Webster's Dictionary, 1913
Penman 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 noun The use of the pen in writing; the art of writing; style or manner of writing; chirography; as, good or bad penmanship .
Penna noun ;
plural Pennæ . [ Latin ]
(Zoology) A perfect, or normal, feather.
Pennaceous adjective (Zoology) Like or pertaining to a normal feather.
Pennach noun [ Old French
pennache . See
Panache .]
A bunch of feathers; a plume. [ Obsolete]
Holland.
Pennached adjective [ Confer Old French
pennaché . See
Panache .]
Variegated; striped. [ Obsolete]
Evelyn.
Pennage noun [ Latin penna feather.] Feathery covering; plumage. [ Obsolete] Holland.
Pennant noun [ Middle English
penon ,
penoun ,
pynoun , Old French
penon , French
pennon , from Latin
penna feather. See
Pen a feather, and confer
Pennon ,
Pinion .]
(Nautical) (a) A small flag; a pennon. The narrow, or long, pennant (called also whip or coach whip ) is a long, narrow piece of bunting, carried at the masthead of a government vessel in commission. The board pennant is an oblong, nearly square flag, carried at the masthead of a commodore's vessel. "With flags and
pennants trimmed."
Drayton. (b) A rope or strap to which a purchase is hooked.
Pennate, Pennated adjective [ Latin
pennatus feathered, winged, from
penna feather, wing.]
1. Winged; plume- shaped. 2. (Botany) Same as Pinnate .
Pennatula noun ;
plural Latin
Pennatulæ , English
Pennatulas . [ New Latin , from Latin
penna a feather.]
(Zoology) Any one of numerous species of Pennatula , Pteroides , and allied genera of Alcyonaria, having a featherlike form; a sea-pen. The zooids are situated along one edge of the side branches.
Pennatulacea noun plural [ New Latin See
Pennatula .]
(Zoology) A division of alcyonoid corals, including the seapens and related kinds. They are able to move about by means of the hollow muscular peduncle, which also serves to support them upright in the mud. See Pennatula , and Illust. under Alcyonaria .
Penned adjective
1. Winged; having plumes. [ Obsolete] 2. Written with a pen; composed. "Their penned speech." Shak.
Penner noun
1. One who pens; a writer. Sir T. North. 2. A case for holding pens. [ Obsolete]
Penniform adjective [ Latin penna feather + -form : confer French penniforme .] Having the form of a feather or plume.
Pennigerous adjective [ Latin penniger ; penna feather + gerere to bear.] (Zoology) Bearing feathers or quills.
Penniless adjective [ From
Penny .]
Destitute of money; impecunious; poor. --
Pen"ni*less*ness ,
noun
Penninerved adjective [ Latin penna feather + English nerve .] Pinnately veined or nerved.
Pennipotent adjective [ Latin pennipotens ; penna wing + potens strong.] Strong of wing; strong on the wing. [ Poetic] Davies (Holy Roode).
Pennon noun [ Confer
Pinion .]
A wing; a pinion. Milton.
Pennon noun [ See
Pennant .]
A pennant; a flag or streamer. Longfellow.
Pennoncel, Pennoncelle noun [ Old French
penoncel . See
Pennant .]
See Pencel .
Penny adjective [ Perh. a corruption of pun , for pound .] Denoting pound weight for one thousand; -- used in combination, with respect to nails; as, ten penny nails, nails of which one thousand weight ten pounds.
Penny noun ;
plural Pennies or
Pence Pennies denotes the number of coins;
pence the amount of pennies in value. [ Middle English
peni , Anglo-Saxon
penig ,
pening ,
pending ; akin to Dutch
penning , Old High German
pfenning ,
pfenting , German
pfennig , Icelandic
penningr ; of uncertain origin.]
1. An English coin, formerly of copper, now of bronze, the twelfth part of an English shilling in account value, and equal to four farthings, or about two cents; -- usually indicated by the abbreviation d. (the initial of denarius ). » "The chief Anglo-Saxon coin, and for a long period the only one, corresponded to the
denarius of the Continent . . . [ and was] called
penny , denarius, or denier."
R. S. Poole. The ancient silver
penny was worth about three pence sterling (see
Pennyweight ). The old Scotch
penny was only one twelfth the value of the English coin. In the United States the word
penny is popularly used for
cent .
2. Any small sum or coin; a groat; a stiver. Shak. 3. Money, in general; as, to turn an honest penny . What penny hath Rome borne,
What men provided, what munition sent?
Shak. 4. (Script.) See Denarius . Penny cress (Botany) ,
an annual herb of the Mustard family, having round, flat pods like silver pennies ( Thlaspi arvense ). Dr. Prior. --
Penny dog (Zoology) ,
a kind of shark found on the South coast of Britain: the tope. --
Penny father ,
a penurious person; a niggard. [ Obsolete]
Robinson (More's Utopia). --
Penny grass (Botany) ,
pennyroyal. [ R.] --
Penny post ,
a post carrying a letter for a penny; also, a mail carrier. --
Penny wise ,
wise or prudent only in small matters; saving small sums while losing larger; -- used chiefly in the phrase, penny wise and pound foolish.
