Pigsney Pigs"ney noun [ Perh. a dim. of Danish pige a girl, or Swedish piga ; or from English pig's eye .] A word of endearment for a girl or woman. [ Obsolete] [ Written also pigsnie , pigsny , etc.] Chaucer.

Pigsty Pig"sty` noun ; plural Pigsties A pigpen.

Pigtail Pig"tail` noun 1. The tail of a pig.

2. (Hair Dressing) A cue, or queue. J. & H. Smith.

3. A kind of twisted chewing tobacco.

The tobacco he usually cheweth, called pigtail .

Swift.

Pigtailed Pig"tailed` adjective Having a tail like a pig's; as, the pigtailed baboon.

Pigweed Pig"weed` noun (Botany) A name of several annual weeds. See Goosefoot , and Lamb's- quarters .

Pigwidgeon Pig"wid`geon noun [ Written also pigwidgin and pigwiggen .] A cant word for anything petty or small. It is used by Drayton as the name of a fairy.

Pika Pi"ka noun (Zoology) Any one of several species of rodents of the genus Lagomys , resembling small tailless rabbits. They inhabit the high mountains of Asia and America. Called also calling hare , and crying hare . See Chief hare .

Pike Pike noun [ French pique ; perhaps of Celtic origin; confer W. pig a prick, a point, beak, Arm. pik pick. But confer also Latin picus woodpecker (see Pie magpie), and English spike . Confer Pick , noun & v. , Peak , Pique .] 1. (Mil.) A foot soldier's weapon, consisting of a long wooden shaft or staff, with a pointed steel head. It is now superseded by the bayonet.

2. A pointed head or spike; esp., one in the center of a shield or target. Beau. & Fl.

3. A hayfork. [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.] Tusser.

4. A pick. [ Prov. Eng.] Wright. Raymond.

5. A pointed or peaked hill. [ R.]

6. A large haycock. [ Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

7. A turnpike; a toll bar. Dickens.

8. (Zoology) sing. & plural A large fresh-water fish ( Esox lucius ), found in Europe and America, highly valued as a food fish; -- called also pickerel , gedd , luce , and jack .

» Blue pike , grass pike , green pike , wall-eyed pike , and yellow pike , are names, not of true pike, but of the wall-eye. See Wall-eye .

Gar pike . See under Gar . -- Pike perch (Zoology) , any fresh-water fish of the genus Stizostedion (formerly Lucioperca ). See Wall-eye , and Sauger . -- Pike pole , a long pole with a pike in one end, used in directing floating logs. -- Pike whale (Zoology) , a finback whale of the North Atlantic ( Balænoptera rostrata ), having an elongated snout; -- called also piked whale . -- Sand pike (Zoology) , the lizard fish. -- Sea pike (Zoology) , the garfish (a) .

Pike-devant Pike`-de·vant" noun [ Pike point (fr. French pique ) + French devant before.] A pointed beard. [ Obsolete]

Piked Piked adjective Furnished with a pike; ending in a point; peaked; pointed. "With their piked targets bearing them down." Milton.

Pikelet, Pikelin Pike"let, Pike"lin noun A light, thin cake or muffin. [ Prov. Eng.] Wright.

Pikeman Pike"man noun ; plural Pikeman 1. A soldier armed with a pike. Knolles.

2. A miner who works with a pick. Beaconsfield.

3. A keeper of a turnpike gate. T. Hughes.

Pikestaff Pike"staff` noun 1. The staff, or shaft, of a pike.

2. A staff with a spike in the lower end, to guard against slipping. Sir W. Scott.

Piketail Pike"tail` noun (Zoology) See Pintail , 1.

Pikrolite Pik"ro·lite noun (Min.) See Picrolite .

Pilage Pi"lage noun See Pelage .

Pilaster Pi·las"ter noun [ French pilastre , Italian pilastro , Late Latin pilastrum , from Latin pila a pillar. See Pillar .] (Architecture) An upright architectural member right-angled in plan, constructionally a pier (See Pier , 1 (b) ), but architecturally corresponding to a column, having capital, shaft, and base to agree with those of the columns of the same order. In most cases the projection from the wall is one third of its width, or less.

