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An American Dictionary of the English Language

by Noah Webster

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

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  1. Pĕrt'ly, adv.p. 975In a pert manner; smartly; saucily.
  2. Pĕrt'ness, n.p. 975The state of being pert; briskness; sauciness; sprightliness without dignity; impudence.
  3. Per-trăn'sient, a.p. 975Passing through; traversing. [Obs.] Bailey.
  4. Per-tū'i-sane, n.p. 975A spear; a partisan. [Obs. and very rare.] “Bearing a spear, or pertuisane.” Holland.
  5. Per-tûrb', v. t.p. 975To disturb; to agitate; to disquiet. “Rest, rest, perturbed spirit.” Shak. 2. To disorder; to confuse. Browne.
  6. Pĕr'turb-ate or Per-tûrb'āte, v. t.p. 975To perturb. [Obs.]
  7. Per-tûrb'ançe, n.p. 975The same as PERTURBATION.
  8. Pĕr'tur-bā'tion, n.p. 975The act of perturbing, or the state of being perturbed. 2. (Astron.) An irregularity in the motion of a heavenly body through its orbit.
  9. Pĕr'tur-bā'tor, n.p. 975One who perturbs, or raises commotion. [Rare.]
  10. Per-tûrb'er, n.p. 975One who perturbs; a perturbator.
  11. Per-tūse' or Per-tūsed', a.p. 975Punched; pierced with holes. 2. (Bot.) Perforated or pierced irregularly with holes.
  12. Per-tū'sion, n.p. 975The act of punching, piercing, or thrusting through with a pointed instrument. The manner of opening a vein in Hippocrates’s time was by stabbing, or pertusion. Arbuthnot. 2. A little hole made by…
  13. Per-tûs'sis, n.p. 975(Med.) The hooping-cough.
  14. Pĕr'uke, n.p. 975An artificial cap of hair; a periwig.
  15. Pêr'uke, v. i.p. 975To dress with a peruke. [Rare.]
  16. Pĕr'ule, n.p. 975(Bot.) The cover of a seed. Henslow.
  17. Pe-rū'sal, n.p. 975The act of perusing. This treatise requires application in the perusal. Woodward. 2. Careful view or examination. [Rare.] Tatler.
  18. Pe-rūse′, v. t.p. 975To read, or to read with attention. Addison. 2. To observe; to consider; to examine with careful survey. [Obs.] I have perused her well. Shak. Myself I then perused, and limb by limb Surveyed. Milton.
  19. Pe-rūs'er, n.p. 975One who peruses.
  20. Pe-rū'vi-an, a.p. 975(Geog.) Of or pertaining to Peru, in South America. Peruvian balsam. See BALSAM OF PERU.—Peruvian bark, the bark of trees of various species of Cinchona. It is of a bitter taste, and acts as a…
  21. Pe-rū'vi-an, n.p. 975(Geog.) A native or an inhabitant of Peru.
  22. Per-vāde', v. t.p. 975To pass through, as an aperture, pore, or interstice; to permeate. “Substances soaked in such liquors as will immediately pervade their little pores.” Newton. 2. To pass or spread through the whole…
  23. Per-vā'sion, n.p. 976The act of pervading, or passing through the whole extent of a thing.
  24. Per-vā'sive, a.p. 976Tending, or having power, to pervade.
  25. Per-vērse', a.p. 976Turned aside; hence, distorted from the right. Best friends might loathe us, if what things perverse We know of our own selves they also know. Trench. 2. Obstinate in the wrong; disposed to be…
  26. Per-vērsed', a.p. 976Turned. [Obs. and rare.] “With perversed eyes.” Phaer.
  27. Per-vĕrs'ed-ly, adv.p. 976In a perverse manner; perversely.
  28. Per-vērse'ly, adv.p. 976In a perverse manner.
  29. Per-vērse'ness, n.p. 976The state of being perverse. Her whom he wishes most shall seldom gain Through her perverseness. Milton. 2. Perversion. [Obs.] Bacon.
