Pelleted Pel"let·ed adjective Made of, or like, pellets; furnished with pellets. [ R.] "This
pelleted storm."
Shak.
Pellibranchiata Pel`li·bran`chi·a"ta noun plural [ New Latin , from
pellis garment +
branchia a gill.]
(Zoology) A division of Nudibranchiata, in which the mantle itself serves as a gill.
Pellicle Pel"li·cle noun [ Latin
pellicu...a , dim. of
pellis skin: confer French
pellicule .]
1. A thin skin or film. 2. (Chemistry) A thin film formed on the surface of an evaporating solution.
Pellicular Pel·lic"u·lar adjective Of or pertaining to a pellicle. Henslow.
Pellile Pel·li"le noun (Zoology) The redshank; -- so called from its note. [ Prov. Eng.]
Pellitory Pel"li·to·ry noun [ Middle English
paritorie , Old French
paritoire , French
pariétaire ; (cf. Italian & Spanish
parietaria ), Latin
parietaria the parietary, or pellitory, the wall plant, from
parietarus belonging to the walls, from
paries ,
parietis a wall. Confer
Parietary .]
(Botany) The common name of the several species of the genus Parietaria , low, harmless weeds of the Nettle family; -- also called wall pellitory , and lichwort . »
Parietaria officinalis is common on old walls in Europe;
P. pennsylvanica is found in the United States; and six or seven more species are found near the Mediterranean, or in the Orient.
Pellitory Pel"li·to·ry noun [ Spanish
pelitre , from Latin
pyrethrum . See
Bertram .]
(Botany) (a) A composite plant ( Anacyclus Pyrethrum ) of the Mediterranean region, having finely divided leaves and whitish flowers. The root is the officinal pellitory, and is used as an irritant and sialogogue. Called also bertram , and pellitory of Spain . (b) The feverfew ( Chrysanthemum Parthenium ); -- so called because it resembles the above.
Pellmell Pell`mell" adverb [ French
pêle- mêle , probably from
pelle a shovel +
mêler to mix, as when different kinds of grain are heaped up and mixed with a shovel. See
Pell shovel,
Medley .]
In utter confusion; with confused violence. "Men, horses, chariots, crowded
pellmell ."
Milton.
Pellucid Pel·lu"cid adjective [ Latin
pellucidus ;
per (see
Per- ) +
lucidus clear, bright: confer French
pellucide .]
Transparent; clear; limpid; translucent; not opaque. "
Pellucid crystal."
Dr. H. More. "
Pellucid streams."
Wordsworth.
Pellucidity, Pellucidness Pel`lu·cid"i·ty, Pel·lu"cid·ness noun [ Latin
pellucid itas.]
The quality or state of being pellucid; transparency; translucency; clearness; as, the pellucidity of the air. Locke.
Pellucidly Pel·lu"cid·ly adverb In a pellucid manner.
Pelma Pel"ma noun ;
plural Pelmata . [ New Latin , from Greek ....]
(Zoology) The under surface of the foot.
Pelopium Pe·lo"pi·um noun [ New Latin , from Latin
Pelops , brother of Niobe, Greek ....]
(Chemistry) A supposed new metal found in columbite, afterwards shown to be identical with columbium, or niobium.
Peloponnesian Pel`o·pon·ne"sian adjective [ Latin
Peloponnesius , from
Peloponnesus , Greek ..., lit., the Island of Pelops; ..., ..., Pelops + ... an island.]
Of or pertaining to the Peloponnesus, or southern peninsula of Greece. --
noun A native or an inhabitant of the Peloponnesus.
Peloria Pe·lo"ri·a noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... monstrous.]
(Botany) Abnormal regularity; the state of certain flowers, which, being naturally irregular, have become regular through a symmetrical repetition of the special irregularity.
Peloric Pe·lo"ric adjective (Botany) Abnormally regular or symmetrical. Darwin.
Pelorus Pe·lo"rus noun [ After
Pelorus , said to have been Hannibal's pilot when he left Italy.]
(Navig.) An instrument similar to a mariner's compass, but without magnetic needles, and having two sight vanes by which bearings are taken, esp. such as cannot be taken by the compass.
Pelota Pe·lo"ta noun [ Spanish , lit., ball.]
A Basque, Spanish, and Spanish-American game played in a court, in which a ball is struck with a wickerwork racket.
Pelotage Pel"o·tage noun [ French]
Packs or bales of Spanish wool.
Pelt Pelt noun [ Confer German
pelz a pelt, fur, from Old French
pelice , French
pelisse (see
Pelisse ); or perhaps shortened from
peltry .]