Pilastered Pi·las"tered adjective Furnished with pilasters.

Pilau Pi·lau" noun See Pillau .

Pilch Pilch noun [ Anglo-Saxon pylce , pylece , Late Latin pellicia . See Pelisse , and Pelt skin.] A gown or case of skin, or one trimmed or lined with fur. [ Obsolete]

Pilchard Pil"chard noun [ Confer Italian pilseir , W. pilcod minnows.] (Zoology) A small European food fish ( Clupea pilchardus ) resembling the herring, but thicker and rounder. It is sometimes taken in great numbers on the coast of England.

Fools are as like husbands as pilchards are to herrings.

Shak.

Pilcher Pilch"er noun [ From Pilch .] A scabbard, as of a sword. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Pilcher Pilch"er noun (Zoology) The pilchard.

Pilcrow Pil"crow noun [ A corruption of Paragraph .] (Print.) a paragraph mark, ¶. [ Obsolete] Tusser.

Pile Pile noun [ Latin pilus hair. Confer Peruke .] 1. A hair; hence, the fiber of wool, cotton, and the like; also, the nap when thick or heavy, as of carpeting and velvet.

Velvet soft, or plush with shaggy pile .

Cowper.

2. (Zoology) A covering of hair or fur.

Pile Pile noun [ Latin pilum javelin. See Pile a stake.] The head of an arrow or spear. [ Obsolete] Chapman.

Pile Pile noun [ Anglo-Saxon pīl arrow, stake, Latin pilum javelin; but confer also Latin pila pillar.] 1. A large stake, or piece of timber, pointed and driven into the earth, as at the bottom of a river, or in a harbor where the ground is soft, for the support of a building, a pier, or other superstructure, or to form a cofferdam, etc.

» Tubular iron piles are now much used.

2. [ Confer French pile .] (Her.) One of the ordinaries or subordinaries having the form of a wedge, usually placed palewise, with the broadest end uppermost.

Pile bridge , a bridge of which the roadway is supported on piles. -- Pile cap , a beam resting upon and connecting the heads of piles. -- Pile driver , or Pile engine , an apparatus for driving down piles, consisting usually of a high frame, with suitable appliances for raising to a height (by animal or steam power, the explosion of gunpowder, etc.) a heavy mass of iron, which falls upon the pile. -- Pile dwelling . See Lake dwelling , under Lake . -- Pile plank (Hydraul. Eng.) , a thick plank used as a pile in sheet piling. See Sheet piling , under Piling . -- Pneumatic pile . See under Pneumatic . -- Screw pile , one with a screw at the lower end, and sunk by rotation aided by pressure.

Pile Pile transitive verb To drive piles into; to fill with piles; to strengthen with piles.

To sheet-pile , to make sheet piling in or around. See Sheet piling , under 2nd Piling .

Pile Pile noun [ French pile , Latin pila a pillar, a pier or mole of stone. Confer Pillar .] 1. A mass of things heaped together; a heap; as, a pile of stones; a pile of wood.

2. A mass formed in layers; as, a pile of shot.

3. A funeral pile; a pyre. Dryden.

4. A large building, or mass of buildings.

The pile o'erlooked the town and drew the fight.

Dryden.

5. (Iron Manuf.) Same as Fagot , noun , 2.

6. (Electricity) A vertical series of alternate disks of two dissimilar metals, as copper and zinc, laid up with disks of cloth or paper moistened with acid water between them, for producing a current of electricity; -- commonly called Volta's pile , voltaic pile , or galvanic pile .

» The term is sometimes applied to other forms of apparatus designed to produce a current of electricity, or as synonymous with battery ; as, for instance, to an apparatus for generating a current of electricity by the action of heat, usually called a thermopile .

7. [ French pile pile, an engraved die, Latin pila a pillar.] The reverse of a coin. See Reverse .

