Pisolite Pi"so·lite noun [ Greek ... a pea + - lite : confer French pisolithe .] (Min.) A variety of calcite, or calcium carbonate, consisting of aggregated globular concretions about the size of a pea; -- called also peastone , peagrit .

» Oölite is similar in structure, but the concretions are as small as the roe of a fish.

Pisolitic Pi`so·lit"ic adjective [ Confer French pisolithique .] (Min.) Composed of, containing, or resembling, pisolite.

Pisophalt Pis"o·phalt noun [ For pissasphalt .] (Min.) Pissasphalt. [ Obsolete]

Piss Piss transitive verb & i. [ Middle English pissen , French pisser ; akin to Italian pisciare , D. & German pissen , Danish pisse , Icelandic pissa .] To discharge urine, to urinate. Shak.

Piss Piss noun Urine.

Pissabed Piss"a·bed` noun (Botany) A name locally applied to various wild plants, as dandelion, bluet, oxeye daisy, etc.

Pissasphalt Pis"sas·phalt noun [ Latin pissasphaltus , Greek ...; ... pitch + ... asphalt: confer French pissasphalte .] (Min.) Earth pitch; a soft, black bitumen of the consistence of tar, and of a strong smell. It is inflammable, and intermediate between petroleum and asphalt. [ Written also pisasphaltum , pisasphalt , etc.]

Pist Pist noun (Man.) See Piste .

Pistache Pis·tache" noun [ Middle English pistace , from French pistache . See Pistachio .] (Botany) The anacardiaceous tree Pistacia vera , which yields the pistachio nut; also, the nut itself and the flavoring extract prepared from it.

Pistachio Pis·ta"chio noun [ Italian pistacchio (cf. Spanish pistacho , French pistache ), from Latin pistacium , Greek ..., ..., from Persian pistah . Confer Fistinut .] (Botany) The nut of the Pistacia vera , a tree of the order Anacardiaceæ , containing a kernel of a pale greenish color, which has a pleasant taste, resembling that of the almond, and yields an oil of agreeable taste and odor; -- called also pistachio nut . It is wholesome and nutritive. The tree grows in Arabia, Persia, Syria, and Sicily. [ Written also pistachia .]

Pistachio Pis·ta"chio noun 1. The small anacardiaceous tree, of southern Europe and Asia Minor, which bears the pistachio nut.

2. (Cookery) The flavor of the pistachio nut, or an ice or confection flavored with it.

3. Pistachio green.

Pistachio green Pistachio green A light yellowish green color resembling that of the pistachio nut.

Pistacia Pis·ta"ci·a noun [ New Latin See Pistachio .] (Botany) The name of a genus of trees, including the tree which bears the pistachio, the Mediterranean mastic tree ( Pistacia Lentiscus ), and the species ( P. Terebinthus ) which yields Chian or Cyprus turpentine.

Pistacite Pis"ta·cite noun [ Confer French pistacite . So called from its green color. See Pistachio .] (Min.) Epidote.

Pistareen Pis`ta·reen" noun An old Spanish silver coin of the value of about twenty cents.

Pistazite Pis"ta·zite noun (Min.) Same as Pistacite .

Piste Piste noun [ French, from Latin pisere , pinsere , pistum , to pound.] (Min.) The track or tread a horseman makes upon the ground he goes over. Johnson.

Pistel, Pistil Pis"tel, Pis"til noun An epistle. [ Obsolete]

Pistic Pis"tic adjective [ Latin pisticus , Greek ....] Pure; genuine. [ R.] Jer. Taylor.

Pistil Pis"til noun [ Latin pistillum , pistillus , a pestle: confer French pistil . See Pestle .] (Botany) The seed-bearing organ of a flower. It consists of an ovary, containing the ovules or rudimentary seeds, and a stigma, which is commonly raised on an elongated portion called a style . When composed of one carpel a pistil is simple; when composed of several, it is compound. See Illust. of Flower , and Ovary .

Pistillaceous Pis`til·la"ceous adjective (Botany) Growing on, or having nature of, the pistil; of or pertaining to a pistil. Barton.

Pistillate Pis"til·late adjective (Botany) Having a pistil or pistils; -- usually said of flowers having pistils but no stamens.

Pistillation Pis`til·la"tion noun [ Latin pistillum a pestle.] The act of pounding or breaking in a mortar; pestillation. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Browne.

Pistillidium Pis`til·lid"i·um noun ; plural Pistillida . [ New Latin , from English pistil .] (Botany) Same as Archegonium .