1. The skin of a beast with the hair on; a raw or undressed hide; a skin preserved with the hairy or woolly covering on it. See 4th Fell . Sir T. Browne. Raw pelts clapped about them for their clothes.
Fuller. 2. The human skin. [ Jocose]
Dryden. 3. (Falconry) The body of any quarry killed by the hawk. Pelt rot ,
a disease affecting the hair or wool of a beast.
Pelt Pelt transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Pelted ;
present participle & verbal noun Pelting .] [ Middle English
pelten ,
pulten ,
pilten , to thrust, throw, strike; confer Latin
pultare , equiv. to
pulsare (v. freq. from
pellere to drive), and English
pulse a beating.]
1. To strike with something thrown or driven; to assail with pellets or missiles, as, to pelt with stones; pelted with hail. The children billows seem to pelt the clouds.
Shak. 2. To throw; to use as a missile. My Phillis me with pelted apples plies.
Dryden.
Pelt Pelt intransitive verb 1. To throw missiles. Shak. 2. To throw out words. [ Obsolete]
Another smothered seems to pelt and swear.
Shak.
Pelt Pelt noun A blow or stroke from something thrown.
Pelta Pel"ta noun ;
plural Peltæ . [ Latin , a shield, from Greek ....]
1. (Antiq.) A small shield, especially one of an approximately elliptic form, or crescent-shaped. 2. (Botany) A flat apothecium having no rim.
Peltate, Peltated Pel"tate, Pel"ta·ted adjective [ Confer French
pelté . See
Pelta .]
Shield-shaped; scutiform; (Botany) having the stem or support attached to the lower surface, instead of at the base or margin; -- said of a leaf or other organ. --
Pel"tate*ly adverb
Pelter Pelt"er noun One who pelts.
Pelter Pel"ter noun A pinchpenny; a mean, sordid person; a miser; a skinflint. [ Obsolete] "Let such
pelters prate."
Gascoigne.
Peltier effect Pel`tier" ef·fect" [ After Jean C. A. Peltier , French physicist, the discoverer.] (Electricity) The production or absorption of heat at the junction of two metals on the passage of a current. Heat generated by the passage of the current in one direction will be absorbed if the current is reversed.
Peltier's cross Pel`tier's" cross (Electricity) A cross formed of two strips of different metals, to illustrate the Peltier effect.
Peltiform Pel"ti·form adjective [
Pelta +
- form .]
Shieldlike, with the outline nearly circular; peltate. Henslow.
Pelting Pel"ting adjective Mean; paltry. [ Obsolete]
Shak.
Pelton wheel Pel"ton wheel (Mech.) A form of impulse turbine or water wheel, consisting of a row of double cup-shaped buckets arranged round the rim of a wheel and actuated by one or more jets of water playing into the cups at high velocity.
Peltry Pelt"ry noun [ French
pelleterie peltry, furriery, from
pelletier a furrier, from Old French
pel skin, French
peau , Latin
pelis . See
Pelt a skin,
Pell ,
noun ,
Fell a skin.]
Pelts or skins, collectively; skins with the fur on them; furs.
Peltryware Pelt"ry·ware` noun Peltry. [ Obsolete]
Peludo Pe·lu"do noun [ Spanish
peludo hairy.]
(Zoology) The South American hairy armadillo ( Dasypus villosus ).
Pelure Pe·lure" noun [ French, lit., peel, from
peler to peel.]
A crisp, hard, thin paper, sometimes used for postage stamps.
Pelusiac Pe·lu"si·ac adjective [ Latin
Pelusiacus .]
Of or pertaining to Pelusium, an ancient city of Egypt; as, the Pelusiac (or former eastern) outlet of the Nile.
Pelvic Pel"vic adjective Of, pertaining to, or in the region of, the pelvis; as, pelvic cellulitis. Pelvic arch , or
Pelvic girdle (Anat.) ,
the two or more bony or cartilaginous pieces of the vertebrate skeleton to which the hind limbs are articulated. When fully ossified, the arch usually consists of three principal bones on each side, the ilium, ischium, and pubis, which are often closely united in the adult, forming the innominate bone. See Innominate bone , under Innominate .
Pelvimeter Pel·vim"e·ter noun [
Pelvis +
-meter .: confer French
pelvimètre .]
An instrument for measuring the dimensions of the pelvis. Coxe.
Pelvimetry Pel·vim"e·try noun [
Pelvis +
-metry .]
(Medicine) The measurement of the pelvis.