Cross and pile . See under Cross . -- Dry pile . See under Dry .

Pile Pile transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Piled ; present participle & verbal noun Piling .] 1. To lay or throw into a pile or heap; to heap up; to collect into a mass; to accumulate; to amass; -- often with up ; as, to pile up wood. "Hills piled on hills." Dryden. "Life piled on life." Tennyson.

The labor of an age in piled stones.

Milton.

2. To cover with heaps; or in great abundance; to fill or overfill; to load.

To pile arms or muskets (Mil.) , to place three guns together so that they may stand upright, supporting each other; to stack arms.

Pile-worn Pile"-worn` adjective Having the pile worn off; threadbare.

Pileate, Pileated Pi"le·ate, Pi"le·a`ted adjective [ Latin pileatus , from pileus a felt cap or hat.] 1. Having the form of a cap for the head.

2. (Zoology) Having a crest covering the pileus, or whole top of the head.

Pileated woodpecker (Zoology) , a large American woodpecker ( Ceophloeus pileatus ). It is black, with a bright red pointed crest. Called also logcock , and woodcock .

Piled Piled adjective [ From 2d Pile .] Having a pile or point; pointed. [ Obsolete] "Magus threw a spear well piled ." Chapman.

Piled Piled adjective [ From 1d Pile .] Having a pile or nap. "Three- piled velvet." Latin Barry (1611).

Piled Piled adjective [ From 6d Pile .] (Iron Manuf.) Formed from a pile or fagot; as, piled iron.

Pileiform Pi·le"i·form adjective [ Pileus + -form .] Having the form of a pileus or cap; pileate.

Pilement Pile"ment noun [ From Pile to lay into a heap.] An accumulation; a heap. [ Obsolete] Bp. Hall.

Pilentum Pi·len"tum noun ; plural Pilenta . [ Latin ] (Rom. Antiq.) An easy chariot or carriage, used by Roman ladies, and in which the vessels, etc., for sacred rites were carried.

Pileorhiza Pi`le·o·rhi"za noun ; plural Pilorhizæ . [ New Latin , from Greek ... a cap + ... root.] (Botany) A cap of cells which covers the growing extremity of a root; a rootcap.

Pileous Pi"le·ous adjective [ See Pilous .] Consisting of, or covered with, hair; hairy; pilose.

Piler Pil"er noun One who places things in a pile.

Piles Piles noun plural [ Latin pila a ball. Confer Pill a medicine.] (Medicine) The small, troublesome tumors or swellings about the anus and lower part of the rectum which are technically called hemorrhoids . See Hemorrhoids . [ The singular pile is sometimes used.]

Blind piles , hemorrhoids which do not bleed.

Pileus Pi"le·us noun ; plural Pilei . [ Latin , a felt cap.] 1. (Rom. Antiq.) A kind of skull cap of felt.

2. (Botany) The expanded upper portion of many of the fungi. See Mushroom .

3. (Zoology) The top of the head of a bird, from the bill to the nape.

Pileworm Pile"worm` noun (Zoology) The teredo.

Pilewort Pile"wort` noun (Botany) A plant ( Ranunculus Ficaria of Linnæus) whose tuberous roots have been used in poultices as a specific for the piles. Forsyth.

Pilfer Pil"fer intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Pilfered ; present participle & verbal noun Pilfering .] [ Old French pelfrer . See Pelf .] To steal in small quantities, or articles of small value; to practice petty theft.

Pilfer Pil"fer transitive verb To take by petty theft; to filch; to steal little by little.

And not a year but pilfers as he goes
Some youthful grace that age would gladly keep.

Cowper.

Pilferer Pil"fer·er noun One who pilfers; a petty thief.

Pilfering Pil"fer·ing adjective Thieving in a small way. Shak. -- noun Petty theft. -- Pil"fer*ing*ly , adverb

Pilfery Pil"fer·y noun Petty theft. [ R.] Sir T. North.

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