Petition Pe·ti"tion transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Petitioned ;
present participle & verbal noun Petitioning .]
To make a prayer or request to; to ask from; to solicit; to entreat; especially, to make a formal written supplication, or application to, as to any branch of the government; as, to petition the court; to petition the governor. You have . . . petitioned all the gods for my prosperity.
Shak.
Petition Pe·ti"tion intransitive verb To make a petition or solicitation.
Petitionarily Pe·ti"tion·a·ri·ly adverb By way of begging the question; by an assumption. [ R.]
Sir T. Browne.
Petitionary Pe·ti"tion·a·ry adjective 1. Supplicatory; making a petition. Pardon Rome, and any petitionary countrymen.
Shak. 2. Containing a petition; of the nature of a petition; as, a petitionary epistle. Swift.
Petitionee Pe·ti`tion·ee" noun A person cited to answer, or defend against, a petition.
Petitioner Pe·ti"tion·er noun One who presents a petition.
Petitioning Pe·ti"tion·ing noun The act of presenting apetition; a supplication.
Petitor Pet"i·tor noun [ Latin , from
petere to seek.]
One who seeks or asks; a seeker; an applicant. [ R.]
Fuller.
Petitory Pet"i·to·ry adjective [ Latin
petitorius , from
petere ,
petitum , to beg, ask: confer French
pétitore .]
Petitioning; soliciting; supplicating. Sir W. Hamilton. Petitory suit or
action (Admiralty Law) ,
a suit in which the mere title to property is litigated and sought to be enforced, as distinguished from a possessory suit; also (Scots Law) , a suit wherein the plaintiff claims something as due him by the defendant. Burrill.
Petong Pe·tong" noun (Metal.) See Packfong .
Petralogy Pe·tral"o·gy noun See Petrology .
Petrary Pet"ra·ry noun [ Latin
petra stone. Confer Spanish
petraria , and English
Pederero .]
An ancient war engine for hurling stones.
Petre Pe"tre (pē"tẽr)
noun See Saltpeter .
Petrean Pe·tre"an (pe*trē"
a n)
adjective [ Latin
petraeus , Greek
petrai^os , from
pe`tra a rock.]
Of or pertaining to rock. G. S. Faber.
Petrel Pe"trel noun [ French
pétrel ; a dim. of the name
Peter , Latin
Petrus , Greek ... a stone (
John i. 42 ); -- probably so called in allusion to St.
Peter's walking on the sea. See
Petrify .]
(Zoology) Any one of numerous species of longwinged sea birds belonging to the family Procellaridæ . The small petrels, or Mother Carey's chickens, belong to Oceanites , Oceanodroma , Procellaria , and several allied genera. Diving petrel ,
any bird of the genus Pelecanoides . They chiefly inhabit the southern hemisphere. --
Fulmar petrel ,
Giant petrel .
See Fulmar . --
Pintado petrel ,
the Cape pigeon. See under Cape . --
Pintado petrel ,
any one of several small petrels, especially Procellaria pelagica , or Mother Carey's chicken, common on both sides of the Atlantic.
Petrescence Pe·tres"cence noun The process of changing into stone; petrification.
Petrescent Pe·tres"cent adjective [ Latin
petra rock, stone, Greek ....]
Petrifying; converting into stone; as, petrescent water. Boyle.
Petrifaction Pet`ri·fac"tion noun [ See
Petrify .]
1. The process of petrifying, or changing into stone; conversion of any organic matter (animal or vegetable) into stone, or a substance of stony hardness. 2. The state or condition of being petrified. 3. That which is petrified; popularly, a body incrusted with stony matter; an incrustation. 4. Fig.: Hardness; callousness; obduracy. "
Petrifaction of the soul."
Cudworth.
Petrifactive Pet`ri·fac"tive adjective 1. Having the quality of converting organic matter into stone; petrifying. 2. Pertaining to, or characterized by, petrifaction. The . . . petrifactive mutations of hard bodies.
Sir T. Browne.
Petrific Pe·trif"ic adjective [ Confer French
pétrifique .]
Petrifying; petrifactive. Death with his mace petrific , cold and dry.
Milton.
Petrificate Pet"ri·fi·cate transitive verb To petrify. [ Obsolete]
Our hearts petrificated were.
J. Hall (1646).
Petrification Pet`ri·fi·ca"tion noun [ Confer French
pétrification . See
Petrify .]
1. See Petrifaction . 2. Fig.: Obduracy; callousness. Hallywell.
Petrify Pet"ri·fy transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Petrified ;
present participle & verbal noun Petrifying .] [ Latin
petra rock, Greek ... (akin to ... a stone) +
-fy : confer French
pétrifier . Confer
Parrot ,
Petrel ,
Pier .]
1. To convert, as any animal or vegetable matter, into stone or stony substance. A river that petrifies any sort of wood or leaves.
Kirwan. 2. To make callous or obdurate; to stupefy; to paralyze; to transform; as by petrifaction; as, to petrify the heart. Young . "
Petrifying accuracy."
Sir W. Scott. And petrify a genius to a dunce.
Pope. The poor, petrified journeyman, quite unconscious of what he was doing.
De Quincey. A hideous fatalism, which ought, logically, to petrify your volition.
G. Eliot.
Petrify Pet"ri·fy intransitive verb 1. To become stone, or of a stony hardness, as organic matter by calcareous deposits. 2. Fig.: To become stony, callous, or obdurate. Like Niobe we marble grow,
And petrify with grief.
