Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Pēarl, n. p. 960A silvery or bluish white, hard, smooth, lustrous substance, usually roundish, found inside the shells of several species of mollusks, particularly the pearl oyster. Pearls consist of the carbonate…Pēarl, v. t. p. 960To set or adorn with pearls. 2. To make in shape and appearance like pearls; as, to pearl barley.Pēarl, v. i. p. 960To resemble pearls. Spenser.Pēarl, a. p. 960Made of, or pertaining to, pearl; also, made of mother-of-pearl.Pēarl-ā'ceoŭs, a. p. 960Resembling mother-of-pearl.Pēarl'āsh, n. p. 960A somewhat impure carbonate of potassa, obtained by calcining potashes upon a reverberatory hearth. Ure.Pēarl'-bär'ley, n. p. 960The small, round kernel which remains after the skin and a portion of the barley have been ground off, by passing it between millstones of a peculiar kind, the kernels having been previously steamed…Pēarl'-bŭt'ton, n. p. 960A button made of mother-of-pearl.Pēarl'-dīv'er, n. p. 960One who dives for pearls.Pēarl'-ēdge, n. p. 960A projection on the side of some qualities of ribbon; also, a narrow kind of thread edging to be sewed on lace. Simmonds.Pĕarl'-eye, n. p. 960A disease of the eye; cataract. [Obs.]Pēarl'-ēyed, a. p. 960Having a speck in the eye; afflicted with the cataract.Pēarl'-grāss, n. p. 960See PĒARL-WORT.Pēar'ling or Pēar'lings, n. pl. p. 960A kind of lace of silk or thread. Jamieson. W. Scott.Pēarl'-mŏss, n. p. 960See CARRAGEEN.Pēarl'-oys/ter, n. p. 960The oyster which yields pearls.Pēarl'-pow'der, n. p. 960A powder made from nitrate of bismuth, and sometimes used as a cosmetic; pearl-white. Simmonds.Pēarl'-sā'go, n. p. 960Sago in the form of hard grains, not larger than a pin's head.Pēarl'-sīn’ter, n. p. 960(Min.) A variety of silicious sinter, of grayish and whitish colors; florite. Ore.Pĕarl'-spăr, n. p. 960(Min.) A crystallized variety of dolomite, having a pearly luster.Pēarl'-stitch, n. p. 960An ornamental stitch on knit stockings.Pēar'l-stōne, n. p. 960(Min.) A semi-glassy volcanic product, of a grayish color, occurring sometimes in concretions. Dana.Pēar'l'-stūd'ded, a. p. 960Studded with pearls. Scott.Pēarl'-white, n. p. 960A white powder precipitated from the nitrate of bismuth by a solution of sea-salt; pearl-powder. Ure.Pēarl'-wort, n. p. 960(Bot.) An annual plant of the genus Sagina;—called also pearl-grass.Pēarl'y, a. p. 960Containing pearls; abounding with pearls; as, pearly shells; a pearly shore. 2. Resembling pearls; clear; pure; transparent; as, the pearly flood; pearly dew.Peār'māin or Peār-māin', n. p. 960A variety of the apple.Peār'-shāped, a. p. 960Having the form of a pear, ovate beneath and conical above. Henslow.Pēart, a. p. 960Active in a high degree; lively; brisk;—often applied to persons recovering from sickness. Wright. There was a tricksy girl, I wot, albeit clad in gray. As peart as bird, as straight as bolt, as…Pēas'ant, n. p. 960A countryman; one whose business is rural labor; a rustic; especially, one of the lowest class of tillers of the soil in European countries. Syn.—Countryman; rustic; swain; hind.Pĕas'ant, a. p. 960Rustic; rural. Spenser.Pĕas'ant-like or Pĕas'ant-ly, a. p. 960Rude; clownish; illiterate; resembling peasants. Milton.Peas'ant-ry, n. p. 960The lowest class of tillers of the soil; laborers; peasants; rustics; the body of country people. 2. Rusticity. [Obs.] Butler.Pea'-pod, n. p. 960The legume or pericarp of the pea.Pēase, n. pl. p. 960Peas collectively, or used as food. See PEA. Arbuthnot.Pēa'-shĕll, n. p. 960A peas-cod.Pēa'-shoot'er, n. p. 960A small metal tube for blowing peas through. Simmonds.Pēa'-stone, n. p. 960(Min.) Pisolite.Peat, n. p. 960A substance of vegetable origin, consisting of roots and fibers in various stages of decomposition, and found, as a kind of turf or bog, in low situations, where it is always more or less saturated…Pēat, n. p. 960A small, delicate person. [Obs.]Pēat'-bŏg, n. p. 960A bog containing peat; also, peat as it occurs in such places; peat-moss.Pēat'-mōss, n. p. 960The vegetables which, when decomposed, become peat. 2. A fen producing peat.Peat'-reek, n. p. 960The reek or smoke of peat; hence, also, the peculiar flavor given to whisky by being distilled with peat as fuel. [Scot.]Pēat'y, a. p. 960Composed of peat; resembling peat.Pēa'-wee'vil, n. p. 960See PEA-BUG.Pē'bā, n. p. 960(Zoöl.) A kind of armadillo found in variousPĕb'ble, n. p. 961A small, roundish stone; a stone worn and rounded by the action of water; a small bowlder. “The murmuring surge that on the unnumbered pebbles chafe.” Shak. “As children gathering pebbles on the…Pĕb'ble-cry̆s'tal, n. p. 961A crystal in the form of a pebble; a pellucid pebble derived from the rounding of quartz crystal. Woodward.Pĕb'bled, a. p. 961Abounding with pebbles. Thomson.Pĕb'ble-stōne, n. p. 961A pebble.Pĕb'bly, a. p. 961Full of pebbles; abounding with small, roundish stones.Pe-can′ or Pe-cā'nā, n. p. 961(Bot.) A species of hickory (Carya oliviformis), and its fruit, growing in North America. The nuts are oblong, very smooth, an inch or an inch and a half long, with thin shells.Pēc'a-ry, n. p. 961See PECCARY.Pēc'ea-bĭl'i-ty, n. p. 961The state or quality of being peccable; liability to sin; capacity of sinning. Decay of Piety.Pĕc'ca-ble, a. p. 961Liable to sin; subject to transgress the divine law. “A frail and peccable mortal.” W. Scott.Pĕc'ea-dil'lo, n. p. 961A slight trespass or offense; a petty crime or fault. Her crime was what in Cupid’s court would have been called a peccadillo. W. Scott. 2. A sort of stiff ruff.Pĕc'can-cy, n. p. 961The quality of being peccant or sinful; bad quality. Wiseman. 2. Offense. Mountagu.Pē c'eant, a. p. 961Sinning; guilty of sin or transgression; criminal; as, peccant angels. “The truth that nature itself is a peccant state.” Coleridge. 2. Morbid; corrupt; not healthy; as, peccant humors. Arbuthnot. 3.…Pēc'eant, n. p. 961An offender. [Obs.] Whitlock.Pĕc'cant-ly, adv. p. 961Sinfully; transgressingly.