Pilose Piˇlose" adjective [ Latin
pilosus , from
pilus hair. See
Pile .]
1. Hairy; full of, or made of, hair. The heat-retaining property of the pilose covering.
Owen. 2. (Zoology) Clothed thickly with pile or soft down. 3. (Botany) Covered with long, slender hairs; resembling long hairs; hairy; as, pilose pubescence.
Pilosity Piˇlos"iˇty noun [ Confer French
pilosité .]
The quality or state of being pilose; hairiness. Bacon.
Pilot Pi"lot noun [ French
pilote , probably from Dutch
peillood plummet, sounding lead;
peilen ,
pegelen , to sound, measure (fr. D. & German
peil ,
pegel , a sort of measure, water mark) +
lood lead, akin to English
lead . The pilot, then, is the
lead man, i. e., he who throws the lead. See
Pail , and
Lead a metal.]
1. (Nautical) One employed to steer a vessel; a helmsman; a steersman. Dryden. 2. Specifically, a person duly qualified, and licensed by authority, to conduct vessels into and out of a port, or in certain waters, for a fixed rate of fees. 3. Figuratively: A guide; a director of another through a difficult or unknown course. 4. An instrument for detecting the compass error. 5. The cowcatcher of a locomotive. [ U.S.]
Pilot balloon ,
a small balloon sent up in advance of a large one, to show the direction and force of the wind. --
Pilot bird .
(Zoology) (a) A bird found near the Caribbee Islands; -- so called because its presence indicates to mariners their approach to these islands. Crabb. (b) The black- bellied plover. [ Local, U.S.] --
Pilot boat ,
a strong, fast-sailing boat used to carry and receive pilots as they board and leave vessels. --
Pilot bread ,
ship biscuit. --
Pilot cloth ,
a coarse, stout kind of cloth for overcoats. --
Pilot engine ,
a locomotive going in advance of a train to make sure that the way is clear. --
Pilot fish .
(Zoöl) (a) A pelagic carangoid fish ( Naucrates ductor ); -- so named because it is often seen in company with a shark, swimming near a ship, on account of which sailors imagine that it acts as a pilot to the shark .
(b) The rudder fish ( Seriola zonata ). --
Pilot jack ,
a flag or signal hoisted by a vessel for a pilot. --
Pilot jacket ,
a pea jacket. --
Pilot nut (Bridge Building) ,
a conical nut applied temporarily to the threaded end of a pin, to protect the thread and guide the pin when it is driven into a hole. Waddell. --
Pilot snake (Zoology) (a) A large North American snake ( Coluber obsoleus ). It is lustrous black, with white edges to some of the scales. Called also mountain black snake . (b) The pine snake. --
Pilot whale .
(Zoology) Same as Blackfish , 1.
Pilot Pi"lot transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Piloted ;
present participle & verbal noun Piloting .] [ Confer French
piloter .]
1. To direct the course of, as of a ship, where navigation is dangerous. 2. Figuratively: To guide, as through dangers or difficulties. "The art of
piloting a state."
Berkeley.
Pilot Pi"lot noun 1. (Aëronautics) One who flies, or is qualified to fly, a balloon, an airship, or a flying machine. 2. (Machinery) A short plug at the end of a counterbore to guide the tool. Pilots are sometimes made interchangeable. 3. (Mining) The heading or excavation of relatively small dimensions, first made in the driving of a larger tunnel.
Pilot Pi"lot transitive verb (Aëronautics) To fly, or act as pilot of (an aircraft).
Pilot balloon Pilot balloon A small, unmanned balloon sent up to indicate the direction of air currents.
Pilot flag Pilot flag The flag hoisted at the fore by a vessel desiring a pilot, in the United States the union jack, in Great Britain the British union jack with a white border.
Pilot lamp, light Pilot lamp, light (Electricity) A small incandescent telltale lamp on a dynamo or battery circuit to show approximately by its brightness the voltage of the current.
Pilot valve Pilot valve (Hydraulics) A small hand- operated valve to admit liquid to operate a valve difficult to turn by hand.
Pilot wheel Pilot wheel (Machinery) A wheel, usually with radial handles projecting from the rim, for traversing the saddle of a machine tool, esp. an automatic machine tool, by hand.
Pilotage Pi"lotˇage noun [ Confer French
pilotage .]
1. The pilot's skill or knowledge, as of coasts, rocks, bars, and channels. [ Obsolete]
Sir W. Raleigh. 2. The compensation made or allowed to a pilot. 3. Guidance, as by a pilot. Sir W. Scott.