Dryden.
Petrine Pe"trine adjective Of or pertaining to St.Peter; as, the Petrine Epistles.
Petro- Pet"ro- A combining form from Greek ... a rock , ... a stone ; as, petro logy, petro glyphic.
Petrogale Pe·trog"a·le noun [ New Latin , from Greek ... a rock + ... a weasel.]
(Zoology) Any Australian kangaroo of the genus Petrogale , as the rock wallaby ( P. penicillata ).
Petroglyphic Pet`ro·glyph"ic adjective Of or pertaining to petroglyphy.
Petroglyphy Pe·trog"ly·phy noun [
Petro + Greek ... to carve.]
The art or operation of carving figures or inscriptions on rock or stone.
Petrographic, Petrographical Pet`ro·graph"ic, Pet`ro·graph"ic·al adjective Pertaining to petrography.
Petrography Pe·trog"ra·phy noun [
Petro +
-graphy .]
1. The art of writing on stone. 2. The scientific description of rocks; that department of science which investigates the constitution of rocks; petrology.
Petrohyoid Pet`ro·hy"oid adjective [
Petro +
hyoid .]
(Anat.) Pertaining to petrous, oe periotic, portion of the skull and the hyoid arch; as, the petrohyoid muscles of the frog.
Petrol Pe·trol" noun Petroleum. [ R.]
Petrolatum Pet`ro·la"tum noun (Chem. & Pharm.) A semisolid unctuous substance, neutral, and without taste or odor, derived from petroleum by distilling off the lighter portions and purifying the residue. It is a yellowish, fatlike mass, transparent in thin layers, and somewhat fluorescent. It is used as a bland protective dressing, and as a substitute for fatty materials in ointments. U. S. Pharm. »
Petrolatum is the official name for the purified product.
Cosmoline and
vaseline are commercial names for substances essentially the same, but differing slightly in appearance and consistency or fusibility.
Petroleum Pe·tro"le·um noun [ New Latin , from Latin
petra a rock +
oleum oil: confer French
pétrole . Confer
Petrify , and
Oil .]
Rock oil, mineral oil, or natural oil, a dark brown or greenish inflammable liquid, which, at certain points, exists in the upper strata of the earth, from whence it is pumped, or forced by pressure of the gas attending it. It consists of a complex mixture of various hydrocarbons, largely of the methane series, but may vary much in appearance, composition, and properties. It is refined by distillation, and the products include kerosene, benzine, gasoline, paraffin, etc. Petroleum spirit ,
a volatile liquid obtained in the distillation of crude petroleum at a temperature of 170° Fahr., or below. The term is rather loosely applied to a considerable range of products, including benzine and ligroin. The terms petroleum ether , and naphtha , are sometimes applied to the still more volatile products, including rhigolene, gasoline, cymogene, etc.
Pétroleur Pé`tro`leur" noun m. Pé`tro`leuse" noun f. }[ French] One who makes use of petroleum for incendiary purposes.
Petroline Pet"ro·line noun (Chemistry) A paraffin obtained from petroleum from Rangoon in India, and practically identical with ordinary paraffin.
Petrologic, Petrological Pet`ro·log"ic, Pet`ro·log"ic·al adjective Of or pertaining to petrology.
Petrologically Pet`ro·log"ic·al·ly adverb According to petrology.
Petrologist Pe·trol"o·gist noun One who is versed in petrology.
Petrology Pe·trol"o·gy noun [
Petro +
-logy .]
1. The department of science which is concerned with the mineralogical and chemical composition of rocks, and with their classification: lithology. 2. A treatise on petrology.
Petromastoid Pet`ro·mas"toid adjective [
Petro +
mastoid .]
(Anat.) Of or pertaining to the petrous and mastoid parts of the temporal bone, periotic.
Petromyzont Pet`ro·my"zont noun [
Petro + Greek ... to suck in.]
(Zoology) A lamprey.
Petronel Pet`ro·nel noun [ Old French
petrinal , from
peitrine ,
petrine , the breast, French
poitrine ; so called because it was placed against the breast in order to fire. See
Poitrel .]
A sort of hand cannon, or portable firearm, used in France in the 15th century.
Petrosal Pe·tro"sal adjective [ See
Petrous .]
(Anat.) (a) Hard; stony; petrous; as, the petrosal bone; petrosal part of the temporal bone. (b) Of, pertaining to, or in the region of, the petrous, or petrosal, bone, or the corresponding part of the temporal bone. Petrosal bone (Anat.) ,
a bone corresponding to the petrous portion of the temporal bone of man; or one forming more or less of the periotic capsule.
Petrosal Pe·tro"sal noun (Anat.) (a) A petrosal bone. (b) The auditory capsule. Owen.
Petrosilex Pet`ro·si"lex noun [
Petro +
silex .]
(Min.) Felsite.
Petrosilicious Pet`ro·si·li"cious adjective Containing, or consisting of, petrosilex.
Petrostearine Pet`ro·ste"a·rine noun [
Petro +
stearine .]
A solid unctuous material, of which candles are made.
Petrous Pe"trous adjective [ Latin
petrosus , from
petra a stone.]
1. Like stone; hard; stony; rocky; as, the petrous part of the temporal bone. Hooper. 2. (Anat.) Same as Petrosal .
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