Pelvis Pel"vis noun [ Latin , a basin, laver; confer Greek ..., ..., bowl.]
1. (Anat.) The pelvic arch, or the pelvic arch together with the sacrum. See Pelvic arch , under Pelvic , and Sacrum . 2. (Zoology) The calyx of a crinoid. Pelvis of the kidney (Anat.) ,
the basinlike cavity into which the ureter expands as it joins the kidney.
Pembroke table Pem"broke ta`ble [ From
Pembroke , a town and shire in Wales.]
A style of four-legged table in vogue in England, chiefly in the later Georgian period. The characteristic which gives a table the name of Pembroke consists in the drop leaves, which are held up, when the table is open, by brackets which turn under the top.
F. C. Morse.
Pemmican Pem"mi·can noun [ Written also
pemican .]
1. Among the North American Indians, meat cut in thin slices, divested of fat, and dried in the sun. Then on pemican they feasted.
Longfellow. 2. Meat, without the fat, cut in thin slices, dried in the sun, pounded, then mixed with melted fat and sometimes dried fruit, and compressed into cakes or in bags. It contains much nutriment in small compass, and is of great use in long voyages of exploration.
Pemmican Pem"mi·can noun A treatise of much thought in little compass.
Pemphigus Pem·phi"gus noun [ Nl., from Greek ..., ..., a bubble.]
(Medicine) A somewhat rare skin disease, characterized by the development of blebs upon different part of the body. Quain.
Pen Pen noun [ Middle English
penne , Old French
penne ,
pene , French
penne , from Latin
penna .]
1. A feather. [ Obsolete]
Spenser. 2. A wing. [ Obsolete]
Milton. 3. An instrument used for writing with ink, formerly made of a reed, or of the quill of a goose or other bird, but now also of other materials, as of steel, gold, etc. Also, originally, a stylus or other instrument for scratching or graving. Graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock.
Job xix. 24. 4. Fig.: A writer, or his style; as, he has a sharp pen . "Those learned
pens ."
Fuller. 5. (Zoology) The internal shell of a squid. 6. [ Etymol. uncertain.]
(Zoology) A female swan. [ Prov. Eng.]
Bow pen .
See Bow-pen . --
Dotting pen ,
a pen for drawing dotted lines. --
Drawing , or
Ruling ,
pen ,
a pen for ruling lines having a pair of blades between which the ink is contained. --
Fountain pen ,
Geometric pen .
See under Fountain , and Geometric . --
Music pen ,
a pen having five points for drawing the five lines of the staff. --
Pen and ink , or
pen- and-ink ,
executed or done with a pen and ink; as, a pen and ink sketch. --
Pen feather .
A pin feather. [ Obsolete] --
Pen name .
See under Name . --
Sea pen (Zoology) ,
a pennatula. [ Usually written
sea- pen .]
Pen Pen transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Penned ;
present participle & verbal noun Penning .]
To write; to compose and commit to paper; to indite; to compose; as, to pen a sonnet. "A prayer elaborately
penned ."
Milton.
Pen Pen transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Penned or
Pent ;
present participle & verbal noun Penning .] [ Middle English
pennen , Anglo-Saxon
pennan in
on-pennan to unfasten, probably from the same source as
pin , and orig. meaning, to fasten with a peg.See
Pin ,
noun & v. ]
To shut up, as in a pen or cage; to confine in a small inclosure or narrow space; to coop up, or shut in; to inclose. "Away with her, and
pen her up."
Shak. Watching where shepherds pen their flocks at eve.
Milton.
Pen Pen noun [ From
Pen to shut in.]
A small inclosure; as, a pen for sheep or for pigs. My father stole two geese out of a pen .
Shak.
Penal Pe"nal adjective [ Latin
poenalis , from
poena punishment: confer French
pénal . See
Pain .]
Of or pertaining to punishment, to penalties, or to crimes and offenses; pertaining to criminal jurisprudence : as:
(a) Enacting or threatening punishment; as, a penal statue; the penal code. (b) Incurring punishment; subject to a penalty; as, a penal act of offense. (c) Inflicted as punishment; used as a means of punishment; as, a penal colony or settlement. "Adamantine chains and
penal fire."
Milton. Penal code (Law) ,
a code of laws concerning crimes and offenses and their punishment. --
Penal laws ,
Penal statutes (Law) ,
laws prohibited certain acts, and imposing penalties for committing them. --
Penal servitude ,
imprisonment with hard labor, in a prison, in lieu of transportation. [ Great Brit.] --
Penal suit ,
Penal action (Law) ,
a suit for penalties.
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