Pilotism, Pilotry Pi"lotˇism, Pi"lotˇry noun Pilotage; skill in the duties of a pilot. [ R.]
Pilour Pil"our noun A piller; a plunderer. [ Obsolete]
Pilous Pil"ous adjective See Pilose .
Pilpul Pil"pul noun [ Aramaic
pilpūl ; confer Hebrew
pilpel to spice, to season, dispute violently.]
Among the Jews, penetrating investigation, disputation, and drawing of conclusions, esp. in Talmudic study. --
Pil"pul*ist noun --
Pil`pul*is"tic adjective
Pilser Pil"ser noun An insect that flies into a flame.
Pilular Pil"uˇlar adjective Of or pertaining to pills; resembling a pill or pills; as, a pilular mass.
Pilulous Pil"uˇlous adjective [ Latin
pilula a pill. See
Pill .]
Like a pill; small; insignificant. [ R.]
G. Eliot.
Pilwe Pil"we noun A pillow. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Pily Pi"ly adjective (Zoology) Like pile or wool.
Pimaric Piˇmar"ic adjective [ New Latin
pi num
mar itima, an old name for
P. Pinaster , a pine which yields galipot.]
(Chemistry) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid found in galipot, and isomeric with abietic acid.
Pimelic Piˇmel"ic adjective [ Greek ... fat.]
(Chemistry) (a) Pertaining to, or designating, a substance obtained from certain fatty substances, and subsequently shown to be a mixture of suberic and adipic acids. (b) Designating the acid proper (C 5 H 10 (CO 2 /H) 2 ) which is obtained from camphoric acid.
Pimelite Pim"eˇlite noun [ Greek ... fat.]
(Min.) An apple-green mineral having a greasy feel. It is a hydrous silicate of nickel, magnesia, aluminia, and iron.
Piment Pi"ment noun [ French See
Pimento .]
Wine flavored with spice or honey. See Pigment , 3. [ Obsolete]
Pimenta Piˇmen"ta noun (Botany) Same as Pimento .
Pimento Piˇmen"to noun [ Spanish
pimiento ,
pimienta ; confer Portuguese
pimenta , French
piment ; all from Latin
pigmentum a paint, pigment, the juice of plants; hence, something spicy and aromatic. See
Pigment .]
(Botany) Allspice; -- applied both to the tree and its fruit. See Allspice .
Pimiento Piˇmien"to noun [ Spanish ]
The Spanish sweet pepper, the fruit of which is used as a vegetable, to stuff olives, etc.
Pimlico Pim"liˇco noun (Zoology) The friar bird.
Pimola Pimˇo"la noun An olive stuffed with a kind of sweet red pepper, or pimiento.
Pimp Pimp (pĭmp)
noun [ Confer French
pimpant smart, sparkish; perhaps akin to
piper to pipe, formerly also, to excel. Confer
Pipe .]
One who provides gratification for the lust of others; a procurer; a pander. Swift.
Pimp Pimp intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Pimped (pĭmt; 215);
present participle & verbal noun Pimping .]
To procure women for the gratification of others' lusts; to pander. Dryden.
Pimpernel Pim"perˇnel noun [ French
pimprenelle ; confer Spanish
pimpinela , Italian
pimpinella ; perhaps from Late Latin
bipinnella , for
bipinnula two-winged, equiv. to Latin
bipennis ;
bis twice +
penna feather, wing. Confer
Pen a feather.]
(Botany) A plant of the genus Anagallis , of which one species ( A. arvensis ) has small flowers, usually scarlet, but sometimes purple, blue, or white, which speedily close at the approach of bad weather. Water pimpernel .
(Botany) See Brookweed .
Pimpillo Pim"pilˇlo noun (Botany) A West Indian name for the prickly pear ( Opuntia ); -- called also pimploes .
Pimpinel Pim"piˇnel noun [ See
Pimpernel .]
(Botany) The burnet saxifrage. See under Saxifrage .
Pimping Pimp"ing adjective [ Confer German
pimpelig ,
pimpelnd , sickly, weak.]
1. Little; petty; pitiful. [ Obsolete]
Crabbe. 2. Puny; sickly. [ Local, U.S.]
Pimple Pim"ple noun [ Anglo-Saxon
pīpelian to blister; confer Latin
papula pimple.]
1. (Medicine) Any small acuminated elevation of the cuticle, whether going on to suppuration or not. "All eyes can see a
pimple on her nose."