  30. Per-vĕr'sion, n.p. 976The act of perverting; a turning from truth or propriety; a diverting from the true intent or object; change to something worse; a turning or applying in an unauthorized manner to a wrong end or use.
  31. Per-vēr'si-ty, n.p. 976The state of being perverse; perverseness.
  32. Per-vēr'sive, a.p. 976Tending to pervert or corrupt.
  33. Per-vĕrt’, v. t.p. 976To turn from truth, propriety, or from its proper purpose; to distort from its true use or end; specifically, to misinterpret through evil motives or bias. The acute and distinct Arminius was…
  34. Per-vĕrt’, v. i.p. 976To become perverted; to take the wrong course. [Obs.]
  35. Pĕr'vert, n.p. 976One who has turned from a right way to that which is wrong. Conybeare.
  36. Per-vĕrt'er, n.p. 976One who perverts, distorts, misinterprets, or misapplies.
  37. Per-vĕrt'i-ble, a.p. 976Capable of being perverted.
  38. Per-vĕs'ti-gāte, v. t.p. 976To find out by research. [Obs.] Cockeram.
  39. Per-vĕs'ti-gā'tion, n.p. 976The act of pervestigating; diligent or thorough research. [Obs.] Chillingworth.
  40. Pĕr'vi-al, a.p. 976Pervious. [Obs.]
  41. Pĕr'vi-al-ly, adv.p. 976In a pervial or pervious manner; so as to be pervious. [Obs.] Chapman.
  42. Pĕr'vi-cā'cioŭs, a.p. 976Very obstinate; willfully contrary or refractory; stubborn. [Obs.] Denham.
  43. Pěr'vi-eā'ciōs-ly, adv.p. 976In a pervicacious manner; stubbornly. [Obs.]
  44. Pēr'vi-eā'ciōñs-ness or Pēr'vi-eāc'i-ty, n.p. 976The state of being pervicacious. [Obs.]
  45. Pēr'vi·ea·cy, n.p. 976Pervicacity. [Obs.]
  46. Per-vĭg'ĭ-lā'tion, n.p. 976A careful watching. [Obs.]
  47. Për'vi-ous, a.p. 976Admitting passage; capable of being penetrated by another body or substance; permeable; penetrable. A country pervious to the arms and authority of a conqueror. Gibbon. Not less in number were the…
  48. Pēr'vi-ōus-ness, n.p. 976The quality of being pervious.
  49. Pe-sāde', n.p. 976(Man.) The motion of a horse when he raises his fore quarters, keeping his hind feet on the ground without advancing; rearing.
  50. Pĕs'age, n.p. 976A sum paid for the weighing of merchandise. Craig.
  51. Pĕs'ane, n.p. 976See PUSANE.
  52. Pĕs'ant-ed, a.p. 976Debased; enslaved. [Obs.] “Thus pesanted to each lewd thought's control.” Marston.
  53. Pēsh'i-to, a.p. 976Simple; literal; verbal;— a term applied to the earliest Syriac version of the Scriptures, in distinction, probably, from those versions which abounded in allegorical interpretation. Davidson.
  54. Pĕsk'i-ly, adv.p. 976Exceedingly; very; mischievously; annoyingly; vexingly. [Colloq. and low. U. S.]
  55. Pĕs'ky, a.p. 976Great; exceeding; mischievous; troublesome; vexing. [Colloq. and low. U. S.]
  56. Pē'so, n.p. 976The Spanish dollar of exchange; also, the pound weight. Simmonds.
  57. Pĕs'sa-ry, n.p. 976An instrument made of wood, caoutchouc, waxed linen, or the like, and introduced into the vagina to support the mouth and neck of the uterus.
  58. Pĕs'si-mīst, n.p. 976One who complains of every thing as being for the worst; — opposed to optimist.
  59. Pĕs'so-măn'cy, n.p. 976Divination by means of pebbles.
  60. Pĕst, n.p. 976A fatal epidemic disease; plague; pestilence. Let fierce Achilles The god propitiate, and the pest assuage. Pope. 2. Hence, any thing which resembles a pest; that which is very noxious, mischievous…