Plutonism Plu"to·nism noun [ Confer French plutonisme .] The theory, early advanced in geology, that the successive rocks of the earth\'b6s crust were formed by igneous fusion; -- opposed to the Neptunian theory .

Plutonist Plu"to·nist noun [ Confer French plutoniste .] One who adopts the geological theory of igneous fusion; a Plutonian. See Plutonism .

Plutus Plu"tus noun [ Latin , from Greek ....] (Class. Myth.) The son of Jason and Ceres, and the god of wealth. He was represented as bearing a cornucopia, and as blind, because his gifts were bestowed without discrimination of merit.

Pluvial Plu"vi·al adjective [ Latin pluvialis , from pluvia rain: confer French pluvial . See Plover .] 1. Of or pertaining to rain; rainy. [ R.]

2. (Geol.) Produced by the action of rain.

Pluvial Plu"vi·al noun [ Late Latin pluviale a garment which keeps off the rain: confer French pluvial .] A priest's cope.

Pluviameter Plu`vi·am"e·ter noun See Pluviometer .

Pluviametrical Plu`vi·a·met"ric·al adjective See Pluviometrical .

Pluvian Plu"vi·an noun (Zoology) The crocodile bird.

Pluviograph Plu"vi·o·graph noun [ Latin pluvia rain + -graph .] A self-registering rain gauge.

Pluviography Plu`vi·og"ra·phy noun [ Latin pluvia rain + -graphy .] The branch of meteorology treating of the automatic registration of the precipitation of rain, snow, etc.; also, the graphic presentation of precipitation data.

Pluviometer Plu`vi·om"e·ter noun [ Latin pluvia rain + -meter : confer French pluviomètre .] An instrument for ascertaining the amount of rainfall at any place in a given time; a rain gauge.

Pluviometrical Plu`vi·o·met"ric·al adjective [ Confer French pluviométrique .] Of or pertaining to a pluviometer; determined by a pluviometer.

Pluviometry Plu`vi·om"e·try noun [ Latin pluvia rain + -metry .] That department of meteorology that treats of the measurement of the precipitation of rain, snow, etc.

Pluvioscope Plu"vi·o·scope noun [ Latin pluvia rain + -scope .] A rain gauge.

Pluviôse Plu`vi`ôse" noun [ French See Pluvious .] The fifth month of the French republican calendar adopted in 1793. It began January 20, and ended February 18. See Vendémiaire .

Pluvious Plu"vi·ous adjective [ Latin pluviosus , pluvius , from pluvia rain: confer French pluvieux . See Pluvial , adjective ] Abounding in rain; rainy; pluvial. Sir T. Browne.

Ply Ply transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Plied ; present participle & verbal noun Plying .] [ Middle English plien , French plier to fold, to bend, from Latin plicare ; akin to Greek ..., German flechten . Confer Apply , Complex , Display , Duplicity , Employ , Exploit , Implicate , Plait , Pliant , Flax .] 1. To bend. [ Obsolete]

As men may warm wax with handes plie .

Chaucer.

2. To lay on closely, or in folds; to work upon steadily, or with repeated acts; to press upon; to urge importunately; as, to ply one with questions, with solicitations, or with drink.

And plies him with redoubled strokes

Dryden.

He plies the duke at morning and at night.

Shak.

3. To employ diligently; to use steadily.

Go ply thy needle; meddle not.

Shak.

4. To practice or perform with diligence; to work at.

Their bloody task, unwearied, still they ply .

Waller.

Ply Ply intransitive verb 1. To bend; to yield. [ Obsolete]

It would rather burst atwo than plye .

Chaucer.

The willow plied , and gave way to the gust.

L'Estrange.

2. To act, go, or work diligently and steadily; especially, to do something by repeated actions; to go back and forth; as, a steamer plies between certain ports.

Ere half these authors be read (which will soon be with plying hard and daily).

Milton.

He was forced to ply in the streets as a porter.

Addison.

The heavy hammers and mallets plied .

Longfellow.

3. (Nautical) To work to windward; to beat.

Ply Ply noun [ Confer French pli , from plier . See Ply , v. ] 1. A fold; a plait; a turn or twist, as of a cord. Arbuthnot.

2. Bent; turn; direction; bias.

The late learners can not so well take the ply .

