Pettichaps Pet"ti·chaps noun (Zoology) See Pettychaps .

Petticoat Pet"ti·coat noun (Zoology) [ Petty + coat .] A loose under-garment worn by women, and covering the body below the waist.

Petticoat government , government by women, whether in politics or domestic affairs. [ Colloq.] -- Petticoat pipe (Locomotives) , a short, flaring pipe surrounding the blast nozzle in the smoke box, to equalize the draft.

Pettifog Pet"ti·fog intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Pettifogged ; present participle & verbal noun Pettifogging .] [ Petty + fog to pettifog.] To do a petty business as a lawyer; also, to do law business in a petty or tricky way. "He takes no money, but pettifogs gratis." S. Butler.

Pettifog Pet"ti·fog transitive verb To advocate like a pettifogger; to argue trickily; as, to pettifog a claim. [ Colloq.]

Pettifogger Pet"ti·fog`ger noun A lawyer who deals in petty cases; an attorney whose methods are mean and tricky; an inferior lawyer.

A pettifogger was lord chancellor.

Macaulay.

Pettifoggery Pet"ti·fog`ger·y noun ; plural - ies The practice or arts of a pettifogger; disreputable tricks; quibbles.

Quirks of law, and pettifoggeries .

Barrow.

Pettifogging Pet"ti·fog`ging adjective Paltry; quibbling; mean.

Pettifogging Pet"ti·fog`ging noun Pettifoggery.

Pettifogulize Pet`ti·fog"u·lize intransitive verb To act as a pettifogger; to use contemptible tricks. De Quincey.

Pettily Pet"ti·ly adverb In a petty manner; frivolously.

Pettiness Pet"ti·ness noun The quality or state of being petty or paltry; littleness; meanness.

Pettish Pet"tish adjective [ From Pet .] Fretful; peevish; moody; capricious; inclined to ill temper. "A pettish kind of humor." Sterne. -- Pet"tish*ly , adverb -- Pet"tish*ness , noun

Pettitoes Pet"ti·toes noun plural [ Petty + toes .] The toes or feet of a pig, -- often used as food; sometimes, in contempt, the human feet. Shak.

Petto Pet"to noun [ Italian , from Latin pectus .] The breast.

In petto , in the breast; hence, in secrecy; in reserve.

Petty Pet"ty adjective [ Compar. Pettier ; superl. Pettiest .] [ Middle English petit , French petit ; probably of Celtic origin, and akin to English piece . Confer Petit .] Little; trifling; inconsiderable; also, inferior; subordinate; as, a petty fault; a petty prince. Denham.

Like a petty god
I walked about, admired of all.

Milton.

Petty averages . See under Average . -- Petty cash , money expended or received in small items or amounts. -- Petty officer , a subofficer in the navy, as a gunner, etc., corresponding to a noncommissionned officer in the army.

» For petty constable , petty jury , petty larceny , petty treason , See Petit .

Syn. -- Little; diminutive; inconsiderable; inferior; trifling; trivial; unimportant; frivolous.

Pettychaps Pet"ty·chaps noun (Zoology) Any one of several species of small European singing birds of the subfamily Sylviinæ , as the willow warbler, the chiff- chaff, and the golden warbler ( Sylvia hortensis ).

Pettywhin Pet"ty·whin noun [ Petty + whin .] (Botany) The needle furze. See under Needle .

Petulance, Petulancy Pet"u·lance, Pet"u·lan·cy noun [ Latin petulania : confer French pétulance . See Petulant .] The quality or state of being petulant; temporary peevishness; pettishness; capricious ill humor. "The petulancy of our words." B. Jonson.

Like pride in some, and like petulance in others.

Clarendon.

The lowering eye, the petulance , the frown.

Cowper.

Syn. -- Petulance , Peevishness . -- Peevishness implies the permanence of a sour, fretful temper; petulance implies temporary or capricious irritation.

Petulant Pet"u·lant adjective [ Latin petulans , -antis , prop., making slight attacks upon, from a lost dim. of petere to fall upon, to attack: confer French pétulant . See Petition .] 1. Forward; pert; insolent; wanton. [ Obsolete] Burton.

2. Capriciously fretful; characterized by ill- natured freakishness; irritable. " Petulant moods." Macaulay.

Syn. -- Irritable; ill-humored; peevish; cross; fretful; querulous.

Petulantly Pet"u·lant·ly adverb In a petulant manner.

Petulcity Pe·tul"ci·ty noun [ See Petulcous .] Wantonness; friskiness. [ Obsolete] Bp. Hall.

Petulcous Pe·tul"cous adjective [ Latin petulcus . Confer Petulant .] Wanton; frisky; lustful. [ Obsolete] J. V. Cane.

Petune Pe·tune" transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Petuned ; present participle & verbal noun Petuning .] [ See Petunia .] (Agriculture) To spray (tobacco) with a liquid intended to produce flavor or aroma.

Petunia Pe·tu"ni·a noun [ New Latin , from Braz. petun tobacco.] (Botany) A genus of solanaceous herbs with funnelform or salver-shaped corollas. Two species are common in cultivation, Petunia violacera , with reddish purple flowers, and P. nyctaginiflora , with white flowers. There are also many hybrid forms with variegated corollas.

Petunse, Petuntse Pe·tunse", Pe·tuntse" Pe*tuntze" noun [ From Chinese.] Powdered fledspar, kaolin, or quartz, used in the manufacture of porcelain.

