Plumule Plu"mule noun [ Latin
plumula , dim. of
pluma a feather; confer French
plumule .]
1. (Botany) The first bud, or gemmule, of a young plant; the bud, or growing point, of the embryo, above the cotyledons. See Illust. of Radicle . Gray. 2. (Zoology) (a) A down feather. (b) The aftershaft of a feather. See Illust. under Feather . (c) One of the featherlike scales of certain male butterflies.
Plumulose Plu"mu·lose" adjective Having hairs branching out laterally, like the parts of a feather.
Plumy Plum"y adjective Covered or adorned with plumes, or as with plumes; feathery. "His
plumy crest."
Addison. "The
plumy trees."
J. S. Blackie.
Plunder Plun"der transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Plundered ;
present participle & verbal noun Plundering .] [ German
plündern to plunder,
plunder frippery, baggage.]
1. To take the goods of by force, or without right; to pillage; to spoil; to sack; to strip; to rob; as, to plunder travelers. Nebuchadnezzar plunders the temple of God.
South. 2. To take by pillage; to appropriate forcibly; as, the enemy plundered all the goods they found. Syn. -- To pillage; despoil; sack; rifle; strip; rob.
Plunder Plun"der noun 1. The act of plundering or pillaging; robbery. See Syn. of Pillage . Inroads and plunders of the Saracens.
Sir T. North. 2. That which is taken by open force from an enemy; pillage; spoil; booty; also, that which is taken by theft or fraud. "He shared in the
plunder ."
Cowper. 3. Personal property and effects; baggage or luggage. [ Slang, Southwestern U.S.]
Plunderage Plun"der·age noun (Mar. Law) The embezzlement of goods on shipboard. Wharton.
Plunderer Plun"der·er noun One who plunders or pillages.
Plunge Plunge transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Plunged ;
present participle & verbal noun Plunging .] [ Middle English
ploungen , Old French
plongier , French
plonger , from (assumed) Late Latin
plumbicare , from Latin
plumbum lead. See
Plumb .]
1. To thrust into water, or into any substance that is penetrable; to immerse; to cause to penetrate or enter quickly and forcibly; to thrust; as, to plunge the body into water; to plunge a dagger into the breast. Also used figuratively; as, to plunge a nation into war. "To
plunge the boy in pleasing sleep."
Dryden. Bound and plunged him into a cell.
Tennyson. We shall be plunged into perpetual errors.
I. Watts. 2. To baptize by immersion. 3. To entangle; to embarrass; to overcome. [ Obsolete]
Plunged and graveled with three lines of Seneca.
Sir T. Browne.
Plunge Plunge intransitive verb 1. To thrust or cast one's self into water or other fluid; to submerge one's self; to dive, or to rush in; as, he plunged into the river. Also used figuratively; as, to plunge into debt. Forced to plunge naked in the raging sea.
Dryden. To plunge into guilt of a murther.
Tillotson. 2. To pitch or throw one's self headlong or violently forward, as a horse does. Some wild colt, which . . . flings and plunges .
Bp. Hall. 3. To bet heavily and with seeming recklessness on a race, or other contest; in an extended sense, to risk large sums in hazardous speculations. [ Cant]
Plunging fire (Gun.) ,
firing directed upon an enemy from an elevated position.
Plunge Plunge noun 1. The act of thrusting into or submerging; a dive, leap, rush, or pitch into, or as into, water; as, to take the water with a plunge . 2. Hence, a desperate hazard or act; a state of being submerged or overwhelmed with difficulties. [ R.]
She was brought to that plunge , to conceal her husband's murder or accuse her son.
Sir P. Sidney. And with thou not reach out a friendly arm,
To raise me from amidst this plunge of sorrows?
Addison. 3. The act of pitching or throwing one's self headlong or violently forward, like an unruly horse. 4. Heavy and reckless betting in horse racing; hazardous speculation. [ Cant]
Plunge bath ,
an immersion by plunging; also, a large bath in which the bather can wholly immerse himself. --
Plunge , or
plunging ,
battery (Electricity) ,
a voltaic battery so arranged that the plates can be plunged into, or withdrawn from, the exciting liquid at pleasure.
