Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Pȳr'o-scōpe, n. p. 1068An instrument for measuring the intensity of heat radiating from a fire, or the cooling influence of bodies. It is a differential thermometer, having one bulb coated with gold or silver leaf.Pȳ-rō'sis, n. p. 1068(Med.) A disease of the stomach, attended with a sensation of burning in the epigastrium, accompanied with an eructation of watery fluid, usually insipid, but sometimes acrid;—commonly called…Pȳ-rŏs'ma-līte, n. p. 1068(Min.) A mineral usually of a pale brown, or of a gray or grayish-green color, consisting chiefly of the hydrous silicate of iron and manganese;—so called from the odor given off before the…Pȳr'o-sōme, n. p. 1068(Zoöl.) A molluscous animal of the genus Pyrosoma;—so called from its emitting a brilliant phosphoric light. Baird.Pȳr'/o-tar-tär'/ic, a. p. 1068(Chem.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, tartaric acid when heated in a close vessel; as, pyrotartaric acid.Pŷr/o-tār'trate, n. p. 1068(Chem.) A salt formed by the combination of pyrotartaric acid with a base.Pŷr'o-tēch'ni-an, n. p. 1068A pyrotechnist.Pȳr/o-tĕch'nic or Pȳr/o-tĕch'nic-al, a. p. 1068Pertaining to fireworks, or the art of forming them.Pŷr'o-tech-nī'cian, n. p. 1068A pyrotechnist.Pŷr'o-tēch'nies, n. sing. p. 1068The art of making fireworks, especially for purposes of public amusement or rejoicing; pyrotechny. [See Note under MATHEMATICS.]Pŷr/o-tēch'nist, n. p. 1068One skilled in pyrotechny; one who manufactures fireworks. Stevens.Pŷr'o-tēch'ny, n. p. 1068The same as PYROTECHNICS.Py-rōth'o-nīde, n. p. 1068(Med.) A kind of empyreumatic oil produced by the combustion of textures of hemp, linen, or cotton in a copper vessel, and formerly used as a remedial agent. Dunglison.Pȳ-rŏt'ic, a. p. 1068Caustic. See CAUSTIC.Pȳ-rŏt'ic, n. p. 1068A caustic medicine.Pŷr/o-ū'rie, n. p. 1068(Chem.) Pertaining to, or obtained from, uric acid when subjected to distillation; as, pyro-uric acid.Pŷr'ox-ēne, n. p. 1068(Min.) A mineral; augite. See AUGITE. Dana.Pŷr'ox-ēn'ic, a. p. 1068Containing pyroxene; composed chiefly of pyroxene. Dana.Pŷ-rŏx'yle, n. p. 1068The same as PYROXYLINE.Pŷr'ox-ŷl'ic, a. p. 1068(Chem.) Obtained by the destructive distillation of wood; as, pyroxylic spirit. Gregory.Pȳ-rŏx'y-līne, n. p. 1068(Chem.) An explosive substance obtained by immersing vegetable fiber in nitric and sulphuric acid, or in a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids, and then suffering it to dry; gun-cotton. Dana.Pŷr'rhic, n. p. 1068(Pros.) A foot consisting of two short syllables. 2. An ancient military dance, to the accompaniment of the flute, its time being very quick and light.Pȳr'rhie, a. p. 1068(Pros.) Pertaining to, or containing, pyrrhics; as, a pyrrhic verse. 2. Of, or pertaining to, an ancient military dance, said to have been invented by Pyrrhichus. Ye have the pyrrhic dance as yet. —…Pŷr'rhi-çist, n. p. 1068(Gr. Antiq.) One who danced the pyrrhic.Pŷr'rhīte, n. p. 1068(Min.) An orange-yellow mineral, having a vitreous luster, consisting of the columbate of zirconia, colored, apparently, by oxides of iron, uranium, and manganese. Dana.Pyr-rhō'ne-an or Pyr-rhōn'ic, a. p. 1068Pertaining to pyrrhonism.Pŷr'rho-nīsm, n. p. 1068Skepticism; universal doubt.Pŷr'rho-nīst, n. p. 1068A skeptic; one who doubts of every thing.Pŷr'rho-tīne, n. p. 1068(Min.) A yellowish-reddish mineral, consisting of sulphur and iron, distinguished from common pyrites by its inferior hardness; magnetic pyrites.Pyr'ŭ-lă, n. p. 1068(Zoöl.) A genus of gasteropodous mollusks, having a