Bacon.

Boswell, and others of Goldsmith's contemporaries, . . . did not understand the secret plies of his character.

W. Irving.

The czar's mind had taken a strange ply , which it retained to the last.

Macaulay.

» Ply is used in composition to designate folds, or the number of webs interwoven; as, a three- ply carpet.

Plücker tube Plück"er tube [ So named after Julius Plücker , a German physicist.] (Physics) (a) A vacuum tube, used in spectrum analysis, in which the part through which the discharge takes place is a capillary tube, thus producing intense incandescence of the contained gases. (b) Crookes tube.

Plyer Ply"er noun One who, or that which, plies ; specifically: (a) plural A kind of balance used in raising and letting down a drawbridge. It consists of timbers joined in the form of a St. Andrew's cross. (b) plural See Pliers .

Plyght Plyght v. & noun See Plight . [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Plymouth Brethren Plym"outh Breth"ren The members of a religious sect which first appeared at Plymouth, England, about 1830. They protest against sectarianism, and reject all official ministry or clergy. Also called Brethren , Christian Brethren , Plymouthists , etc. The Darbyites are a division of the Brethren.

Pneometer Pne·om"e·ter noun [ Greek ... to breathe + -meter .] (Physiol.) A spirometer.

Pneumatic Pneu·mat"ic noun A vehicle, as a bicycle, the wheels of which are fitted with pneumatic tires.

Pneumatic, Pneumatical Pneu·mat"ic, Pneu·mat"ic·al adjective [ Latin pneumaticus , Greek ..., from ..., ..., wind, air, ... to blow, breathe; confer Old High German fnehan : confer French pneumatique . Confer Pneumonia .] 1. Consisting of, or resembling, air; having the properties of an elastic fluid; gaseous; opposed to dense or solid .

The pneumatical substance being, in some bodies, the native spirit of the body.

Bacon.

2. Of or pertaining to air, or to elastic fluids or their properties; pertaining to pneumatics; as, pneumatic experiments. " Pneumatical discoveries." Stewart.

3. Moved or worked by pressure or flow of air; as, a pneumatic instrument; a pneumatic engine.

4. (Biol.) Fitted to contain air; Having cavities filled with air; as, pneumatic cells; pneumatic bones.

Pneumatic action , or Pneumatic lever (Mus.) , a contrivance for overcoming the resistance of the keys and other movable parts in an organ, by causing compressed air from the wind chest to move them. -- Pneumatic dispatch , a system of tubes, leading to various points, through which letters, packages, etc., are sent, by the flow and pressure of air. -- Pneumatic elevator , a hoisting machine worked by compressed air. -- Pneumatic pile , a tubular pile or cylinder of large diameter sunk by atmospheric pressure. -- Pneumatic pump , an air-exhausting or forcing pump. -- Pneumatic railway . See Atmospheric railway , under Atmospheric . -- Pneumatic syringe , a stout tube closed at one end, and provided with a piston, for showing that the heat produced by compressing a gas will ignite substances. -- Pneumatic trough , a trough, generally made of wood or sheet metal, having a perforated shelf, and used, when filled with water or mercury, for collecting gases in chemical operations. -- Pneumatic tube . See Pneumatic dispatch , above.

Pneumatic, Pneumatical Pneu·mat"ic, Pneu·mat"ic·al adjective Adapted for containing compressed air; inflated with air; as, a pneumatic cushion; a pneumatic tire, a tire formed of an annular tube of flexible fabric, as India rubber, suitable for being inflated with air.

Pneumaticity Pneu`ma·tic"i·ty noun (Biol.) The state of being pneumatic, or of having a cavity or cavities filled with air; as, the pneumaticity of the bones of birds.

Pneumatics Pneu·mat"ics noun [ Confer French pneumatique .]

1. That branch of science which treats of the mechanical properties of air and other elastic fluids, as of their weight, pressure, elasticity, etc. See Mechanics .

2. (Philos. & Theol.) The scientific study or knowledge of spiritual beings and their relations to God, angels, and men.

Pneumato- Pneu"ma·to- (nū"mȧ*to- or nu*măt"o-). A combining form from Greek pney^ma , pney`matos , wind , air , breath , respiration ; as, pneumato graph, pneumato logy.
[ 1913 Webster]

Pneumatocele Pneu·mat"o·cele noun [ Pneumato- + Greek ... a tumor; confer French pneumatocèle .] (Medicine) A distention of the scrotum by air; also, hernia of the lungs.