Pistilliferous Pis`til·lif"er·ous adjective [ Pistil + -ferous : confer French pistillifère .] (Botany) Pistillate.

Pistillody Pis"til·lo·dy noun [ Pistil + Greek ... form.] (Botany) The metamorphosis of other organs into pistils.

Pistol Pis"tol noun [ French pistole , pistolet , Italian pistola ; probably from a form Pistola , for Pistoja , a town in Italy where pistols were first made. Confer Pistole .] The smallest firearm used, intended to be fired from one hand, -- now of many patterns, and bearing a great variety of names. See Illust. of Revolver .

Pistol carbine , a firearm with a removable but-piece, and thus capable of being used either as a pistol or a carbine. -- Pistol pipe (Metal.) , a pipe in which the blast for a furnace is heated, resembling a pistol in form. -- Pistol shot . (a) The discharge of a pistol . (b) The distance to which a pistol can propel a ball.

Pistol Pis"tol transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Pistoled ; present participle & verbal noun Pistoling .] [ Confer French pistoler .] To shoot with a pistol. "To pistol a poacher." Sydney Smith.

Pistolade Pis"to·lade` noun [ French] A pistol shot.

Pistole Pis·tole" noun [ French, probably a name given in jest in France to a Spanish coin. Confer Pistol .] The name of certain gold coins of various values formerly coined in some countries of Europe. In Spain it was equivalent to a quarter doubloon, or about $3.90, and in Germany and Italy nearly the same. There was an old Italian pistole worth about $5.40.

Pistoleer Pis`to·leer" noun [ Confer French pistolier .] One who uses a pistol. [ R.] Carlyle.

Pistolet Pis"to·let` noun [ French, a dim. of pistole .] A small pistol. Donne. Beau. & Fl.

Piston Pis"ton noun [ French piston ; confer Italian pistone piston, also pestone a large pestle; all from Latin pinsere , pistum , to pound, to stamp. See Pestle , Pistil .] (Machinery) A sliding piece which either is moved by, or moves against, fluid pressure. It usually consists of a short cylinder fitting within a cylindrical vessel along which it moves, back and forth. It is used in steam engines to receive motion from the steam, and in pumps to transmit motion to a fluid; also for other purposes.

Piston head (Steam Eng.) , that part of a piston which is made fast to the piston rod. -- Piston rod , a rod by which a piston is moved, or by which it communicates motion. -- Piston valve (Steam Eng.) , a slide valve, consisting of a piston, or connected pistons, working in a cylindrical case which is provided with ports that are traversed by the valve.

Piston ring Pis"ton ring (Machinery) A spring packing ring, or any of several such rings, for a piston.

Pit Pit noun [ Middle English pit , put , Anglo-Saxon pytt a pit, hole, Latin puteus a well, pit.] 1. A large cavity or hole in the ground, either natural or artificial; a cavity in the surface of a body; an indentation ; specifically: (a) The shaft of a coal mine; a coal pit. (b) A large hole in the ground from which material is dug or quarried; as, a stone pit ; a gravel pit ; or in which material is made by burning; as, a lime pit ; a charcoal pit . (c) A vat sunk in the ground; as, a tan pit .

Tumble me into some loathsome pit .

Shak.

2. Any abyss; especially, the grave, or hades.

Back to the infernal pit I drag thee chained.

Milton.

He keepth back his soul from the pit .

Job xxxiii. 18.

3. A covered deep hole for entrapping wild beasts; a pitfall; hence, a trap; a snare. Also used figuratively.

The anointed of the Lord was taken in their pits .

Lam. iv. 20.

4. A depression or hollow in the surface of the human body ; as: (a) The hollow place under the shoulder or arm; the axilla, or armpit. (b) See Pit of the stomach (below). (c) The indentation or mark left by a pustule, as in smallpox.

5. Formerly, that part of a theater, on the floor of the house, below the level of the stage and behind the orchestra; now, in England, commonly the part behind the stalls; in the United States, the parquet; also, the occupants of such a part of a theater.

6. An inclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats. "As fiercely as two gamecocks in the pit ." Locke.

7. [ Confer Dutch pit , akin to English pith .] (Botany) (a) The endocarp of a drupe, and its contained seed or seeds; a stone; as, a peach pit ; a cherry pit , etc. (b) A depression or thin spot in the wall of a duct.