pear-shaped shell, with a short spire, a thin outer lip, a smooth columella, and a long, open canal. Baird.Pȳ-rū'ric, a. p. 1068The same as PYRO-URIC. See PYRO-URIC.Pȳ'rus, n. p. 1068A genus of fruit trees, including the pear and the apple.Py̆th'a-gō're-an or Py̆-thăg'o-rē'an, n. p. 1068A follower of Pythagoras, the founder of the Italic sect of philosophers.Py̆th'a-gō're-an or Py̆-thăg'o-rē'an, a. p. 1068Of, or pertaining to, Pythagoras or his philosophy. Pythagorean system (Astron.), the commonly-received system of astronomy, first taught by Pythagoras, and afterward revived by Copernicus, whence it…Py̆th'a-gŏr'ic or Py̆th'a-gŏr'ic-al, a. p. 1068The same as PYTHAGOREAN.Pȳ-thăg'o-rĭsm, n. p. 1068The doctrines of Pythagoras.Pȳ-thăg'o-rīze, v. i. p. 1068To speculate after the manner of Pythagoras.Pȳth'i-ad, n. p. 1068(Gr. Antiq.) The period intervening between one celebration of the Pythian games and the next.Pȳth'i-an, a. p. 1068Pertaining to the priestess of Apollo, who delivered oracles. Pythian games (Gr. Antiq.), one of the four great national festivals of ancient Greece, celebrated near Delphi, in honor of Apollo, the…Pȳ'thon, n. p. 1068(Zoöl.) A genus of large snakes, nearly allied to the boa, but having teeth in the intermaxillary bone. They are found in Africa and the East Indies.Pȳth'o-ness, n. p. 1068(Gr. Antiq.) The priestess who gave oracular answers at Delphi, in Greece. 2. Any female supposed to have a spirit of divination; a sort of witch. Bp. Hall.Py-thŏn'ic, a. p. 1068Pretending to foretell events.Pȳth'o-nĭsm, n. p. 1068The art of predicting events by divination. Cole.Pȳth'o-nĭst, n. p. 1068A conjurer.Pȳx, n. p. 1068(Rom. Cath. Church.) The box in which the host is kept. 2. A box used, in English coinage, as a place of deposit for certain sample coins taken for a trial of the weight and fineness of metal, before…Pȳx, v. t. p. 1068To test, as to weight and fineness, as the coins deposited in the pyx. Mushet.Pȳx-ĭd'i-ŭm, n. p. 1068(Bot.) (a.) A pod which divides circularly into an upper and lower half, of which the former acts as a kind of lid, as the pimpernel. (b.) The theca of mosses.Pȳx'is, n. p. 1068A box; a pyx. 2. (Bot.) A pyxidium. Gray. 3. (Anat.) The cavity which receives the head of the femur; the acetabulum.Q p. 1069Q, the seventeenth letter of the English alphabet, has but one sound, which is the same as that of k, or c hard. It is, therefore, a superfluous letter. In English, it never ends a word, as it does…Quab, n. p. 1069A young, unfledged bird; a squab; hence, something unfinished or very immature. Ford.Quab, v. i. p. 1069See Quob.Quā'-bīrd, n. p. 1069(Ornith.) A kind of heron found in the Southern States. See HERON.Quā'cha, n. p. 1069(Zoöl.) The quagga. See QUAGGA.Qua-chĭl’to, n. p. 1069(Ornith.) A Brazilian fowl of the moor-hen kind, of a fine black color, variegated with white.Quăck, v. i. p. 1069To cry like the common domestic duck. 2. To make vain and loud pretensions; to boast. “To quack of universal cures.” Hudibras. 3. To act as a quack.Quăck, n. p. 1069The cry of the domestic duck; a sound such as is made by a duck. 2. A boastful pretender to medical skill; an empiric; an ignorant practitioner. 3. Hence, one who boastfully pretends to knowledge not…Quäck, a. p. 1069Pertaining to quackery; used by quacks. If all understood medicine, there would be none to take his quack medicine. Whately.Quăck'ened, a. p. 1069Almost choked or suffocated.Quăck'er-y, n. p. 1069The boastful pretensions or practice of a quack; empiricism.Quäck'ish, a. p. 1069Like a quack; boasting of skill not possessed; trickish.