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.
Piër'cing-ness, n. p. 986The power of piercing or penetrating; sharpness; keenness.Piër'-glāss, n. p. 986A mirror or glass hanging between windows.Pīē'ri-an, a. p. 986Pertaining to the Muses. Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. Pope.Piër'-tā'ble, n. p. 986A table standing between windows.Pi'et, n. p. 986A magpie. [Written also piot.]Pi'e'tism, n. p. 986The religion of the Pietists.Pi'e-tist, n. p. 986(Eccl. Hist.) One of a class of religious reformers in Germany who have sought to restore piety to the Protestant churches; — often applied as a term of reproach.Pi'e-tist'ic or Pi'e-tist'ic-al, a. p. 986Pertaining to the Pietists; hence, in contempt, affectedly religious.Pi'e-ty, n. p. 986Filial reverence; affectionate reverence of parents, or friends, or country. Conferred upon me for the piety Which to my country I was judged to have shown. Milton. 2. Veneration or reverence of the…Pī'e-zŏm'e-ter, n. p. 986An instrument for measuring the compressibility of liquids.Pig, n. p. 986The young of swine, male or female. 2. An oblong mass of cast iron or other metal, as first extracted from the ore, and weighing from fifty to two hundred and fifty pounds. 3. An earthen vessel.…Pīg, v. t. or i. p. 986To bring forth pigs; to bring forth as, or in the manner of, pigs. 2. To lie together like pigs. They found themselves, they knew not how, pigging together, heads and points, in the same truckle-bed.…Pig'-bĕd, n. p. 986(Founding.) The bed of molded sand in which the iron from a smelting furnace is cast into pigs.Pĭg'eon, n. p. 986(Ornith.) A gallinaceous bird, of the genus Columba, of several species, as the stock-dove, the ring-dove, the turtle dove, and the migratory or wild pigeon of America. Pigeon English, the barbarous…Pïg'eon, v. t. p. 986To fleece or strip of money by the arts of gambling. Smart.Pīg'ēon-fōot, n. p. 986(Bot.) A plant of the genus Geranium (G. molle). Haworth.Pĭg'eon-hēärt'ed, a. p. 986Timid; easily frightened.Pīg'ēon-hōle, n. p. 986A hole for pigeons to enter their dwelling. 2. Hence, a little opening or division in a case for papers. 3. (pl.) An old English game in which balls were rolled through little cavities or arches.…Pĭg'eon-līv'ered, a. p. 986Mild in temper; soft; gentle. Shak.Pīg'eon-pēa, n. p. 986A plant and its seed, a kind of pulse, used for food in the East and West Indies. It is the Cytisus Cajan.Pĭġ'eon-ry, n. p. 986A place for keeping pigeons; a dovecote.Pĭġ'eon-tōed, n. p. 986Having toes turned in.Pĭg'-eȳed, a. p. 986Having small eyes sunk deep in the head.Pĭg'ger-y, n. p. 986A place where swine are kept.Pig'gin, n. p. 986A small wooden vessel with an erect handle, used as a dipper.Pig'-head'ed, a. p. 986Having a large or ill-formed head; stupidly obstinate. B. Jonson.Pīg'-hĕad'ed-ness, n. p. 986The quality of being pig-headed; stupidity and obstinacy. De Quincey.Pight, p. a. p. 986Pitched; fixed; determined. [Obs.] I found him pight to do it. Shak.Pight, v. t. p. 986To place; to fix. [Obs.] “And by my wretched lover’s side me pight.” Spenser.Pigh'tel, n. p. 986A little inclosure. [Written also pightle.] [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]Pig'-ī'ron, n. p. 986Iron in pigs, or oblong blocks or bars, as it comes from the smelting furnace in the form of cast-iron run into molds of sand.Pĭg'-lead, n. p. 986Lead in pigs, or as first extracted from the ore.Pig-mē'an, a. p. 986Like a pygmy; very small; as, an image of pigmean size.Pīg'ment, n. p. 986A preparation used by painters, &c., to impart colors to bodies; paint. 2. Wine that is highly spiced and sweetened with honey. W. Scott.Pig-mēnt'al, a. p. 986Pertaining to pigments.Pīg'ment-a-ry or Pīg-men'tous, a. p. 986Pertaining to, or furnished with, pigments or coloring matter; pigmental. Dunglison.Pig'my, n. p. 986A person of very small stature; a dwarf; — a name applied to a fabled nation said to have been devoured by cranes. “A pigmy's straw doth pierce it.” Shak.Pīg'ner-āte, v. t. p. 986To deposit on pledge; to pledge. 2. To receive in pawn, as a pawnbroker.Pīg'no-rā'tion, n. p. 986The act of pledging or pawning. 2. (Civil Law.) The taking of cattle doing damage, by way of pledge, till satisfaction is made. Burrill.Pĭg'no-ra-tive, a. p. 986Pledging; pawning.Pig'-nut, n. p. 986(Bot.) (a.) A plant, and its root, of the genus Bunium: earth-nut. (b.) A species of hickory (Carya glabra), and its fruit.Pigs'ney, n. p. 986[Corrupted from pig's eye. [Written also pigsnie.] A little eye;—a word of endearment to a girl. [Rare.] Hudibras.Pig'-sty, n. p. 986A sty or pen for pigs.Pig'tāil, n. p. 986The tail of a pig. 2. The hair of the head tied in the form of a pig's tail; a cue. 3. A roll of twisted tobacco, having a peculiar color and flavor; tobacco converted, by a kind of spinning process…Pig'-weed, n. p. 986(Bot.) An annual weed; goosefoot.Pig'wid'geon, n. p. 986A fairy. 2. Any thing very small. [Colloq. and vulgar.]Pike, n. p. 986(Mil.) A weapon, consisting of a long wooden shaft or staff, with a flat-pointed steel head; a spear; —now superseded by the bayonet. 2. A pointed spear head or spike in the center of a buckler, “And…Pik'ed, a. p. 986Furnished with a pike; ending in a point; acuminated. “With their piked targets bearing them down.” Milton.Pike'-de-vänt', n. p. 986The beard cut so as to form a peak or point in front of the chin. [Obs.] Some two or three years before his death he nourished a sharp and short pike-devant on his chin. Fynes Morison.Pike'let or Pike'lin, n. p. 986A light cake or muffin. [Prov. Eng.]Pike'man, n. p. 986A soldier armed with a pike. Knolles.Pike'stâff, n. p. 986The staff or shaft of a pike. 2. A staff having a sharp metal spike at the bottom, to guard against slipping. W. Scott.Pik'ro-lite, n. p. 986(Min.) A variety of serpentine. See PICROLITE.Pi'lage, n. p. 986The natural coat of hair on animals. Bacon.Pi-läs’ter, n. p. 986(Arch.) A square column, sometimes insulated, but usually set within a wall, and projecting only a fourth or fifth of its diameter. The bases, capitals, and entablatures of pilasters have the same…Pī-läs'tered, a. p. 986Furnished with pilasters.Pi-lgu', n. p. 986See PILLAU.Pilch, n. p. 986A furred gown or case; something lined with fur. [Obs.]Pil'chard, n. p. 986(Ichth.) A fish of the genus Clupea, resembling the herring, but thicker and rounder, having the under jaw shorter, the back more elevated, and the belly not so sharp. These fishes are caught on the…Pilch'er, n. p. 986Any thing lined with fur, as a gown. 2. A fish. See PILCHARD.