ly, adv.
— Pre*cip"i*tous*ness, n.

PRECIS
Pre`cis", n. Etym: [F. See Precise.]

Defn: A concise or abridged statement or view; an abstract; a summary.

PRECISE Pre*cise", a. Etym: [L. praecisus cut off, brief, concise, p. p. of praecidere to cut off in front, to cut off; prae before + caedere to cut: cf. F. précis. Cf. Concise.]

1. Having determinate limitations; exactly or sharply defined or stated; definite; exact; nice; not vague or equivocal; as, precise rules of morality. The law in this point is not precise. Bacon. For the hour precise Exacts our parting hence. Milton.

2. Strictly adhering or conforming to rule; very nice or exact; punctilious in conduct or ceremony; formal; ceremonious. Addison. He was ever precise in promise-keeping. Shak.

Syn.
— Accurate; exact; definite; correct; scrupulous; punctilious;
particular; nice; formal. See Accurate.
— Pre*cise"ly, adv.
— Pre*cise"ness, n.

PRECISIAN
Pre*ci"sian, n.

1. One who limits, or restrains. [Obs.]

2. An overprecise person; one rigidly or ceremoniously exact in the observance of rules; a formalist; — formerly applied to the English Puritans. The most dissolute cavaliers stood aghast at the dissoluteness of the emancipated precisian. Macaulay.

PRECISIANISM
Pre*ci"sian*ism, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being a precisian; the practice of a precisian. Milton.

PRECISIANIST
Pre*ci"sian*ist, n.

Defn: A precisian.

PRECISION
Pre*ci"sion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. précision, L. praecisio a cutting off.
See Precise.]

Defn: The quality or state of being precise; exact limitation;
exactness; accuracy; strict conformity to a rule or a standard;
definiteness.
I have left out the utmost precisions of fractions. Locke.

Syn. — Preciseness; exactness; accuracy; nicety. — Precision, Preciseness. Precision is always used in a good sense; as, precision of thought or language; precision in military evolutions. Preciseness is sometimes applied to persons or their conduct in a disparaging sense, and precise is often used in the same way.

PRECISIVE
Pre*ci"sive, a.

Defn: Cutting off; (Logic) exactly limiting by cutting off all that is not absolutely relative to the purpose; as, precisive censure; precisive abstraction. I. Watts.

PRECLUDE
Pre*clude", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Precluded; p. pr. & vb. n.
Precluding.] Etym: [L. praecludere, praeclusum; prae before +
claudere to shut. See Close, v.]

1. To put a barrier before; hence, to shut out; to hinder; to stop; to impede. The valves preclude the blood from entering the veins. E. Darwin.

2. To shut out by anticipative action; to prevent or hinder by necessary consequence or implication; to deter action of, access to, employment of, etc.; to render ineffectual; to obviate by anticipation. This much will obviate and preclude the objections. Bentley.

PRECLUSION
Pre*clu"sion, n. Etym: [L. praeclusio. See Preclude.]

Defn: The act of precluding, or the state of being precluded; a shutting out.

PRECLUSIVE
Pre*clu"sive, a.

Defn: Shutting out; precluding, or tending to preclude; hindering.
— Pre*clu"sive*ly, adv.

PRECOCE
Pre*coce", a. Etym: [F. précoce.]

Defn: Precocious. [Obs.]

PRECOCES
Pre"co*ces, n. pl. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Præcoces.

PRECOCIOUS Pre*co"cious, a. Etym: [L. praecox, -ocis, and praecoquus, fr. praecoquere to cook or ripen beforehand; prae before + coquere to cook. See 3d Cook, and cf. Apricot.]

1. Ripe or mature before the proper or natural time; early or prematurely ripe or developed; as, precocious trees. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

2. Developed more than is natural or usual at a given age; exceeding what is to be expected of one's years; too forward; — used especially of mental forwardness; as, a precocious child; precocious talents.

PRECOCIOUSLY
Pre*co"cious*ly, adv.

Defn: In a precocious manner.

PRECOCIOUSNESS; PRECOCITY
Pre*co"cious*ness, Pre*coc"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. précocité.]

Defn: The quality or state of being precocious; untimely ripeness;
premature development, especially of the mental powers; forwardness.
Saucy precociousness in learning. Bp. Mannyngham.
That precocity which sometimes distinguishes uncommon genius. Wirt.

PRECOETANEAN
Pre*co`e*ta"ne*an, n.

Defn: One contemporary with, but older than, another. [Obs.] Fuller.

PRECOGITATE
Pre*cog"i*tate, v. t. Etym: [L. praecogitatus, p. p. of praecogitare.
See Pre-, and Cogitate.]

Defn: To cogitate beforehand. [R.] Sherwood.