Plunger Plun"ger noun 1. One who, or that which, plunges; a diver. 2. A long solid cylinder, used, instead of a piston or bucket, as a forcer in pumps. 3. One who bets heavily and recklessly on a race; a reckless speculator. [ Cant]
4. (Pottery) A boiler in which clay is beaten by a wheel to a creamy consistence. Knight. 5. (Gun.) The firing pin of a breechloader. Plunger bucket ,
a piston, without a valve, in a pump. --
Plunger pole ,
the pump rod of a pumping engine. --
Plunger pump ,
a pump, as for water, having a plunger, instead of a piston, to act upon the water. It may be single-acting or double-acting
Plunk Plunk transitive verb [ Imitative.] [ Chiefly Colloq.]
1. To pluck and release quickly (a musical string); to twang. 2. To throw, push, drive heavily, plumply, or suddenly; as, to plunk down a dollar; also, to hit or strike. 3. To be a truant from (school). [ Scot.]
Plunk Plunk intransitive verb [ Chiefly Colloq.]
1. To make a quick, hollow, metallic, or harsh sound, as by pulling hard on a taut string and quickly releasing it; of a raven, to croak. 2. To drop or sink down suddenly or heavily; to plump. 3. To play truant, or "hooky". [ Scot.]
Plunk Plunk noun 1. Act or sound of plunking. [ Colloq.]
2. [ Slang]
(a) A large sum of money. [ Obsolete]
(b) A dollar. [ U. S.]
Plunket Plun"ket noun A kind of blue color; also, anciently, a kind of cloth, generally blue.
Pluperfect Plu"per`fect adjective [ Latin
plus more +
perfectus perfect; confer French
plus-que-parfait , Latin
plusquamperfectum .]
More than perfect; past perfect; -- said of the tense which denotes that an action or event was completed at or before the time of another past action or event. --
noun The pluperfect tense; also, a verb in the pluperfect tense.
Plural Plu"ral adjective [ Latin
pluralis , from
plus ,
pluris , more; confer French
pluriel , Old French
plurel . See
Plus .]
Relating to, or containing, more than one; designating two or more; as, a plural word. Plural faith, which is too much by one.
Shak. Plural number (Gram.) ,
the number which designates more than one. See Number , noun , 8.
Plural Plu"ral noun (Gram.) The plural number; that form of a word which expresses or denotes more than one; a word in the plural form.
Pluralism Plu"ral·ism noun 1. The quality or state of being plural, or in the plural number. 2. (Eccl.) The state of a pluralist; the holding of more than one ecclesiastical living at a time. [ Eng.]
Pluralist Plu"ral·ist noun (Eccl.) A clerk or clergyman who holds more than one ecclesiastical benefice. [ Eng.]
Of the parochial clergy, a large proportion were pluralists .
Macaulay.
Plurality Plu·ral"i·ty noun ;
plural pluralities . [ Latin
pluralitas : confer French
pluralité .]
1. The state of being plural, or consisting of more than one; a number consisting of two or more of the same kind; as, a plurality of worlds; the plurality of a verb. 2. The greater number; a majority; also, the greatest of several numbers; in elections, the excess of the votes given for one candidate over those given for another, or for any other, candidate. When there are more than two candidates, the one who receives the plurality of votes may have less than a majority. See Majority . Take the plurality of the world, and they are neither wise nor good.
L'Estrange. 3. (Eccl.) See Plurality of benefices , below. Plurality of benefices (Eccl.) ,
the possession by one clergyman of more than one benefice or living. Each benefice thus held is called a plurality . [ Eng.]
Pluralization Plu`ral·i·za"tion noun The act of pluralizing. H. Spencer.
Pluralize Plu"ral·ize transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Pluralized ;
present participle & verbal noun Pluralizing .]
1. To make plural by using the plural termination; to attribute plurality to; to express in the plural form. 2. To multiply; to make manifold. [ R.]
Pluralize Plu"ral·ize intransitive verb 1. To take a plural; to assume a plural form; as, a noun pluralizes . Earle. 2. (Eccl.) To hold more than one benefice at the same time. [ Eng.]
Pluralizer Plu"ral·i`zer noun (Eccl.) A pluralist. [ R.]
Plurally Plu"ral·ly adverb In a plural manner or sense.
Pluri- Plu"ri- [ See Plus .] A combining form from Latin plus , pluris , more, many; as pluri literal.
Pluries Plu"ri·es noun [ So called from Latin
pluries many times, often, which occurs in the first clause.]
(Law) A writ issued in the third place, after two former writs have been disregarded. Mozley & W.
Plurifarious Plu`ri·fa"ri·ous adjective [ Latin
plurifarius , from Latin
plus ,
pluris , many. Confer
Bifarious .]
