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-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.Pĕc'ca-ry, n. p. 961A pachyderm of the genus Dicotyles (D. torquatus), about the size and shape of a small hog, but having a white ring around the neck; the tajacu. They are found from Arkansas to Brazil. A larger…Pec-cā'vī p. 961I have sinned; — a colloquial word used to express confession or acknowledgment of an offense. Aubrey.Pē'cō, n. p. 961See PEKOE.Pĕch'blĕnde, n. p. 961(Min.) Pitchblende. See PITCHBLENDE.