Cold pit (Hort.) , an excavation in the earth, lined with masonry or boards, and covered with glass, but not artificially heated, -- used in winter for the storing and protection of half-hardly plants, and sometimes in the spring as a forcing bed. -- Pit coal , coal dug from the earth; mineral coal. -- Pit frame , the framework over the shaft of a coal mine. -- Pit head , the surface of the ground at the mouth of a pit or mine. -- Pit kiln , an oven for coking coal. -- Pit martin (Zoology) , the bank swallow. [ Prov. Eng.] -- Pit of the stomach (Anat.) , the depression on the middle line of the epigastric region of the abdomen at the lower end of the sternum; the infrasternal depression. -- Pit saw (Mech.) , a saw worked by two men, one of whom stands on the log and the other beneath it. The place of the latter is often in a pit, whence the name. -- Pit viper (Zoology) , any viperine snake having a deep pit on each side of the snout. The rattlesnake and copperhead are examples. - - Working pit (Min.) , a shaft in which the ore is hoisted and the workmen carried; -- in distinction from a shaft used for the pumps.

Pit Pit transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Pitted ; present participle & verbal noun Pitting .] 1. To place or put into a pit or hole.

They lived like beasts, and were pitted like beasts, tumbled into the grave.

T. Grander.

2. To mark with little hollows, as by various pustules; as, a face pitted by smallpox.

3. To introduce as an antagonist; to set forward for or in a contest; as, to pit one dog against another.

Pit-hole Pit"-hole` noun A pit; a pockmark.

Pita Pi"ta noun [ Spanish ] (Botany) (a) A fiber obtained from the Agave Americana and other related species, -- used for making cordage and paper. Called also pita fiber , and pita thread . (b) The plant which yields the fiber.

Pitahaya Pit`a·ha"ya noun [ Spanish , probably from the native name.] (Botany) A cactaceous shrub ( Cereus Pitajaya ) of tropical America, which yields a delicious fruit.

Pitapat Pit"a·pat` adverb [ An onomatopoetic reduplication of pat a light, quick blow.] In a flutter; with palpitation or quick succession of beats. Lowell. "The fox's heart went pitapat ." L'Estrange.

Pitapat Pit"a·pat` noun A light, repeated sound; a pattering, as of the rain. "The pitapat of a pretty foot." Dryden.

Pitch Pitch noun [ Middle English pich , Anglo-Saxon pic , Latin pix ; akin to Greek ....] 1. A thick, black, lustrous, and sticky substance obtained by boiling down tar. It is used in calking the seams of ships; also in coating rope, canvas, wood, ironwork, etc., to preserve them.

He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled therewith.

Ecclus. xiii. 1.

2. (Geol.) See Pitchstone .

Amboyna pitch , the resin of Dammara australis . See Kauri . -- Burgundy pitch . See under Burgundy . -- Canada pitch , the resinous exudation of the hemlock tree ( Abies Canadensis ); hemlock gum. -- Jew's pitch , bitumen. -- Mineral pitch . See Bitumen and Asphalt . -- Pitch coal (Min.) , bituminous coal. -- Pitch peat (Min.) , a black homogeneous peat, with a waxy luster. -- Pitch pine (Botany) , any one of several species of pine, yielding pitch, esp. the Pinus rigida of North America.

Pitch Pitch transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Pitched ; present participle & verbal noun Pitching .] [ See Pitch , noun ] 1. To cover over or smear with pitch. Gen. vi. 14.

2. Fig.: To darken; to blacken; to obscure.

The welkin pitched with sullen could.

Addison.

Pitch Pitch transitive verb [ Middle English picchen ; akin to English pick , pike .] 1. To throw, generally with a definite aim or purpose; to cast; to hurl; to toss; as, to pitch quoits; to pitch hay; to pitch a ball.

2. To thrust or plant in the ground, as stakes or poles; hence, to fix firmly, as by means of poles; to establish; to arrange; as, to pitch a tent; to pitch a camp.

3. To set, face, or pave with rubble or undressed stones, as an embankment or a roadway. Knight.

4. To fix or set the tone of; as, to pitch a tune.

5. To set or fix, as a price or value. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Pitched battle , a general battle; a battle in which the hostile forces have fixed positions; -- in distinction from a skirmish . -- To pitch into , to attack; to assault; to abuse. [ Slang]

Pitch Pitch intransitive verb 1. To fix or place a tent or temporary habitation; to encamp. "Laban with his brethren pitched in the Mount of Gilead." Gen. xxxi. 25.

2. To light; to settle; to come to rest from flight.

The tree whereon they [ the bees] pitch .

Mortimer.