PRECOGITATION
Pre*cog`i*tation, n. Etym: [L. praecogitatio.]

Defn: Previous cogitation. [R.] Bailey.

PRECOGNITION Pre`cog*ni"tion, n. Etym: [L. praecognitio, fr. praecognoscere to foreknow. See Pre-, and Cognition.]

1. Previous cognition. Fotherby.

2. (Scots Law)

Defn: A preliminary examination of a criminal case with reference to a prosecution. Erskine.

PRECOGNIZABLE
Pre*cog"ni*za*ble, a.

Defn: Cognizable beforehand.

PRECOGNOSCE
Pre*cog"nosce, v. t. Etym: [L. praecognoscere to foreknow.] (Scots
Law)

Defn: To examine beforehand, as witnesses or evidence.
A committee of nine precognoscing the chances. Masson.

PRECOLLECTION
Pre`col*lec"tion, n.

Defn: A collection previously made. [R.]

PRECOMPOSE
Pre`com*pose", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Precomposed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Precomposing.]

Defn: To compose beforehand. Johnson.

PRECONCEIT
Pre`con*ceit", n.

Defn: An opinion or notion formed beforehand; a preconception.
Hooker.

PRECONCEIVE
Pre`con*ceive", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Preconceived; p. pr. & vb. n.
Preconceiving.]

Defn: To conceive, or form an opinion of, beforehand; to form a previous notion or idea of. In a dead plain the way seemeth the longer, because the eye hath preconceived it shorter than the truth. Bacon.

PRECONCEPTION
Pre`con*cep"tion, n.

Defn: The act of preconceiving; conception or opinion previously formed.

PRECONCERT
Pre`con*cert", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Preconcerted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Preconcerting.]

Defn: To concert or arrange beforehand; to settle by previous agreement.

PRECONCERT
Pre*con"cert, n.

Defn: Something concerted or arranged beforehand; a previous agreement.

PRECONCERTED
Pre`con*cert"ed, a.

Defn: Previously arranged; agreed upon beforehand.
— Pre`con*cert"ed*ly, adv.
— Pre`con*cert"ed*ness, n.

PRECONCERTION
Pre`con*cer"tion, n.

Defn: The act of preconcerting; preconcert. Dr. T. Dwight.

PRECONDEMN
Pre`con*demn`, v. t.

Defn: To condemn beforehand.
— Pre*con`dem*na"tion, n.

PRECONDITION
Pre`con*di"tion, n.

Defn: A previous or antecedent condition; a preliminary condition.

PRECONFORM
Pre`con*form", v. t. & i.

Defn: To conform by way anticipation. De Quincey.

PRECONFORMITY
Pre`con*form"i*ty, n.

Defn: Anticipative or antecedent conformity. Coleridge.

PRECONIZATE
Pre*con"i*zate, v. t. Etym: [Cf. F. préconiser.]

Defn: To proclaim; to publish; also, to summon; to call. [Obs.] Bp.
Burnet.

PRECONIZATION Pre*con`i*za"tion, n. Etym: [L. praeconium a crying out in public, fr. praeco, -onis, a crier, a herald: cf. F. préconisation.]

1. A publishing by proclamation; a public proclamation. Bp. Hall.

2. (Eccl.)

Defn: A formal approbation by the pope of a person nominated to an ecclesiastical dignity. Addis & Arnold.

PRECONIZE
Pre"con*ize, v. t. (Eccl.)

Defn: To approve by preconization.

PRECONQUER
Pre*con"quer, v. t.

Defn: To conquer in anticipation. [R.] Fuller.

PRECONSCIOUS
Pre*con""scious, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a state before consciousness.

PRECONSENT
Pre`con*sent", n.

Defn: A previous consent.

PRECONSIGN
Pre`con*sign", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Preconsigned; p. pr. & vb. n.
Preconsigning.]

Defn: To consign beforehand; to make a previous consignment of.

PRECONSOLIDATED
Pre`con*sol"i*da`ted, a.

Defn: Consolidated beforehand.

PRECONSTITUTE
Pre*con"sti*tute, v. t.

Defn: To constitute or establish beforehand.

PRECONTRACT
Pre`con*tract", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Precontracted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Precontracting.]

Defn: To contract, engage, or stipulate previously.

PRECONTRACT
Pre`con*tract", v. i.

Defn: To make a previous contract or agreement. Ayliffe.

PRECONTRACT
Pre*con"tract, n.

Defn: A contract preceding another; especially (Law),

Defn: a contract of marriage which, according to the ancient law, rendered void a subsequent marriage solemnized in violation of it. Abbott.

PRECONTRIVE
Pre`con*trive", v. t. & i.

Defn: To contrive or plan beforehand.

