Penetrability Pen`e·tra·bil"i·ty noun [ Confer French pénétrabilité .] The quality of being penetrable; susceptibility of being penetrated, entered, or pierced. Cheyne.

Penetrable Pen"e·tra·ble adjective [ Latin penetrabilus : confer French pénétrable .] Capable of being penetrated, entered, or pierced. Used also figuratively.

And pierce his only penetrable part.

Dryden.

I am not made of stones,
But penetrable to your kind entreats.

Shak.

-- Pen"e*tra*ble*ness , noun -- Pen"e*tra*bly , adverb

Penetrail Pen"e·trail noun Penetralia. [ Obsolete] Harvey.

Penetralia Pen`e·tra"li·a noun plural [ Latin , from penetralis penetrating, internal. See Penetrate .] 1. The recesses, or innermost parts, of any thing or place, especially of a temple or palace.

2. Hidden things or secrets; privacy; sanctuary; as, the sacred penetralia of the home.

Penetrance, Penetrancy Pen"e·trance, Pen"e·tran·cy noun The quality or state of being penetrant; power of entering or piercing; penetrating power of quality; as, the penetrancy of subtile effluvia.

Penetrant Pen"e·trant adjective [ Latin penetrans , present participle of penetrare : confer French pénétrant .] Having power to enter or pierce; penetrating; sharp; subtile; as, penetrant cold. " Penetrant and powerful arguments." Boyle.

Penetrate Pen"e·trate transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Penetrated ; present participle & verbal noun Penetrating .] [ Latin penetratus , past participle of penetrare to penetrate; akin to penitus inward, inwardly, and perhaps to pens with, in the power of, penus store of food, innermost part of a temple.] 1. To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to effect an entrance into; to pierce; as, light penetrates darkness.

2. To affect profoundly through the senses or feelings; to touch with feeling; to make sensible; to move deeply; as, to penetrate one's heart with pity. Shak.

The translator of Homer should penetrate himself with a sense of the plainness and directness of Homer's style.

M. Arnold.

3. To pierce into by the mind; to arrive at the inner contents or meaning of, as of a mysterious or difficult subject; to comprehend; to understand.

Things which here were too subtile for us to penetrate .

Ray.

Penetrate Pen"e·trate intransitive verb To pass; to make way; to pierce. Also used figuratively.

Preparing to penetrate to the north and west.

J. R. Green.

Born where Heaven's influence scarce can penetrate .

Pope.

The sweet of life that penetrates so near.

Daniel.

Penetrating Pen"e·tra`ting adjective 1. Having the power of entering, piercing, or pervading; sharp; subtile; penetrative; as, a penetrating odor.

2. Acute; discerning; sagacious; quick to discover; as, a penetrating mind.

Penetratingly Pen"e·tra`ting·ly adverb In a penetrating manner.

Penetration Pen"e·tra`tion noun [ Latin penetratio : confer French pénétration .] 1. The act or process of penetrating, piercing, or entering; also, the act of mentally penetrating into, or comprehending, anything difficult.

And to each in ward part,
With gentle penetration , though unseen,
Shoots invisible virtue even to the deep.

Milton.

A penetration into the difficulties of algebra.

Watts.

2. Acuteness; insight; sharp discoverment; sagacity; as, a person of singular penetration . Walpole.

Syn. -- Discernment; sagacity; acuteness; sharpness; discrimination. See Discernment , and Sagacity .

Penetrative Pen"e·tra·tive adjective [ Confer French pénétratif .] 1. Tending to penetrate; of a penetrating quality; piercing; as, the penetrative sun.

His look became keen and penetrative .

Hawthorne.

2. Having the power to affect or impress the mind or heart; impressive; as, penetrative shame. Shak.

3. Acute; discerning; sagacious; as, penetrative wisdom. "The penetrative eye." Wordsworth.

Led on by skill of penetrative soul.

Grainger.

Penetrativeness Pen"e·tra·tive·ness noun The quality of being penetrative.

Penfish Pen"fish` noun (Zoology) A squid.

Penfold Pen"fold` noun See Pinfold .

Pengolin Pen"go·lin noun (Zoology) The pangolin.

Penguin Pen"guin noun [ Perh. orig. the name of another bird, and from W. pen head + gwyn white; or perhaps from a native South American name.] 1. (Zoology) Any bird of the order Impennes, or Ptilopteri. They are covered with short, thick feathers, almost scalelike on the wings, which are without true quills. They are unable to fly, but use their wings to aid in diving, in which they are very expert. See King penguin , under Jackass .

» Penguins are found in the south temperate and antarctic regions. The king penguins ( Aptenodytes Patachonica , and A. longirostris ) are the largest; the jackass penguins ( Spheniscus ) and the rock hoppers ( Catarractes ) congregate in large numbers at their breeding grounds.

2. (Botany) The egg-shaped fleshy fruit of a West Indian plant ( Bromelia Pinguin ) of the Pineapple family; also, the plant itself, which has rigid, pointed, and spiny- toothed leaves, and is used for hedges. [ Written also pinguin .]

Arctic penguin (Zoology) , the great auk. See Auk .

Penguinery Pen"guin·er·y noun (Zoology) A breeding place, or rookery, of penguins.

Penholder Pen"hold`er noun A handle for a pen.

Penhouse Pen"house` noun A penthouse. [ Obsolete]

Penible Pen·i"ble adjective [ Old French penible . Confer Painable .] Painstaking; assidous. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Penicil Pen"i·cil noun [ Latin penicillum , penicillus , a painter's brush, a roil of lint, a tent for wounds.] (mented.) A tent or pledget for wounds or ulcers.

