Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
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.
Pick'et-ing, n. p. 984A kind of torture by forcing a person to stand with one foot on a pointed stake.Pick'et-tee', n. p. 984The same as PICOTEE, q. v.Pick'ing, n. p. 984The act of plucking, selecting, or gathering. 2. That which is left to be picked or gleaned. 3. The pulverized shells of oysters used in making walks. Simmonds. 4. A hard-burned brick. Simmonds. 5.…Pick'le, n. p. 985A solution of salt and water, in which fish and meat may be preserved or corned. 2. Vinegar, sometimes seasoned with spices, in which vegetables, fish, oysters, &c., may be preserved. 3. Any article…Pick'le, n. p. 985A parcel of land inclosed with a hedge. [Prov. Eng.]Pick'le, v. t. p. 985To preserve in brine or pickle; as, to pickle herring. 2. To season in pickle. 3. To imbue highly with any thing bad; as, a pickled rogue. 4. To prepare, as an imitation, and sell as genuine;—said of…Pick'le-hĕr/ring, n. p. 985A merry-andrew; a zany; a buffoon; a jackpudding. Addison.Pick'lŏck, n. p. 985An instrument for opening locks without the key. 2. A person who picks locks. 3. A superior description of selected wool.Pick'nick, n. p. 985See PICNIC.Pick'pén-ny, n. p. 985One who cheats; a sharper.Pick'pŏck-et, n. p. 985One who steals from the pocket of another.Pick'pûrse, n. p. 985One who steals the purse, or from the purse, of another.Pick'sy, n. p. 985The same as Pixy. See Pixy.Pick'thănk, n. p. 985An officious fellow who does what he is not desired to do, for the sake of gaining favor; a whispering parasite; a flatterer; a tale-bearer;—used also adjectively. [Obs.] Spies and pickthanks seldom…Pick'tōoth, n. p. 985An instrument for picking or cleaning the teeth; a toothpick. [Obs.]Pick'wick, n. p. 985A pointed instrument for picking up the wick of a lamp.Pī'cle, n. p. 985A small piece of land inclosed with a hedge; a close. [Obs.]Pic'nie, n. p. 985Formerly, an entertainment at which each person contributed some dish or article for the general table; in present use, an entertainment carried by a party on an excursion of pleasure into the…Pic'nie, v. i. p. 985To go on a picnic. C. Kingsley.Pē'co, n. p. 985A peak; the pointed head of a mountain.Pi'co-tee', n. p. 985A variety of carnation having petals notched at the edges, and spotted instead of striped, mostly upon a yellow ground. Smart.Pĭcĕt'ĕt, n. p. 985See PIQUET.Pī'e-rā, n. p. 985(Med.) The officinal powder of aloes with canella, which is composed of one part of canella to four parts of aloes. In Europe, it is prepared as an electuary instead of as a powder. It is employed as…Pi'eric, a. p. 985The same as CARBAZOTIC, q. v.Pic'ro-lite, n. p. 985(Min.) A fibrous variety of serpentine. Dana.Pic'ro-měl, n. p. 985(Chem.) The characteristic principle of bile. Ure.Pĭe'ro-phār'ma-co-lite, n. p. 985(Min.) A hydrous arseniate of lime, containing a small proportion of magnesia.Pi'cro-phyll, n. p. 985(Min.) A greenish-gray, foliated, fibrous mineral, consisting chiefly of the hydrous silicate of magnesia and iron. Dana.Pi-ē'rōph'yl-lite or Piē/ro-phyl'lite, n. p. 985(Min.) A species of serpentine, occurring in dark-green, foliated masses. Brande.Pi-erōs'mīne, n. p. 985(Min.) A mineral, consisting chiefly of silicate of magnesia, and having a bitter, argillaceous odor when moistened. Dana.Pĭc'ro-tŏx'ine, n. p. 985(Chem.) A white, bitter, poisonous, crystalline substance, obtained from the fruit of Cocculus Indicus.Pict, n. p. 985A person who paints his body, or parts