Penny adjective Worth or costing one penny.
Penny-a-liner noun One who furnishes matter to public journals at so much a line; a poor writer for hire; a hack writer. Thackeray.
Pennyroyal noun [ A corruption of Middle English
puliall royal . Middle English
puliall is ultimately derived from Latin
puleium , or
pulegium regium (so called as being good against fleas), from
pulex a flea; and
royal is a translation of Latin
regium , in
puleium regium .]
(Botany) An aromatic herb ( Mentha Pulegium ) of Europe; also, a North American plant ( Hedeoma pulegioides ) resembling it in flavor. Bastard pennyroyal (Botany) See Blue curls , under Blue .
Pennyweight noun A troy weight containing twenty-four grains, or the twentieth part of an ounce; as, a pennyweight of gold or of arsenic. It was anciently the weight of a silver penny, whence the name.
Pennywort noun (Botany) A European trailing herb ( Linaria Cymbalaria ) with roundish, reniform leaves. It is often cultivated in hanging baskets. March , or
Water ,
pennywort .
(Botany) See under March .
Pennyworth noun 1. A penny's worth; as much as may be bought for a penny. "A dear
pennyworth ."
Evelyn. 2. Hence: The full value of one's penny expended; due return for money laid out; a good bargain; a bargain. The priests sold the better pennyworths .
Locke. 3. A small quantity; a trifle. Bacon.
Penological adjective Of or pertaining to penology.
Penologist noun One versed in, or a student of, penology.
Penology noun [ Greek ..., or Latin poena , punishment + -logy .] The science or art of punishment. [ Written also pœnology .]
Penrack noun A rack for pens not in use.
Pens noun ,
plural of Penny . [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Pensative adjective Pensive. [ Obsolete] Shelton.
Pensel noun A pencel. Chaucer.
Pensible adjective Held aloft. [ Obsolete] Bacon.
Pensile adjective [ Latin
pensilis , from
pendere to hang: confer Middle English
pensil . See
Pendant .]
Hanging; suspended; pendent; pendulous. Bacon. The long, pensile branches of the birches.
W. Howitt.
Pensileness noun State or quality of being pensile; pendulousness.
Pension noun [ French, from Latin
pensio a paying, payment, from
pendere ,
pensum , to weight, to pay; akin to
pend...re to hang. See
Pendant , and confer
Spend .]
1. A payment; a tribute; something paid or given. [ Obsolete]
The stomach's pension , and the time's expense.
Sylvester. 2. A stated allowance to a person in consideration of past services; payment made to one retired from service, on account of age, disability, or other cause; especially, a regular stipend paid by a government to retired public officers, disabled soldiers, the families of soldiers killed in service, or to meritorious authors, or the like. To all that kept the city pensions and wages.
1 Esd. iv. 56. 3. A certain sum of money paid to a clergyman in lieu of tithes. [ Eng.]
Mozley & W. 4. [ French, pronounced ....]
A boarding house or boarding school in France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc.
Pension transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Pensioned ;
present participle & verbal noun Pensioning .]
To grant a pension to; to pay a regular stipend to; in consideration of service already performed; -- sometimes followed by off ; as, to pension off a servant. One knighted Blackmore, and one pensioned Quarles.
Pope.
Pensionary adjective
1. Maintained by a pension; receiving a pension; as, pensionary spies. Donne. 2. Consisting of a pension; as, a pensionary provision for maintenance.
Pensionary noun ;
plural Pensionaries . [ Confer French
pensionnaire . Confer
Pensioner .]
1. One who receives a pension; a pensioner. E. Hall. 2. One of the chief magistrates of towns in Holland. Grand pensionary ,
the title of the prime minister, or or president of the Council, of Holland when a republic.
Pensioner noun 1. One in receipt of a pension; hence, figuratively, a dependent. The fickle pensioners of Morpheus' train.
Milton. Old pensioners . . . of Chelsea Hospital.
Macaulay. 2. One of an honorable band of gentlemen who attend the sovereign of England on state occasions, and receive an annual pension, or allowance, of £150 and two horses. 3. [ Confer French
pensionnaire one who pays for his board. Confer
Pensionary ,
noun ]
In the university of Cambridge, England, one who pays for his living in commons; -- corresponding to commoner at Oxford. Ld. Lytton.
Pensive adjective [ French
pensif , from
penser to think, from Latin
pensare to weigh, ponder, consider, v. intens. from
pendere to weigh. See
Pension ,
Poise .]
1. Thoughtful, sober, or sad; employed in serious reflection; given to, or favorable to, earnest or melancholy musing. The pensive secrecy of desert cell.
Milton. Anxious cares the pensive nymph oppressed.
Pope. 2. Expressing or suggesting thoughtfulness with sadness; as, pensive numbers. Prior.
Pensived adjective Made pensive. [ R.] Shak.
Pensively adverb In a pensive manner.
Pensiveness noun The state of being pensive; serious thoughtfulness; seriousness. Hooker.
Penstock noun [ Etymol. uncertain; perhaps from pen an inclosure + stock .]
1. A close conduit or pipe for conducting water, as, to a water wheel, or for emptying a pond, or for domestic uses. 2. The barrel of a wooden pump.