PRECORACOID
Pre*cor"a*coid, n. (Anat.)

Defn: The anterior part of the coracoid (often closely united with the clavicle) in the shoulder girdle of many reptiles and amphibians.

PRECORDIAL Pre*cor"di*al, a. Etym: [Pref. pre- + L. cor, cordis, heart: cf. F. précordial.] (Anat.)

Defn: Situated in front of the heart; of or pertaining to the præcordia.

PRECRURAL
Pre*cru"ral, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Situated in front of the leg or thigh; as, the precrural glands of the horse.

PRECURRER
Pre*cur"rer, n.

Defn: A precursor. [Obs.] Shak.

PRECURSE
Pre*curse", n. Etym: [L. praecursus.]

Defn: A forerunning. [Obs.] Shak.

PRECURSIVE
Pre*cur"sive, a.

Defn: Preceding; introductory; precursory. "A deep precursive sound."
Coleridge.

PRECURSOR Pre*cur"sor, n. Etym: [L. praecursor, fr. praecurrere to run before; prae before + currere to run. See Course.]

Defn: One who, or that which, precedes an event, and indicates its approach; a forerunner; a harbinger. Evil thoughts are the invisible, airy precursors of all the storms and tempests of the soul. Buckminster.

Syn.
— Predecessor; forerunner; harbinger; messenger; omen; sign.

PRECURSORSHIP
Pre*cur"sor*ship, n.

Defn: The position or condition of a precursor. Ruskin.

PRECURSORY
Pre*cur"so*ry, a. Etym: [L. praecursorius.]

Defn: Preceding as a precursor or harbinger; indicating something to follow; as, precursory symptoms of a fever.

PRECURSORY
Pre*cur"so*ry, n.

Defn: An introduction. [Obs.]

PREDACEAN
Pre*da"cean, n. Etym: [L. praeda prey.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A carnivorous animal. Kirby.

PREDACEOUS
Pre*da"ceous, a. Etym: [L. praeda prey. See Prey.]

Defn: Living by prey; predatory. Derham.

PREDAL
Pre"dal, a. Etym: [L. praeda prey.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to prey; plundering; predatory. [R.] Boyse.

PREDATE
Pre*date", v. t.

Defn: To date anticipation; to affix to (a document) an earlier than the actual date; to antedate; as, a predated deed or letter.

PREDATION
Pre*da"tion, n. Etym: [L. praedatio, fr. praedari to plunder.]

Defn: The act of pillaging. E. Hall.

PREDATORILY
Pred"a*to*ri*ly, adv.

Defn: In a predatory manner.

PREDATORY Pred"a*to*ry, a. Etym: [L. praedatorius, fr. praedari to plunder, fr. praeda prey. See Prey.]

1. Characterized by plundering; practicing rapine; plundering; pillaging; as, a predatory excursion; a predatory party. "A predatory war." Macaulay.

2. Hungry; ravenous; as, predatory spirits. [Obs.] Exercise . . . maketh the spirits more hot and predatory. Bacon.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Living by preying upon other animals; carnivorous.

PREDE
Prede, v. i. Etym: [L. praedari. See Prey.]

Defn: To prey; to plunder. [Obs.] Holinshed.

PREDE
Prede, n.

Defn: Prey; plunder; booty. [Obs.] Holinshed.

PREDECAY
Pre"de*cay`, n.

Defn: Premature decay.

PREDECEASE
Pre`de*cease, v. t.

Defn: To die sooner than. "If children predecease progenitors." Shak.

PREDECEASE
Pre"de*cease`, n.

Defn: The death of one person or thing before another. [R.] Brougham.

PREDECESSIVE
Pred`e*ces"sive, a.

Defn: Going before; preceding. "Our predecessive students."
Massinger.

PREDECESSOR Pred`e*ces"sor, n. Etym: [L. praedecessor; prae before + decessor one who withdraws from the province he has governed, a retiring officer (with reference to his successor), a predecessor, fr. decedere: cf. F. prédécesseur. See Decease.]

Defn: One who precedes; one who has preceded another in any state, position, office, etc.; one whom another follows or comes after, in any office or position. A prince who was as watchful as his predecessor had been over the interests of the state. Prescott.

PREDECLARE
Pre`de*clare", v. t.

Defn: To declare or announce beforehand; to preannounce. Milman.

PREDEDICATION
Pre*ded`i*ca"tion, n.

Defn: A dedication made previously or beforehand.

PREDEFINE
Pre`de*fine, v. t.

Defn: To define beforehand.

PREDELIBERATION
Pre`de*lib`er*a"tion, n.

Defn: Previous deliberation.

PREDELINEATION
Pre`de*lin`e*a"tion, n.

Defn: Previous delineation.