of it, for ornamental or other purposes. [Obs.] Steele.Piet, n. p. 985One of a tribe of Scythians, or Germans, who settled in Scotland.Piet'ish, a. p. 985Of, pertaining to, or resembling, the Picts.Pic-tō'ri-al, a. p. 985Pertaining to pictures; illustrated by pictures; forming pictures; as, a pictorial imagination; a pictorial dictionary.Pic-tō'ri-al-ly, adv. p. 985In a pictorial manner; with pictures.Pic-tŏr'ic or Pic-tŏr'ic-al, a. p. 985Pictorial. [Rare.]Pĭct'ūr-a-ble, a. p. 985Capable of being pictured.Pict'ūr-al, a. p. 985Pertaining to, consisting of, or represented in, pictures. [Rare.]Pict'ūr-al, n. p. 985A representation. [Obs.]Pic'ture, n. p. 985That which is painted; a likeness drawn in colors; hence, any graphic representation, as of a person, a landscape, a building. Pictures and shapes are but secondary objects. Bacon. 2. The art of, or…Pict'ure, v. t. p. 985To draw or paint a resemblance of; to represent; to form or present an ideal likeness of; to recall distinctly or vividly. I do picture it in my mind. Spencer. Love is like a painter, who, in drawing…Pict'ūr-er, n. p. 985One who pictures; one who draws or paints pictures; a painter. [Obs.] “Zeuxis, the curious picturer.” Fuller.Pict'ure-frāme, n. p. 985A frame which surrounds a picture, and sets it off to advantage.Pĭct'ure-gāl'ler-y, n. p. 985A gallery or large apartment, in which pictures are hung up for exhibition.Pic'tūr-èsque', a. p. 985Fitted to form a good or pleasing picture; represented with the clearness or ideal beauty appropriate to a picture; expressing that peculiar kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture, natural or…Pic'tur-esque'ly, adv. p. 985In a picturesque manner.Pict'ūr-ēsque'ness, n. p. 985The state of being picturesque. Picturesqueness is that quality in objects which fits them for making a good picture; and it refers to the appearances of things in form and color more than to their…Pict'ūr-īze, v. t. p. 985To form into a picture; to represent by pictures; to ornament with pictures.Pie'ul, n. p. 985A weight of 133⅓ lbs., divided into 100 catties, or 1600 taels;—called also, by the Chinese, tan. [Chin.] Malcom.Pid'dle, v. i. p. 985To deal in trifles; to spend time in trifling objects; to attend to trivial concerns or the small parts rather than to the main. [Obs.] Ainsworth. 2. To pick at table; to eat or drink squeamishly, or…Pid'dler, n. p. 985One who piddles.Pid'dling, a. p. 985Trifling; trivial. “The ignoble heritage of piddling tithes.” Milton. “From slashing Bentley down to piddling Tibbalds.” Pope.Pie (pī), n. p. 985An article of food consisting of paste baked with something in it or under it, as apple, minced meat, &c.Pīe, n. p. 985A magpie. See PICA. [Sometimes written pye.] 2. The old Roman Catholic service-book. See PICA. 3. (Print.) The same as PI. See PI. Cock and pie, an adjuration of the pie or service-book, and of the…Pīe'bald, a. p. 985Of various colors; diversified in color; as, a piebald horse.Pièce, n. p. 985A fragment or part of any thing separated from the whole, in any manner, by cutting, splitting, breaking, or tearing; a part; a share; a portion. 2. A portion of any thing conceived of as apart from…Piēçe, v. t. p. 985To enlarge or mend by the addition of a piece; to patch; as, to piece a garment; to piece the time. 2. To unite; to join. Dr. Preston carried it clear at the first by dividing his adversaries; who…Piēçe, v. i. p. 985To unite by a coalescence of parts; to be compacted as parts into a whole. Bacon.Pièce, n. p. 985A castle. [Obs.] Spenser.