Of many kinds or fashions; multifarious.
Plurifoliolate Plu`ri·fo"li·o·late adjective [
Pluri- +
foliolate .]
(Botany) Having several or many leaflets.
Pluriliteral Plu`ri·lit"er·al adjective [
Pluri- +
literal .]
Consisting of more letters than three. - -
noun A pluriliteral word.
Plurilocular Plu`ri·loc"u·lar adjective [
Pluri- +
locular .]
Having several cells or loculi ; specifically
(Botany) ,
having several divisions containing seeds; as, the lemon and the orange are plurilocular fruits. Plurilocular sporangia (Botany) ,
many- celled sporangia, each cell containing a single spore, as in many algæ.
Pluriparous Plu·rip"a·rous adjective [
Pluri- + Latin
parere to bring forth.]
Producing several young at a birth; as, a pluriparous animal.
Pluripartite Plu`ri·par"tite adjective [
Pluri- +
partite .]
(Botany) Deeply divided into several portions.
Pluripresence Plu`ri·pres"ence noun [
Pluri- +
presence .]
Presence in more places than one. [ R.]
Johnson.
Plurisy Plu"ri·sy noun [ Latin
plus ,
pluris , more.]
Superabundance; excess; plethora. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Plus Plus adjective [ Latin , more; akin to Greek ..., ..., and English
full . See
Full ,
adjective , and confer
Piü ,
Pleonasm .]
1. (Math.) More, required to be added; positive, as distinguished from negative; -- opposed to minus . 2. Hence, in a literary sense, additional; real; actual. Success goes invariably with a certain plus or positive power.
Emerson. Plus sign (Math.) ,
the sign (+) which denotes addition, or a positive quantity.
Plush Plush noun [ French
pluche ,
peluche (cf. Italian
peluzzo ), from Latin
pilus hair. See
pile hair, and confer
Peruke .]
A textile fabric with a nap or shag on one side, longer and softer than the nap of velvet. Cowper.
Plushy Plush"y adjective Like plush; soft and shaggy. H. Kingsley.
Plutarchy Plu"tar·chy noun [ Greek ... wealth +
-archy .]
Plutocracy; the rule of wealth. [ R.]
Pluteal Plu"te·al adjective (Zoology) Of or pertaining to a pluteus.
Pluteus Plu"te·us noun ;
plural Latin
Plutei , English
Pluteuses . [ Latin , a shed.]
(Zoology) The free-swimming larva of sea urchins and ophiurans, having several long stiff processes inclosing calcareous rods.
Pluto Plu"to noun [ Latin , from Greek ....]
(Class. Myth.) The son of Saturn and Rhea, brother of Jupiter and Neptune; the dark and gloomy god of the Lower World. Pluto monkey (Zoology) ,
a long- tailed African monkey ( Cercopithecus pluto ), having side whiskers. The general color is black, more or less grizzled; the frontal band is white.
Plutocracy Plu·toc"ra·cy noun [ Greek ...; ... wealth + ... to be strong, to rule, from ... strength: confer French
plutocratie .]
A form of government in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of the wealthy classes; government by the rich; also, a controlling or influential class of rich men.
Plutocrat Plu"to·crat noun One whose wealth gives him power or influence; one of the plutocracy.
Plutocratic Plu`to·crat"ic adjective Of or pertaining to plutocracy; as, plutocratic ideas. Bagehot.
Plutology Plu·tol"o·gy noun [ Greek ... wealth +
-logy .]
The science which treats of wealth.
Plutonian Plu·to"ni·an adjective [ Latin
Plutonius , Greek ...: confer French
plutonien .]
Plutonic. Poe.
Plutonian Plu·to"ni·an noun (Geol.) A Plutonist.
Plutonic Plu·ton"ic adjective [ Confer French
plutonique . See
Pluto .]
1. Of or pertaining to Pluto; Plutonian; hence, pertaining to the interior of the earth; subterranean. 2. Of, pertaining to, or designating, the system of the Plutonists; igneous; as, the Plutonic theory. Plutonic action (Geol.) ,
the influence of volcanic heat and other subterranean forces under pressure. --
Plutonic rocks (Geol.) ,
granite, porphyry, and some other igneous rocks, supposed to have consolidated from a melted state at a great depth from the surface. Confer Intrusive rocks , under Intrusive . --
Plutonic theory .
(Geol.) See Plutonism .
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