Pope. 2. Fig.: A swelling or protuberance like a pimple. "A
pimple that portends a future sprout."
Cowper.
Pimpled Pim"pled adjective Having pimples. Johnson.
Pimply Pim"ply adjective Pimpled.
Pimpship Pimp"ship noun The office, occupation, or persom of a pimp. [ R.]
Pin Pin transitive verb (Metal Working) To peen.
Pin Pin transitive verb [ Confer
Pen to confine, or
Pinfold .]
To inclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.
Pin Pin noun [ Middle English
pinne , Anglo-Saxon
pinn a pin, peg; confer Dutch
pin , German
pinne , Icelandic
pinni , W.
pin , Gael. & Ir.
pinne ; all from Latin
pinna a pinnacle, pin, feather, perhaps orig. a different word from
pinna feather. Confer
Fin of a fish,
Pen a feather.]
1. A piece of wood, metal, etc., generally cylindrical, used for fastening separate articles together, or as a support by which one article may be suspended from another; a peg; a bolt. With pins of adamant
And chains they made all fast.
Milton. 2. Especially, a small, pointed and headed piece of brass or other wire (commonly tinned), largely used for fastening clothes, attaching papers, etc. 3. Hence, a thing of small value; a trifle. He . . . did not care a pin for her.
Spectator. 4. That which resembles a pin in its form or use ; as:
(a) A peg in musical instruments, for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings. (b) A linchpin. (c) A rolling-pin. (d) A clothespin. (e) (Machinery) A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal. See
Illust. of
Knuckle joint , under
Knuckle .
(f) (Joinery) The tenon of a dovetail joint. 5. One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each man should drink. 6. The bull's eye, or center, of a target; hence, the center. [ Obsolete] "The very
pin of his heart cleft."
Shak. 7. Mood; humor. [ Obsolete] "In merry
pin ."
Cowper. 8. (Medicine) Caligo. See Caligo . Shak. 9. An ornament, as a brooch or badge, fastened to the clothing by a pin; as, a Masonic pin . 10. The leg; as, to knock one off his pins . [ Slang]
Banking pin (Horol.) ,
a pin against which a lever strikes, to limit its motion. --
Pin drill (Mech.) ,
a drill with a central pin or projection to enter a hole, for enlarging the hole, or for sinking a recess for the head of a bolt, etc.; a counterbore. --
Pin grass .
(Botany) See Alfilaria . --
Pin hole ,
a small hole made by a pin; hence, any very small aperture or perforation. --
Pin lock ,
a lock having a cylindrical bolt; a lock in which pins, arranged by the key, are used instead of tumblers. --
Pin money ,
an allowance of money, as that made by a husband to his wife, for private and personal expenditure. --
Pin rail (Nautical) ,
a rail, usually within the bulwarks, to hold belaying pins. Sometimes applied to the fife rail . Called also pin rack . --
Pin wheel .
(a) A contrate wheel in which the cogs are cylindrical pins .
(b) (Fireworks) A small coil which revolves on a common pin and makes a wheel of yellow or colored fire.
Pin Pin transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Pinned ;
present participle & verbal noun Pinning .] [ See
Pin ,
noun ]
To fasten with, or as with, a pin; to join; as, to pin a garment; to pin boards together. "As if she would
pin her to her heart."
Shak. To pin one's faith upon ,
to depend upon; to trust to.
Pin-eyed Pin"-eyed` adjective (Botany) Having the stigma visible at the throad of a gamopetalous corolla, while the stamens are concealed in the tube; -- said of dimorphous flowers. The opposite of thrum-eyed .
Pin-fire Pin"-fire` adjective (Mil.) Having a firing pin to explode the cartridge; as, a pin- fire rifle.
Pin-tailed Pin"-tailed` adjective (Zoology) Having a tapered tail, with the middle feathers longest; -- said of birds.
Pinacate bug Pin`aˇca"te bug [ Orig. uncert.] Any of several clumsy, wingless beetles of the genus Eleodes , found in the Pacific States.
Pinacoid Pin"aˇcoid noun [ Greek ..., ..., a tablet +
-oid .]
(Crystallog.) A plane parallel to two of the crystalline axes.
Pinacolin Piˇnac"oˇlin noun [
Pinac one + Latin
ol eum oil.]
(Chemistry) A colorless oily liquid related to the ketones, and obtained by the decomposition of pinacone; hence, by extension, any one of the series of which pinacolin proper is the type. [ Written also
pinacoline .]