Petworth marble Pet"worth mar"ble A kind of shell marble occurring in the Wealden clay at Petworth, in Sussex, England; -- called also Sussex marble .

Petzite Petz"ite noun [ From Petz , who analyzed it.] (Min.) A telluride of silver and gold, related to hessite.

Peucedanin Peu·ced"a·nin noun (Chemistry) A tasteless white crystalline substance, extracted from the roots of the sulphurwort ( Peucedanum ), masterwort ( Imperatoria ), and other related plants; -- called also imperatorin .

Peucil Peu"cil noun [ Greek ... pine tree.] (Chemistry) A liquid resembling camphene, obtained by treating turpentine hydrochloride with lime. [ Written also peucyl .]

Pew Pew noun [ Middle English pewe , Old French puie parapet, balustrade, balcony, from Latin podium an elevated place, a jutty, balcony, a parapet or balcony in the circus, where the emperor and other distinguished persons sat, Greek ..., dim. of ..., ..., foot; -- hence the Latin sense of a raised place (orig. as a rest or support for the foot). See Foot , and confer Podium , Poy .] 1. One of the compartments in a church which are separated by low partitions, and have long seats upon which several persons may sit; -- sometimes called slip . Pews were originally made square, but are now usually long and narrow.

2. Any structure shaped like a church pew, as a stall, formerly used by money lenders, etc.; a box in theater; a pen; a sheepfold. [ Obsolete] Pepys. Milton.

Pew opener , an usher in a church. [ Eng.] Dickens.

Pew Pew transitive verb To furnish with pews. [ R.] Ash.

Pewee Pe"wee noun [ So called from its note.] 1. (Zoology) A common American tyrant flycatcher ( Sayornis phœbe , or S. fuscus ). Called also pewit , and phœbe .

2. The woodcock. [ Local, U.S.]

Wood pewee (Zoology) , a bird ( Contopus virens ) similar to the pewee (See Pewee , 1), but of smaller size.

Pewet Pe"wet noun (Zoology) Same as Pewit .

Pewfellow Pew"fel`low noun 1. One who occupies the same pew with another.

2. An intimate associate; a companion. Shak.

Pewit Pe"wit noun [ Prob. of imitative origin; confer OD. piewit , Dutch kievit , German kibitz .] (Zoology) (a) The lapwing. (b) The European black-headed, or laughing, gull ( Xema ridibundus ). See under Laughing . (c) The pewee. [ Written also peevit , peewit , pewet .]

Pewter Pew"ter noun [ Middle English pewtyr , Old French peutre , peautre , piautre : confer Dutch peauter , piauter , Italian peltro , Spanish & Portuguese peltre , Late Latin peutreum , pestrum . Confer Spelter .] 1. A hard, tough, but easily fusible, alloy, originally consisting of tin with a little lead, but afterwards modified by the addition of copper, antimony, or bismuth.

2. Utensils or vessels made of pewter, as dishes, porringers, drinking vessels, tankards, pots.

» Pewter was formerly much used for domestic utensils. Inferior sorts contain a large proportion of lead.

Pewterer Pew"ter·er noun One whose occupation is to make utensils of pewter; a pewtersmith. Shak.

Pewtery Pew"ter·y adjective Belonging to, or resembling, pewter; as, a pewtery taste.

Pexity Pex"i·ty noun [ Latin pexitas , from pexus woolly, nappy, past participle of pectere to comb.] Nap of cloth. [ Obsolete]

Peyer's glands Pey"er's glands` [ So called from J. K. Peyer , who described them in 1677.] (Anat.) Patches of lymphoid nodules, in the walls of the small intestiness; agminated glands; -- called also Peyer's patches . In typhoid fever they become the seat of ulcers which are regarded as the characteristic organic lesion of that disease.

Peytrel Pey"trel noun [ Old French peitral . See Poitrel .] (Anc. Armor) The breastplate of a horse's armor or harness. [ Spelt also peitrel .] See Poitrel . [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Peziza Pe·zi"za noun [ New Latin , corrupt. from Latin pezica a sessile mushroom, from Greek ..., from ..., ..., a foot.] (Botany) A genus of fungi embracing a great number of species, some of which are remarkable for their regular cuplike form and deep colors.

Pezizoid Pez"i·zoid adjective [ Peziza + - oid .] (Botany) Resembling a fungus of the genus Peziza; having a cuplike form.

Pfennig Pfen"nig noun ; plural Pfennigs , German Pfennige . [ G. See Penny .] A small copper coin of Germany. It is the hundredth part of a mark, or about a quarter of a cent in United States currency.

Phœbe Phœ"be noun (Zoology) The pewee, or pewit.

Phœbus Phœ"bus noun [ Latin , from Greek ..., from ... pure, bright.] 1. (Class. Myth.) Apollo; the sun god.

2. The sun. " Phœbus 'gins arise." Shak.

Phœnician Phœ·ni"cian adjective Of or pertaining to Phœnica. -- noun A native or inhabitant of Phœnica.

Phœnicious Phœ·ni"cious adjective See Phenicious .

Phœnicopterus Phœ`ni·cop"te·rus noun [ New Latin See Phenicopter .] (Zoology) A genus of birds which includes the flamingoes.

Phœnix Phœ"nix noun [ Latin , a fabulous bird. See Phenix .] 1. Same as Phenix . Shak.

2. (Botany) A genus of palms including the date tree.

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