3. To fix one's choise; -- with on or upon .

Pitch upon the best course of life, and custom will render it the more easy.

Tillotson.

4. To plunge or fall; esp., to fall forward; to decline or slope; as, to pitch from a precipice; the vessel pitches in a heavy sea; the field pitches toward the east.

Pitch and pay , an old aphorism which inculcates ready-money payment, or payment on delivery of goods. Shak.

Pitch Pitch noun 1. A throw; a toss; a cast, as of something from the hand; as, a good pitch in quoits.

Pitch and toss , a game played by tossing up a coin, and calling "Heads or tails;" hence: To play pitch and toss with (anything) , to be careless or trust to luck about it. " To play pitch and toss with the property of the country." G. Eliot. -- Pitch farthing . See Chuck farthing , under 5th Chuck .

2. (Cricket) That point of the ground on which the ball pitches or lights when bowled.

3. A point or peak; the extreme point or degree of elevation or depression; hence, a limit or bound.

Driven headlong from the pitch of heaven, down
Into this deep.

Milton.

Enterprises of great pitch and moment.

Shak.

To lowest pitch of abject fortune.

Milton.

He lived when learning was at its highest pitch .

Addison.

The exact pitch , or limits, where temperance ends.

Sharp.

4. Height; stature. [ Obsolete] Hudibras.

5. A descent; a fall; a thrusting down.

6. The point where a declivity begins; hence, the declivity itself; a descending slope; the degree or rate of descent or slope; slant; as, a steep pitch in the road; the pitch of a roof.

7. (Mus.) The relative acuteness or gravity of a tone, determined by the number of vibrations which produce it; the place of any tone upon a scale of high and low.

» Musical tones with reference to absolute pitch , are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet; with reference to relative pitch , in a series of tones called the scale , they are called one , two , three , four , five , six , seven , eight . Eight is also one of a new scale an octave higher, as one is eight of a scale an octave lower.

8. (Mining) The limit of ground set to a miner who receives a share of the ore taken out.

9. (Mech.) (a) The distance from center to center of any two adjacent teeth of gearing, measured on the pitch line ; -- called also circular pitch . (b) The length, measured along the axis, of a complete turn of the thread of a screw, or of the helical lines of the blades of a screw propeller. (c) The distance between the centers of holes, as of rivet holes in boiler plates.

Concert pitch (Mus.) , the standard of pitch used by orchestras, as in concerts, etc. -- Diametral pitch (Gearing) , the distance which bears the same relation to the pitch proper, or circular pitch, that the diameter of a circle bears to its circumference; it is sometimes described by the number expressing the quotient obtained by dividing the number of teeth in a wheel by the diameter of its pitch circle in inches; as, 4 pitch, 8 pitch, etc. -- Pitch chain , a chain, as one made of metallic plates, adapted for working with a sprocket wheel. -- Pitch line , or Pitch circle (Gearing) , an ideal line, in a toothed gear or rack, bearing such a relation to a corresponding line in another gear, with which the former works, that the two lines will have a common velocity as in rolling contact; it usually cuts the teeth at about the middle of their height, and, in a circular gear, is a circle concentric with the axis of the gear; the line, or circle, on which the pitch of teeth is measured. -- Pitch of a roof (Architecture) , the inclination or slope of the sides expressed by the height in parts of the span; as, one half pitch ; whole pitch ; or by the height in parts of the half span, especially among engineers; or by degrees, as a pitch of 30°, of 45°, etc.; or by the rise and run , that is, the ratio of the height to the half span; as, a pitch of six rise to ten run. Equilateral pitch is where the two sloping sides with the span form an equilateral triangle. -- Pitch of a plane (Carp.) , the slant of the cutting iron. -- Pitch pipe , a wind instrument used by choristers in regulating the pitch of a tune. -- Pitch point (Gearing) , the point of contact of the pitch lines of two gears, or of a rack and pinion, which work together.

Pitch Pitch noun (Electricity) The distance between symmetrically arranged or corresponding parts of an armature, measured along a line, called the pitch line , drawn around its length. Sometimes half of this distance is called the pitch.

Pitch of poles (Electricity) , the distance between a pair of poles of opposite sign.

Pitch-black Pitch"-black` adjective Black as pitch or tar.

Pitch-dark Pitch"-dark` adjective Dark as a pitch; pitch-black.

Pitch-faced Pitch"-faced` adjective (Stone Cutting) Having the arris defined by a line beyond which the rock is cut away, so as to give nearly true edges; -- said of squared stones that are otherwise quarry-faced.

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