PREDELLA
Pre*del"la, n. Etym: [It.]

Defn: The step, or raised secondary part, of an altar; a superaltar; hence, in Italian painting, a band or frieze of several pictures running along the front of a superaltar, or forming a border or frame at the foot of an altarpiece.

PREDESIGN
Pre`de*sign", v. t.

Defn: To design or purpose beforehand; to predetermine. Mitford.

PREDESIGNATE
Pre*des"ig*nate, a. (Logic)

Defn: A term used by Sir William Hamilton to define propositions having their quantity indicated by a verbal sign; as, all, none, etc.; — contrasted with preindesignate, defining propositions of which the quantity is not so indicated.

PREDESTINARIAN
Pre*des`ti*na"ri*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to predestination; as, the predestinarian controversy. Waterland.

PREDESTINARIAN
Pre*des`ti*na"ri*an, n.

Defn: One who believes in or supports the doctrine of predestination.
Dr. H. More.

PREDESTINARIANISM
Pre*des`ti*na"ri*an*ism, n.

Defn: The system or doctrine of the predestinarians.

PREDESTINARY
Pre*des"ti*na*ry, a.

Defn: Predestinarian. [Obs.] Heylin.

PREDESTINATE Pre*des"ti*nate, a. Etym: [L. praedestinatus, p. p. of praedestinare to predestine; prae before + destinare to determine. See Destine.]

Defn: Predestinated; foreordained; fated. "A predestinate scratched face." Shak.

PREDESTINATE
Pre*des"ti*nate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Predestinated; p. pr. & vb. n.
Predestinating.] Etym: [Cf. Predestine.]

Defn: To predetermine or foreordain; to appoint or ordain beforehand by an unchangeable purpose or decree; to preëlect. Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. Rom. viii. 29.

Syn. — To predetermine; foreordain; preordain; decree; predestine; foredoom.

PREDESTINATION Pre*des`ti*na"tion, n. Etym: [L. praedestinatio: cf. F. prédestination.]

1. The act of predestinating. Predestination had overruled their will. Milton.

2. (Theol.)

Defn: The purpose of Good from eternity respecting all events; especially, the preordination of men to everlasting happiness or misery. See Calvinism.

PREDESTINATIVE
Pre*des"ti*na*tive, a.

Defn: Determining beforehand; predestinating. [R.] Coleridge.

PREDESTINATOR
Pre*des"ti*na`tor, n. Etym: [Cf. F. prédestinateur.]

1. One who predestinates, or foreordains.

2. One who holds to the doctrine of predestination; a predestinarian. Cowley.

PREDESTINE
Pre*des"tine, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Predestined; p. pr. & vb. n.
Predestining.] Etym: [Cf. F. prédestiner. See Predestinate.]

Defn: To decree beforehand; to foreordain; to predestinate. Young.

PREDESTINY
Pre*des"ti*ny, n.

Defn: Predestination. [Obs.]

PREDETERMINABLE
Pre`de*ter"mi*na*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being determined beforehand. Coleridge.

PREDETERMINATE
Pre`de*ter"mi*nate, a.

Defn: Determined beforehand; as, the predeterminate counsel of God.

PREDETERMINATION
Pre`de*ter`mi*na"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. prédétermination.]

Defn: The act of previous determination; a purpose formed beforehand; as, the predetermination of God's will. Hammond.

PREDETERMINE
Pre`de*ter"mine, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Predetermined; p. pr. & vb. n.
Predermining.] Etym: [Pref. pre- + determine: cf. F. prédéterminer.]

1. To determine (something) beforehand. Sir M. Hale.

2. To doom by previous decree; to foredoom.

PREDETERMINE
Pre`de*ter"mine, v. i.

Defn: To determine beforehand.

PREDIAL
Pre"di*al, a. Etym: [L. praedium a farm, estate: cf. F. prédial.]

1. Consisting of land or farms; landed; as, predial estate; that is, real estate. Ayliffe.

2. Attached to land or farms; as, predial slaves.

3. Issuing or derived from land; as, predial tithes.

PREDIASTOLIC
Pre*di`as*tol"ic, a. (Physiol.)

Defn: Preceding the diastole of the heart; as, a prediastolic friction sound.

PREDICABILITY
Pred`i*ca*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being predicable, or affirmable of something, or attributed to something. Reid.

PREDICABLE Pred"i*ca*ble, a. Etym: [Cf. F. prédicable, L. praedicabilis praiseworthy. See Predicate.]

Defn: Capable of being predicated or affirmed of something; affirmable; attributable.

PREDICABLE
Pred"i*ca*ble, n.

1. Anything affirmable of another; especially, a general attribute or notion as affirmable of, or applicable to, many individuals.

2. (Logic)