Pneumatocyst Pneu·mat"o·cyst noun [ Pneumato- + cyst .] (Zoology) A cyst or sac of a siphonophore, containing air, and serving as a float, as in Physalia.

Pneumatogarm Pneu·mat"o·garm noun [ Pneumato- + -gram .] (Physiol.) A tracing of the respiratory movements, obtained by a pneumatograph or stethograph.

Pneumatograph Pneu·mat"o·graph noun [ Pneumato- + -graph .] (Physiol.) An instrument for recording the movements of the thorax or chest wall during respiration; -- also called stethograph .

Pneumatological Pneu`ma·to·log"ic·al adjective [ Confer French pneumatologique .] Of or pertaining to pneumatology.

Pneumatologist Pneu`ma·tol"o·gist noun [ Confer French pneumatologiste .] One versed in pneumatology.

Pneumatology Pneu`ma·tol"o·gy noun [ Pneumato- + -logy : confer French pneumatologie .] 1. The doctrine of, or a treatise on, air and other elastic fluids. See Pneumatics , 1.

2. (Philos. & Theol.) The science of spiritual being or phenomena of any description.

Pneumatometer Pneu`ma·tom"e·ter noun [ Pneumato- + -meter .] (Physiol.) An instrument for measuring the amount of force exerted by the lungs in respiration.

Pneumatometry Pneu`ma·tom"e·try noun See Spirometry .

Pneumatophore Pneu·mat"o·phore noun [ Pneumato- + Greek ... to bear.] (Zoology) One of the Pneumonophora.

Pneumatothorax Pneu`ma·to·tho"rax noun [ Pneumato- + thorax .] (Medicine) See Pneumothorax .

Pneumo- Pneu"mo- A combining form from Greek pney`mwn , pney`monos , a lung ; as, pneumo gastric, pneumo logy.

Pneumococcus Pneu`mo·coc"cus noun [ See Pneumo- , and Coccus .] (Biol.) A form of micrococcus found in the sputum (and elsewhere) of persons suffering with pneumonia, and thought to be the cause of this disease.

Pneumogastric Pneu`mo·gas"tric adjective [ Pneumo- + gastric .] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the lungs and the stomach. -- noun The pneumogastric nerve.

Pneumogastric nerve (Anat.) , one of the tenth pair of cranial nerves which are distributed to the pharynx, esophagus, larynx, lungs, heart, stomach, liver, and spleen, and, in fishes and many amphibia, to the branchial apparatus and also to the sides of the body.

Pneumograph Pneu"mo·graph noun Same as Pneumatograph .

Pneumography Pneu·mog"ra·phy noun [ Pneumo- + -graphy .] A description of the lungs. Dunglison.

Pneumology Pneu·mol"o·gy noun [ Pneumo- + -logy .] (Anat.) The science which treats of the lungs.

Pneumometer Pneu·mom"e·ter noun [ Pneumo- + -meter .] (Physiol.) A spirometer.

Pneumometry Pneu·mom"e·try noun Measurement of the capacity of the lungs for air. Dunglison.

Pneumonia Pneu·mo"ni·a (nu*mō"nĭ*ȧ) noun [ New Latin , from Greek pneymoni`a , from pney`mwn , plural pney`mones the lungs, also, pley`mwn , which is perhaps the original form. Confer Pneumatio , Pulmonary .] (Medicine) Inflammation of the lungs.

» Catarrhal pneumonia , or Broncho- pneumonia , is inflammation of the lung tissue, associated with catarrh and with marked evidences of inflammation of bronchial membranes, often chronic; -- also called lobular pneumonia , from its affecting single lobules at a time. -- Croupous pneumonia , or ordinary pneumonia, is an acute affection characterized by sudden onset with a chill, high fever, rapid course, and sudden decline; -- also called lobar pneumonia , from its affecting a whole lobe of the lung at once. See under Croupous . -- Fibroid pneumonia is an inflammation of the interstitial connective tissue lying between the lobules of the lungs, and is very slow in its course, producing shrinking and atrophy of the lungs.

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