Penicillate Pen`i·cil"late adjective [ Confer French pénicillé . See Penicil .] (Biol.) Having the form of a pencil; furnished with a pencil of fine hairs; ending in a tuft of hairs like a camel's-hair brush, as the stigmas of some grasses.

Penicilliform Pen`i·cil"li·form adjective (Botany) Penicillate.

Peninsula Pen·in"su·la noun [ Latin peninsula or paeninsula ; paene almost + insula an island. See Isle .] A portion of land nearly surrounded by water, and connected with a larger body by a neck, or isthmus.

Peninsula State Pen·in"su·la State Florida; -- a nickname.

Peninsular Pen·in"su·lar adjective [ Confer French péninsulaire .] Of or pertaining to a peninsula; as, a peninsular form; peninsular people; the peninsular war.

Peninsulate Pen·in"su·late transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Peninsulated ; present participle & verbal noun Peninsulating .] To form into a peninsula.

South River . . . peninsulates Castle Hill farm.

W. Bentley.

Penis Pe"nis (pē"nĭs) noun [ Latin ] (Anat.) The male member, or organ of generation.

Penitence Pen"i·tence noun [ French pénitence , Latin paenitentia . See Penitent , and confer Penance .] The quality or condition of being penitent; the disposition of a penitent; sorrow for sins or faults; repentance; contrition. " Penitence of his old guilt." Chaucer.

Death is deferred, and penitenance has room
To mitigate, if not reverse, the doom.

Dryden.

Syn. -- Repentance; contrition; compunction.

Penitencer Pen"i·ten·cer noun [ French pénitencier .] A priest who heard confession and enjoined penance in extraordinary cases. [ Written also penitenser .] [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Penitency Pen"i·ten·cy noun Penitence. [ Obsolete]

Penitent Pen"i·tent adjective [ French pénitent , Latin paenitens , -entis , poenitens , present participle of paenitere , poenitere , to cause to repent, to repent; probably akin to poena punishment. See Pain .] 1. Feeling pain or sorrow on account of sins or offenses; repentant; contrite; sincerely affected by a sense of guilt, and resolved on amendment of life.

Be penitent , and for thy fault contrite.

Milton.

The pound he tamed, the penitent he cheered.

Dryden.

2. Doing penance. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Penitent Pen"i·tent noun 1. One who repents of sin; one sorrowful on account of his transgressions.

2. One under church censure, but admitted to penance; one undergoing penance.

3. One under the direction of a confessor.

» Penitents is an appellation given to certain fraternities in Roman Catholic countries, distinguished by their habit, and employed in charitable acts.

Penitential Pen`i·ten"tial adjective [ Confer French pénitentiel .] Of or pertaining to penitence, or to penance; expressing penitence; of the nature of penance; as, the penitential book; penitential tears. " Penitential stripes." Cowper.

Guilt that all the penitential fires of hereafter can not cleanse.

Sir W. Scott.

Penitential Pen`i·ten"tial noun (R. C. Ch.) A book formerly used by priests hearing confessions, containing rules for the imposition of penances; -- called also penitential book .

Penitentially Pen`i·ten"tial·ly adverb In a penitential manner.

Penitentiary Pen`i·ten"tia·ry adjective [ Confer French pénitentiaire .] 1. Relating to penance, or to the rules and measures of penance. "A penitentiary tax." Abp. Bramhall.

2. Expressive of penitence; as, a penitentiary letter.

3. Used for punishment, discipline, and reformation. " Penitentiary houses." Blackstone.

Penitentiary Pen`i·ten"tia·ry noun ; plural Penitentiaries . [ Confer French pénitencier . See Penitent .] 1. One who prescribes the rules and measures of penance. [ Obsolete] Bacon.

2. One who does penance. [ Obsolete] Hammond.

3. A small building in a monastery where penitents confessed. Shpiley.

4. That part of a church to which penitents were admitted. Shipley.

5. (R. C. Ch.) (a) An office of the papal court which examines cases of conscience, confession, absolution from vows, etc., and delivers decisions, dispensations, etc. Its chief is a cardinal, called the Grand Penitentiary , appointed by the pope. (b) An officer in some dioceses since A. D. 1215, vested with power from the bishop to absolve in cases reserved to him.

6. A house of correction, in which offenders are confined for punishment, discipline, and reformation, and in which they are generally compelled to labor.

Penitentiaryship Pen`i·ten"tia·ry·ship noun The office or condition of a penitentiary of the papal court. [ R.] Wood.

Penitently Pen"i·tent·ly adverb In a penitent manner.

Penk Penk noun A minnow. See Pink , noun , 4. [ Prov. Eng.] Walton.

Penknife Pen"knife` noun ; plural Penknives . [ Pen + knife .] A small pocketknife; formerly, a knife used for making and mending quill pens.

Penman Pen"man noun ; plural Penmen 1. One who uses the pen; a writer; esp., one skilled in the use of the pen; a calligrapher; a writing master.

2. An author; a composer. South.

Penmanship Pen"man·ship noun The use of the pen in writing; the art of writing; style or manner of writing; chirography; as, good or bad penmanship .

Penna Pen"na noun ; plural Pennæ . [ Latin ] (Zoology) A perfect, or normal, feather.

Pennaceous Pen"na"ceous adjective (Zoology) Like or pertaining to a normal feather.

Pennach Pen"nach noun [ Old French pennache . See Panache .] A bunch of feathers; a plume. [ Obsolete] Holland.

Pennached Pen"nached adjective [ Confer Old French pennaché . See Panache .] Variegated; striped. [ Obsolete] Evelyn.

Pennage Pen"nage noun [ Latin penna feather.] Feathery covering; plumage. [ Obsolete] Holland.

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